Margaret S. Chin (born May 26, 1953) is a Hong Kong American politician who served as a council member for the 1st district of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government model, the performance of ...

. A Democrat, she and

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

Council member Peter Koo comprised the Asian American delegation of the city council. Her district included all or parts of Battery Park City,

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Aust ...

, Civic Center, East Village,

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mil ...

, Financial District, Governors Island,

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

Liberty Island Liberty Island is a federally owned island in Upper New York Bay in the United States. Its most notable feature is the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''), a large statue by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi that was dedicated i ...

Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are ...

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

, NoHo,

Nolita Nolita, sometimes written as NoLIta and deriving from "North of Little Italy",Roberts, Sam"New York’s Little Italy, Littler by the Year"'' New York Times'' (February 21, 2011) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City ...

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was deve ...

Tribeca Tribeca (), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Stree ...

, and the West Village. Chin controversially retained the right to run a third term despite its unpopularity in 2010. Seven years later, she ran for re-election and won her primary with 46% of the vote against a newcomer,

Christopher Marte Christopher Marte (born April 26, 1989) is an American politician who is a member of the New York City Council for the 1st district, elected in November 2021. His district includes all or parts of Battery Park City, Chinatown, Manhattan, Chinato ...

, who received 44%.

Early life and career

Born on May 26, 1954 in

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the British ...

as the third of five children and the only daughter in the family, Chin immigrated to the United States in 1963. Her father, who arrived to the U.S. before his family, was an undocumented worker, working as a waiter in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

; his experiences inspired his daughter to advocate for immigration reform during her political tenure. Chin grew up in

in New York City and graduated from the

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx Science, is a public specialized high school in The Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science involves passing the Sp ...

and the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

with a degree in

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

. She worked for 14 years at LaGuardia Community College's Division of Adult and Continuing Education. She has been a member of several public service groups and organizations. In 1974, she was a founding member of

Asian Americans for Equality Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) is an organization based in Chinatown, Manhattan that advocates for civil rights and affordable housing, which it is also involved in developing. History Asian Americans for Equal Employment was formed in 1974 ...

, a group dedicated to "empowering Asian Americans and others in need", and she served as the board's president from 1982 to 1986. She was the chairperson of the New York Immigration Coalition, a policy and advocacy organization which works on issues concerning immigrants and refugees. She was a board member of the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, an

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on af ...

non-profit organization. Chin was also a founding member of the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation, a group that was formed in 2006 to "rebuild Chinatown following

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...

, and to preserve the neighborhood's unique culture while ensuring its vitality in the future." In local and state politics, Chin was a member of

Manhattan Community Board 1 The Manhattan Community Board 1 is a New York City community board encompassing the neighborhoods of Battery Park City, the Financial District, the South Street Seaport, and TriBeCa in Lower Manhattan in the borough of Manhattan as well as ...

and

Manhattan Community Board 3 The Manhattan Community Board 3 is a New York City community board encompassing the Manhattan neighborhoods of Alphabet City, the East Village, the Lower East Side, Two Bridges, and a large portion of Chinatown. It is delimited by the East R ...

, and was elected to the

New York State Democratic Committee The New York State Democratic Committee is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of New York. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, and it has an office in Albany.

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admin ...

professor and sociologist Peter Kwong, who has written books on Chinese Americans, said that Chin's election victory at the time was a "milestone in an increasingly active Asian American community" and a "special moment in Chinatown history". Margaret Fung, head of Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, a national Asian American civil rights group, described her win as a "significant step forward for Asian American political representation".

New York City Council

Prior to winning the 2009 city council election, Chin had run and lost in the Democratic Party

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

for the District 1 seat in 1991, 1993, and 2001. In a primary with low

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Univ ...

, she won the Democratic nomination with 39% of the vote, ousting two-term incumbent

Alan Gerson Alan Jay Gerson (born November 1, 1957) is a former Democratic Party member of the New York City Council, first elected in 2001, and reelected in 2005, to represent the 1st district in Manhattan. Prior to that Gerson served as Chair of Manha ...

. Chin earned 4,541 votes to Gerson's 3,520; the other three candidates, PJ Kim, Pete Gleason, and Arthur Gregory won 1,927 votes, 1,293 votes, and 235 votes, respectively. Campaigning on the issues of

, improving infrastructure, immigration reform, and better services for senior citizens, Chin won the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

held on November 3, 2009 against Republican candidate Irene Horvath in a landslide, carrying 86% of the vote. In 2013, Chin ran for reelection. She received an endorsement from the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York prior to that year's September Democratic Party primary and received funding from REBNY for mailings. She was challenged in the primary by Democrat

Jenifer Rajkumar Jenifer Rajkumar (born September 1, 1982) is an American politician and lawyer. A Democrat, she is a member of the New York State Assembly from the 38th district, representing Queens neighborhoods of Glendale, Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Ridge ...

, a

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

District Leader, in a widely publicized race. Chin won with 58.5% of the vote. The councilwoman retained the right to run a third term despite New Yorkers voting against the concept in 2010. In 2017, Chin ran for re-election and won her primary with 46% of the vote against her main challenger, Christopher Marte, a newcomer, who received 44%. Marte ran against her again in the general election on the Independence party line, and Chin won the general election with 49.8% of the vote.

Election history

Criticism

In September 2017 '' The Villager'' endorsed her opponent Christopher Marte, saying Critics in October 2019 also opposed her lack of clarity before the vote to expand the current jail in her district; more than 1,000 marched to get her attention on the matter.

Personal life

Chin is married to Alan Tung, a public school teacher. Their son, Kevin, also graduated from the

. He completed his studies at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, and is now studying photography in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning " Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West ...

References

External links

Official New York City Council website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chin, Margaret New York City Council members Living people Hong Kong emigrants to the United States New York (state) Democrats 1954 births American women of Chinese descent in politics American politicians of Chinese descent American politicians of Hong Kong descent Asian-American people in New York (state) politics Women New York City Council members 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Asian-American New York City Council members