Another Sunday, another ceremonial swearing-in of a Queens City Councilmember. Last Sunday, January 10, was Peter Koo’s turn, held at a packed Flushing Town Hall, capacity 360.
No matter what side of the aisle you are on, it is hard not to be happy for Koo. As was mentioned repeatedly at his ceremony, Peter immigrated to America with practically nothing. He worked at Kentucky Fried Chicken and Dunkin’ Donuts to put himself through college. He practiced pharmacy, saved up enough to buy his own store, which he built into the highly successful Starside Pharmacy chain. Koo’s is a true American success story.
Furthermore, when Koo finally made it big, he donated a large portion of his wealth to charities, long before he ever considered entering politics. His acts of generosity ranged from large to small, from personally funding senior centers and college scholarships to giving Thanksgiving turkeys to the needy. Koo is a perfect example of what it means to give back to your community. He joined the Community Board and helped found the Flushing Business Improvement District.
And, on top of all that, he really is a nice guy, which is at least one thing Comptroller John Liu and Council Minority Leader James Oddo can agree on, who both spoke at Koo’s ceremony.
Koo’s story is also an example of perseverance. I remember sitting down with Koo at a Flushing restaurant nearly three years ago as part of a team of Queens Republicans, which included Vince Tabone, John Bougiamas, Robert Hornak and Stephen Graves, who had known Koo previously and first introduced him to us.
We were encouraging him to get involved in politics. Koo admonished us that he was a pharmacist, not a politician. But we convinced him that elected office would allow him to continue what he was doing for years – working to improve the quality of life and address the concerns of Flushing residents and surrounding areas.
Koo ran unsuccessfully for State Committee and State Senate before the third time was the charm. James McClelland, Gerry Kassar, Jay Golub and their team deserve an enormous amount of credit for masterminding a campaign that elected a Republican for the first time from Flushing, a district that is over four-to-one Democratic.
His victory resonated far beyond Queens. Senator Chuck Schumer sang Koo’s praises at his swearing-in. Some might have been surprised to see a statewide official, and a Democrat to boot, at the swearing-in of a Republican New York City Councilmember.
However, Koo is a highly respected figure in the Chinese-American community throughout New York, a community whose political clout is on the rise in the wake of John Liu’s election as Comptroller. It makes sense for Schumer, who is up for re-election this year lest anyone forget, to try to make inroads into this far from monolithic community, which can no longer be counted on as a given for the Democratic column.
It was truly a special moment when Koo’s longtime friend and supporter, Senator Frank Padavan, swore him in before his family and a bipartisan crowd of hundreds of Queens residents from all backgrounds comprising the diverse tapestry of New York. Last Sunday was a proud day for our city, as we had the opportunity to celebrate a nice guy who finished first.
Daniel Egers is Executive Director of the Queens County Republican Party, a Trustee of the Bayside Historical Society and President of the Friends of Oakland Lake, among other affiliations. The views expressed in this column are his own.
