By Connor Adams Sheets
Republican Peter Koo beat Democrat Yen Chou in Tuesday’s election, making him one of three Republicans now representing Queens in the City Council.
The campaign, which pitted two Chinese-born immigrants against one another in an area with many Asian-Americans residents, was a visible representation of the increased influence the Asian American population is having on New York politics.
Koo is the founder of a chain of Flushing drugstores and head of the Flushing Chinese Business Association, while Chou is the director of a tutoring company and a former political aide.
In the next Council district,Republican Dan Halloran defeated Democrat Kevin Kim in a contentious race during which the candidates’ camps tossed around accusations of religious and racial discrimination.
Halloran, an Auburndale attorney, won 53 percent of the vote, while Kim, a former deputy director of community for U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside), received 47 percent to replace Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside).
Reach reporter Connor Adams Sheets by e-mail at csheets@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
