Susan Zhuang
Ying Tan
Democrat Susan Zhuang clinched what appears to be a decisive victory against Ying Tan in the newly redrawn 43rd City Council District in New York.
“We made this history together,” Zhuang said, addressing her supporters on Tuesday night. “I cannot do this alone. Now the next job that we have to do is make sure our voice is heard in City Hall. Next year we fight for public safety, we get more funding for our police. We get street cleanups. We need affordable housing. We will not build a homeless shelter next to our schools. And we need to make sure our kids’ education is well funded.”
Zhuang, the chief of staff of Assembly Member William Colton, captured roughly 59% of the vote to Tan’s 26%.
Freshly born from the New York City Districting Commission’s recent redistricting, District 43 was created around the goal of uniting an area that would bolster the Asian American community’s voting power. Around 54% of voters say they’re of Asian descent and neighborhoods in the area are home to some of the highest concentrations of Chinese American New Yorkers in the city.
The race had been one of the most difficult to predict—both Zhuang and Tan are Chinese American and they share similar views on a slate of policies. Both had slammed the other for not being connected to the district—Zhuang used to live in Indiana and Tan currently resides in Queens.