Ron Kim (politician)

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For the Counter-Strike player, see Ronald "Rambo" Kim.
Ron Kim
File:Photo of Ron Kim, NYS Assembly Member.jpg
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 40th district
Assumed office
January 1, 2013
Preceded by Grace Meng
Personal details
Born (1979-05-02) May 2, 1979 (age 45)
South Korea
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Alison Tan
Residence Flushing, Queens
Alma mater Hamilton College (B.A.)
Baruch College (M.P.A.)
Profession Politician
Website Official website
Korean name
Hangul 김태석
Hanja 金兌錫[1]
Revised Romanization Gim Tae-seok
McCune–Reischauer Kim T'aesŏk

Ronald Tae Sok Kim (born May 2, 1979) is an American politician from New York City. He serves in the New York State Assembly representing the 40th District, which includes portions of Whitestone, Flushing and Murray Hill. First elected in November 2012, Kim became the first Korean American ever elected in New York State.[2]

Early life and education

Kim comes from a Korean American family that moved to Queens when he was 7. He is the only child of Seo Jun Kim and Sun Hee Kim.[3] Raised in Flushing, Kim graduated from the Riverdale Country Day School[4] in 1997, and was captain of the football and track teams.[5] He later earned his Bachelor of Arts from Hamilton College, where he continued his football career on the varsity team;[3] he received his Masters in Public Administration from Baruch College of the City University of New York as part of the National Urban Fellows Program.[6]

Career

Kim began his career in public service in then-Councilmember John C. Liu’s office,[7] focusing on quality-of-life issues in the Flushing community. He moved on to become an aide to then-State Assemblyman Mark Weprin.[8] Following his work in Assemblyman Weprin’s office, Kim joined the New York State Department of Buildings, followed by the Department of Small Business Services.[9] In 2004, Kim was accepted into the National Urban Fellows Program, where he was placed in a fellowship advising the Chief Education Office of the Chicago Public Schools, simultaneously earning his Master’s in Public Administration from CUNY-Baruch College.

In 2006, Kim joined the staff of New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn as a Policy Analyst where he focused on legislative issues relating to transportation, infrastructure, and economic development.

From 2007 through 2010, Kim served as a Regional Director for Government and Community Affairs in the administrations of Governors Eliot Spitzer and David A. Paterson,[10] where he worked with numerous state agencies, elected officials, and community organizations.[11]

After leaving his position at the Governor’s office, Kim joined The Parkside Group,[12] where he advocated on behalf of children with special needs, small business, community organizations, and vulnerable New Yorkers.[13]

In June 2012, Kim announced that he would seek the State Assembly seat being vacated by Grace Meng, who was running for the U.S. House of Representatives.[13] Kim won the five-way Democratic primary on September 13, and went on to defeat Republican Philip Gim in the general election, 68%-32%.[14]

State Assembly

In his first month in office, Kim helped pass legislation A.3354 which implemented a tax relief for New York City homeowners; the bill is projected to encourage housing development.[15]

Kim has supported bills related to education issues and services for seniors. He is also an active supporter of immigration issues and is a sponsor of the DREAM Act on the state level as well as the prime sponsor on a bill to make Lunar New Year an allowable school holiday, which eventually took place. Kim has sponsored legislation inspired by events that happen in his district; in January 2013, he became a proponent of the Taxi Drivers Protection Act following a robbery and assault that occurred in Brooklyn.[16]

In the summer of 2015, following an investigative report by the New York Times, Kim helped to draft a measure to reform overtime laws in the nail salon industry. The law Kim supported required nail salons to post wage bonds against failure to pay overtime for their workers. The paper reported In November of 2015, Kim changed positions and began calling for reform of the law he had previously helped to design following $60,000 in contributions to his campaign from nail salon owners.[17]

Subsequently in December of 2015, the New York Times made a correction, stating that the article "included incorrect information about some political donations to Mr. Kim from the industry."[18] The New York Times stated that its source for the original figure of $60,000 in contributions, president of Korean American Nail Salon Association Sangho Lee, had revised his information to state that Kim had received only $25,000 from the organization, $5,000 of which he had returned.

Kim vigorously disputed the allegation that he had changed his stance on the law, and denied that his position was influenced by donations, including in a letter to the Times.[19] Reason and Crain's New York Business each published stories examining the record and refuting the allegation that Kim had changed his position.[20][21] Reason reported Kim's assertion that the contributions reported by the Times included some from prior contributors not affiliated with the nail salon industry. Crain's concluded that reported contributions were a small fraction of Kim's aggregate fundraising.

Kim currently sits on the Education Committee; Children and Families Committee; the Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee; Governmental Operations Committee; Housing Committee; and Social Services Committee. He also belongs to the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Caucus.[22]

See also

Personal life

Kim married his wife, Xi-Lou Alison Tan, in 2012 and the couple currently reside in Flushing, Queens.[23]

Crime Fighting

On September 17, 2015, Ron Kim tackled an alleged purse-snatcher to the ground while walking to his office. Ron broke his glasses as he took down 25-year-old Daniel Fish and held the crook until the cops arrived to arrest him. [24]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Cheng, Jennifer. "History Made in NYC Elections." Voices of NY. CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, 7 Nov. 2012. Web.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The Korean American Success Story." BBC News. N.p., 30 Mar. 2011. Web.
  4. ↑ "Alumnus Elected to NYS Assembly as the First Korean-American Lawmaker in NYS History." Riverdale.edu. Riverdale Country Day School, 20 Dec. 2012. Web.
  5. ↑ "High School Football; McKee Reverses Field To Defeat Midwood." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Oct. 1995. Web
  6. ↑ Wagner, Briana. "Ron Kim '02 in "The American Dream"" College News. Hamilton College, 4 Apr. 2011. Web.
  7. ↑ Zhiyi, Chen, Xu Jia, and Li M. Qian. "Assemblyman Ron Kim Wins Primary of the 40th District." NY.WorldJournal.com. World News Network, 14 Sept. 2012. Web.
  8. ↑ King, David, Kamelia Kilawan, and Cristian Salazar. "Guide for the Last Minute Voter: General Election 2012." Gothamgazette.com. Gotham Gazette, 5 Nov. 2012. Web. 05 Mar. 2013.
  9. ↑ "Political Page." Qgazette.com. Queens Gazette, 3 Oct. 2012. Web.
  10. ↑ Campbell, Colin. "David Paterson Wades Into Flushing AssemblyRace." Politicker.com. PolitickerNY, 12 June 2012. Web.
  11. ↑ "About Ron | Elect Ron Kim to NY State Assembly." RonKim.com. Ron Kim's Political Campaign, n.d. Web.]
  12. ↑ New York City. Lobbyist Search
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ "Assembly Passes Landmark Legislation to Give Hundreds of Thousands of New York City Homeowners Property Tax Relief." New York RSS. Realestaterama, 29 Jan. 2013. Web.
  16. ↑ "Assembly Members Want Attacks On Taxi Drivers To Be Felonies." Ny1.com. Time Warner Inc., 1 Jan. 2013. Web.
  17. ↑ "Backed by Nail Salon Owners, a New York Legislator Now Fights Reforms." The New York Times. The New York Times,8 Nov. 2015. Web.
  18. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/17/pageoneplus/corrections-november-17-2015.html
  19. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/14/opinion/nail-salon-regulations-a-new-york-assemblyman-responds.html?_r=0
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ "Ron Kim - Member Section." New York State Assembly, n.d. Web.
  23. ↑ Daqi, Liu "Kim Tae Tin, Tan Xi Lou Registration of Marriage"World Journal. Matchbin.inc
  24. ↑ NY Daily News "New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim tackled an alleged robber to the ground Thursday"

External links

Political offices
Preceded by New York Assembly, 40th District
2013–present		 Incumbent
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