Linda Lee ★ Endorsed Candidate
Democratic
Age: 44
Occupation: City Council Member (District 23)
Education: Barnard College (B.A.), Columbia University (M.S.W.)
To read this candidate’s responses to Citizen Union’s questionnaire, click here.
Linda Lee was elected to the City Council in 2021 and is the first Korean-American to serve on the Council. Prior to her election, she led a community nonprofit helping senior citizens and served on the NYC Civic Engagement Commission. She had an impressive rate of legislative success in her first two years in office: eight of the 13 bills she introduced passed along with two other resolutions. As the chair of the Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities, and Addiction, she is particularly proud of her bill to track and report on the opioid settlement fund and her work on developing a “mental health roadmap.” Lee supports most of CU’s reform priorities, but mentioned she needs more time to think about open primaries and engaged the interview team on moving local elections to even-years with honesty. She wants to improve city contract processes with nonprofits by adding accountability and transparency measures that would ensure nonprofits are paid on time. Ahead of the looming budget cuts, she says protecting education budgets would be her priority. Citizens Union appreciates Lee’s thoughtful and practical responses to policy issues, support for reform, and clarity on navigating between city, state, and federal governments. Therefore, we endorse her in this race.
Bernard Chow
Republican, Conservative, Medical Freedom, Common Sense
Age: N/A
Occupation: Landlord
Education: N/A
To read this candidate’s responses to Citizen Union’s questionnaire, click here.
Bernard Chow is currently a full-time candidate but prior to that, he worked as a healthcare plan advisor for a provider in Staten Island. He is civically engaged in the community and advocated against changes to the specialized high school program and around issues related to landlords, including opposing good cause eviction and the eviction moratorium during the pandemic. He has worked with Council Member Inna Vernikov of Brooklyn to establish a community safety group in her neighborhood. Chow told CU he is running because the government has “moved away from common sense,” particularly on issues related to the migrant crisis. The latter seems to be the focus of his campaign. Chow supports the majority of CU’s reform priorities including moving municipal elections to even numbered years, Ranked Choice Voting, open primaries, and banning bundling by those listed in the Doing Business with the City database. He differs on CU’s police accountability priorities. Citizens Union appreciates his involvement in the civic matters of the City and his community.