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12 NJ Korean Americans vying for general election seats

October 20, 2015

Englewood Cliffs Town Council candidate Park Myung-geun speaks to voters during a door-to-door campaign.

By The Korea Times New York staff

Twelve Korean Americans are vying for seats in the upcoming New Jersey general assembly election on Nov. 3.

Of them, three are Republicans running in predominantly Democratic regions. They have all taken on a similar campaign tactic: door-to-door voter persuasion.

Park Myung-geun, of Englewood Cliffs, has his eyes on a town council seat. He’s the sole Republican candidate who is up against another Korean American, Democrat Ellen Park.

His campaign has taken him to 800 homes in town.

In Fort Lee, a city in which one out of four residents are Korean, City Council candidate Margaret Ahn has chosen to focus on senior centers and supermarkets to speak to voters.

“I’m trying my best to meet as many voters as possible before election day,” she said.

Wonkyu Rim, a 41-year-old Republican running in District 27, is in the midst of a campaign that has seen him knock on approximately 30,000 district doors.

Yoon Yeo-tae, a Jersey City Councilman who has thrown his support behind Rim, said his victory is likely.

“Forty-two percent of people in his district have no identified party, and 36 percent support the Democrats there,” he said.