By Alex Robinson
Phil Gim is running for state Assembly again.
The Flushing Republican kicked off his campaign to challenge Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing) on Memorial Day weekend.
“I’m stepping forward to run for the Assembly to fight to make New York a better place,” Gim said. “Together we can build a better New York, one community at a time.”
He ran in 2012 for the open seat in Assembly District 40, which covers Flushing as well as Murray Hill and had been left vacant by Grace Meng’s ascension to Congress. He lost to Kim in a landslide.
Kim took 67 percent of the vote to become the first Korean American to be elected to the state Legislature.
Gim likes his chances this time around as he thinks the 2012 presidential campaign mobilized large numbers of Democrats to turn out to the polls.
“This time, being not a presidential election year, the numbers would be a little different,” he said in an interview.
Gim said his top priorities are education and economic issues such as tackling Queens’ rising cost of living and cutting red tape on small businesses.
“So many small businesses have not recovered [from the downturn]. Taxes and regulations are stopping them from being as successful as they can be,” he said.
On education, Gim said the system should reward hard workers and over-achievers rather than leveling out schools.
“We need to go back to the basics and we need to strive for excellence,” he said.
The GOP hopeful said he has not sought endorsement from the Queens Republican Party, but would not rule out seeking the county committee’s endorsement in the future.
“I’m running on my own,” he said. “I’d rather be independent. That way I don’t owe anybody anything. I’ll say what I want to say and have the platform I believe in.”
Kim’s campaign office responded to Gim’s announcement to run with a statement touting the assemblyman’s record.
“Our record speaks for itself. We have served over 13,000 constituent cases in just the last year and a half, and as the youngest member of the Education Committee, I have already worked with my colleagues to deliver much-needed funding for our schools and looked at different ways we can help our students succeed,” Kim said in the statement. “I am also working on making sure there are more affordable housing units coming to our district, as well as continuing to hold the MTA accountable while improving our transportation system and helping thousands of older adults in the community with our different programs and services that my staff continuously provides.”
A Chinese American, Gim first immigrated to Florida in 1962. His family moved to New York City and he grew up attending public schools, including Brooklyn Tech. He moved to northern Flushing in 1986 and has lived in the neighborhood with his family since.
Gim has helped to run his wife’s family’s business, Budget Convenience Stores, a chain of more than eight shops, for the last three years. He has also worked at the city Board of Elections since 2010 as a monitor at poll sites. Before that, he worked for the U.S. Census as a field supervisor and owned a restaurant with his wife for 17 years.
No other candidates have announced their candidacy in the Flushing district’s GOP primary. Assuming he gets the Republican nod again this year, he will then face an uphill battle against the freshman assemblyman in a heavily Democratic district.
Reach reporter Alex Robinson by e-mail at arobinson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
