GENERAL ELECTION CANDIDATES

Evergreen Chou (Green)
Barry Grodenchik (WF)
Jimmy Meng (Dem/Con/Ind)
Meilin Tan (Rep)

PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS - Winner: Jimmy Meng (Dem)

PRIMARY ELECTION CANDIDATES

Barry Grodenchick (Dem)
Jimmy Meng (Dem)

CANDIDATE BIOGRAPHIES

Evergreen Chou is a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer at the Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn who received his B.A. at the Downstate Medical Center. He ran for City Council in 2001 and State Legislature in 2002. He is a member of the Queens Network for Peace and Justice.

Barry Grodenchik is the incumbent for the 22nd Assembly District. Previously, he served as the chief administrative officer for former Queens Borough President Claire Shulman as the Queens regional Representative under former Governor Cuomo.

Jimmy Meng is the owner and operator of the Queens Lumber Company in Flushing. He was also formerly the president of the Flushing Chinese Business Association. He immigrated from Taiwan.

Meilin Tan (no bio available).

CAMPAIGN TRAIL

10/22/04
Setting an American precedent, the three candidates for the seat in the New York State Assembly for the 22nd District in Queens will square off for a debate where the only language spoken will be Mandarin, one of the two main Chinese dialects. The three candidates, Jimmy Meng (Democrat), Meilin Tan (Republican) and Evergreen Chou (Green), all fluent in Mandarin, taped the event on Oct. 19 at QPTV Studios in Flushing. It was moderated by Ada Sheng, the event’s co-producer, on The Chinese New Yorker, a public access television show cablecast throughout Queens. (Queens Tribune)

10/18/04
With Jimmy Meng's victory over Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik in the Democratic primary, the Asian-American community has proven it has gained power and influence in New York. On November 2, Meng will face Republican Meilin Tan, Greens No To War Party candidate Evergreen Chou and Grodenchik, who is running as the Working Families Party candidate. However, Meng is the favorite in Flushing. According to John Liu, who in 2000 became the first Asian-American elected to the City Council, the Asian American community could potentially be a powerful force. "The numbers continue to grow quickly, and the turnout rates are potentially much greater than the overall turnout rates of other groups," he said. "When Asian-Americans are registered to vote, they vote." (Newsday)

09/29/04
The Board of Elections yesterday certified Jimmy Meng, a Flushing businessman the winner over Assemblymember Barry Grodenchik in the September 14 Democratic primary. However the board said it was continuing to look at voter registrations in the district and could turn the matter over to prosecutors. A review of voter registration records shows a pattern of suspicious registrations in the district, with hundreds of voters giving home addresses that turned out to be businesses like restaurants, hair salons and a plumbing supply store. (New York Times)

09/26/04
City election officials are expanding their probe into an allegedly tainted primary that put Queens businessman Jimmy Meng in line to become the first Asian-American elected to the state Legislature. They're now looking at more than 600 voters, most with Asian names, who registered as living at shops, banks and other nonresidential addresses in Flushing prior to the Democratic primary for Assembly won by Meng on Sept. 14 (NY Post)

09/24/04
Jimmy Meng, the Queens businessman who won an upset victory over Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik in last week's Democratic primaries, is all but certain to win the November general election and make history by becoming the Legislature's first Asian-American member. Meng's first act after taking office should be the introduction of legislation to reform New York's fraud-friendly state voter registration system. It's only fitting, because Grodenchik's camp has uncovered evidence that dozens, even hundreds, of people on the voter rolls in the Flushing district were registered improperly, often at commercial establishments and even at vacant lots. Nobody is alleging that Meng's slim 500-vote margin of victory was gained illegally - but neither can anybody rule out that possibility. The Queens district attorney and the city's Board of Elections are probing the matter, which means Meng will arrive in Albany with an asterisk next to his name. (Daily News)

09/23/04
After losing to Jimmy Meng on the Democratic ticket for State Assembly in the 22nd District, Barry Grodenchik will run on the Working Families Party Line. Meng's most formidable challenger, however, will be Republican Meilin Tan. (Queens Tribune)

09/18/04
Two days after his surprising primary defeat of an incumbent assemblyman, Jimmy K. Meng sat in his campaign office in Flushing, Queens, greeting a stream of well-wishers and reflecting on a victory that places him on the path to be the first Asian-American member of the State Legislature. (New York Times)

09/16/04
In a notable upset, Chinese businessman Jimmy Meng beat incumbent state Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik in the Democratic primary for the 22nd Assembly District seat on Tuesday night. Garnering 51 percent of the vote, Meng is en route to become the first Asian-American elected to the New York statehouse, a significant achievement for the Asian American community. The 22nd District was only created 2 years ago when Census reports revealed a need for more representation of the 53 percent Asian demographic in downtown Flushing. John Liu, the city's only Asian councilman, supported Grodenchik in the race. (Times Ledger)

09/15/04
About 100 people in the Flushing area gave commercial addresses on voter registration forms, raising suspicion at polling sites yesterday that may cast a shadow over the assembly race. The hotly contested challenge to incumbent Barry Grodenchik by businessman Jimmy Meng didn't cool off even inside polling sites. Peter Wang, who manages a bookstore owned by Meng, complained that poll monitors for Grodenchik, who wore paper badges that identified them as "Official" poll observers, were asked by the Board of Elections employed poll coordinator to settle disputes about voters' eligibility. The site coordinator acknowledged that she didn't realize the Grodenchik observers were not Board of Elections officials until Wang complained. (Newsday)

09/09/04
Incumbent Barry Grodenchik will square off against challengers Ben Singer and Jimmy Meng for the Democratic nomination in the 22nd District. Supported by the regular Democratic leadership in the Flushing area, such as Councilmember John Liu and Ellen Young, Grodenchik appears to be the top dog. Singer is a retired Flushing businessman and is endorsed by the Democratic Club of Flushing. Meng is a community leader and building supply business owner in Flushing. Having lost to Grodenchik in the 2002 primary, Meng has reportedly spent over $100,000 in the campaign this time around. (Western Queens Gazette)