Margaret Chin

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Margaret S. Chin (born May 26, 1953) is a Chinese American[1] politician who served as a council member for the 1st district of the New York City Council from 2010 to 2021. A Democrat, she and Queens Council member Peter Koo comprised the Asian American delegation of the city council.

Her district included all or parts of Battery Park City, Chinatown, Civic Center, East Village, Ellis Island, Financial District, Governors Island, Greenwich Village, Liberty Island, Little Italy, Lower East Side, NoHo, Nolita, SoHo, Tribeca, and the West Village.

Early life and career

Born on May 26, 1954, in British Hong Kong as the third of five children and the only daughter in the family, Chin immigrated to the United States in 1963. Her father, who arrived in the U.S. before his family, was an undocumented worker, working as a waiter in the Bronx; his experiences inspired his daughter to advocate for immigration reform during her political tenure.

Chin grew up in Chinatown in New York City and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and the City College of New York with a degree in education. She worked for 14 years at LaGuardia Community College's Division of Adult and Continuing Education.

She has been a member of several public service groups and organizations. In 1974, she was a founding member of Asian Americans for Equality, a group dedicated to "empowering Asian Americans and others in need",[2] and she served as the board's president from 1982 to 1986. She was the chairperson of the New York Immigration Coalition, a policy and advocacy organization which works on issues concerning immigrants and refugees.[3] She was a board member of the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, an affordable housing non-profit organization.[4] Chin was also a founding member of the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation, a group that was formed in 2006 to "rebuild Chinatown following 9/11, and to preserve the neighborhood's unique culture while ensuring its vitality in the future."[5]

In local and state politics, Chin was a member of Manhattan Community Board 1 and Manhattan Community Board 3, and was elected to the New York State Democratic Committee for two terms from 1986 to 1990.

Chin has stated that her ethnicity helped her win the district that includes Chinatown. In her words, many new immigrants and seniors do not speak English, and appreciated that they could speak to her directly and "talk to a City Council member without having to go through an interpreter."[1]

New York City Council

Prior to winning the 2009 city council election, Chin had run and lost in the Democratic Party primary election for the District 1 seat in 1991, 1993, and 2001.

In a primary with low voter turnout, she won the Democratic nomination with 39% of the vote, ousting two-term incumbent Alan Gerson. Chin earned 4,541 votes to Gerson's 3,520; the other three candidates, PJ Kim, Pete Gleason, and Arthur Gregory won 1,927 votes, 1,293 votes, and 235 votes, respectively.[6] Campaigning on the issues of affordable housing, improving infrastructure, immigration reform, and better services for senior citizens,[1] Chin won the general election held on November 3, 2009, against Republican candidate Irene Horvath in a landslide, carrying 86% of the vote.[7]

In 2013, Chin ran for reelection. She received an endorsement from the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York prior to that year's September Democratic Party primary[8] and received funding from REBNY for mailings.[9] She was challenged in the primary by Democrat Jenifer Rajkumar, a Lower Manhattan District Leader, in a widely publicized race. Chin won with 58.5% of the vote.[10]

The councilwoman retained the right to run a third term due to legislation passed in 2008,[11] despite New Yorkers subsequently voting against the concept in 2010.[12] In 2017, Chin ran for re-election and won her primary with 46% of the vote against her main challenger, Christopher Marte, a newcomer who received 37%. Marte ran against her again in the general election on the Independence party line, and Chin won the general election with 49.9% of the vote.[13]

Election history

New York City Council District 1: results 1991-2017
Year Democratic Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd party Party Votes Pct 3rd party Party Votes Pct
1991 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Kathryn Freed style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" align="right" |5,717 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |51% style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Fred Teng style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" align="right" |2,630 style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |23% Template:Party shading/Independent |Margaret Chin Template:Party shading/Independent |Liberal Template:Party shading/Independent align="right" |2,853 Template:Party shading/Independent align="right" |25%
2001 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Alan Gerson style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" align="right" |12,209 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |47% style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Jordan Kaufman style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" align="right" |3,349 style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |13% Template:Party shading/Independent |Margaret Chin Template:Party shading/Independent |Liberal Template:Party shading/Independent align="right" |4,178 Template:Party shading/Independent align="right" |16%
2009 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Margaret Chin style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" align="right" |18,750 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |86% style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Irene Horvath style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" align="right" |3,093 style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |14%
2013 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Margaret Chin style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" align="right" |16,976 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |99%
2017 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Margaret Chin style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" align="right" |11,468 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |49.8% Bryan Jung 2,014 8.75% Aaron Foldenauer Liberal 1,103 4.40% Christopher Marte Independence 8,502 36.92%

Criticism

In September 2017 The Villager endorsed her opponent Christopher Marte, saying:[9] Template:QuoteCritics in October 2019 also opposed her lack of clarity before the vote to expand the current jail in her district;[14] more than 1,000 marched to get her attention on the matter.[15]

On 8 November 2021, during the lame-duck period of her final term on the city council, Chin introduced a bill specifically targeting over 1600 housing units in her district designated as JLWQA (joint living-work quarters for artists) for fines and flip-taxes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per unit.[16] The legislation was introduced one day before a vote on rezoning the SoHo and NoHo neighborhoods in her district and was opposed by her elected successor, Christopher Marte. Chin nevertheless tabled and voted for the bill,[17] triggering years of legal action after her retirement.[18]

Personal life

Chin is married to Alan Tung, a public school teacher, and has retired to San Diego, California. Their son, Kevin, also graduated from the Bronx High School of Science. He completed his studies at Syracuse University, and is now studying photography in Santa Barbara, California.

References

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External links

Political offices
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check New York City Council, District 1
2010–2022 Template:S-ttl/check 		Incumbent
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