Hailie Kim, a Woodside resident, announced Saturday that she is running to represent the 26th Council District that is currently represented by Julie Won. The Democratic primary is scheduled for June 2023. (Photo: courtesy of Hailie Kim for City Council)
Dec. 12, 2022 By Christian Murray
The Democratic primaries for city council seats take place next June and Councilmember Julie Won officially has a challenger for the 26th District seat to represents western Queens.
Hailie Kim, a Sunnyside resident who ran in the Democratic primary for the seat last year, launched her campaign Saturday at Doughboy Plaza in Woodside. She says her campaign will focus on elevating public education, noting her opposition to this year’s cuts to the education budget by Mayor Eric Adams and the city council.
Adams slashed the education budget by approximately $400 million. Kim said the budget should be increased, not pared back.
The borders of the 26th Council District that was determined by the NYC Districting Commission in October. (Source: redistrictingandyou.org)
The mayor cut the education budget noting that public school enrollment was down, and that the city was facing a budget cliff—with federal COVID relief about to run out. The city council voted in support of the budget.
Won defended her vote in favor of the budget at the time, saying that she faced an up or down vote.
“The vote on our city’s budget is not neatly confined by multiple votes for each area– but a single vote for the budget in its entirety. This meant a “No” vote on the budget would mean a vote against allotted funding for hard fought historical funding for immigrants, much needed human service cost of living adjustments….”
Kim said that the cuts to the education budget will have a big impact on immigrants.
“This is a difficult time for Queens families, especially immigrant students, and I am running to serve our community because we deserve so much more than this,” Kim said. “We need to set our expectations higher. This is our home, and I will fight for us.”
Kim, whose family immigrated to Woodside from South Korea when she was a child, attributes public education as having “a transformational effect on her family.”
Her mother worked as a nail technician and her father ran a small business. Kim, who is now fully focused on running for city council, is a former Hunter College adjunct/educator and former Minkwon Center for Community Action staff member.
As a city council member, Kim said she would not only restore and increase education funding from 3-K to CUNY, but also fight for deeply affordable social housing, press for lower property taxes for working-class families, and advocate for true community safety.
Kim came in eighth in last year’s primary in a 15th person race in which Won prevailed.
Won, who also immigrated to the U.S. from South Korea as a child, was elected to a two-year term, with the term shortened from the traditional four-year term due to redistricting. The winner of next year’s race will also only be elected to serve two years.
Two other candidates have filed to run for the seat. Lorenzo Brea, who finished 14th in last year’s Democratic primary for the seat, has filed. So too has Marvin Jeffcoat, a Republican, who Won defeated in November’s general election.
Hailie Kim announced Saturday at Doughboy Plaza in Woodside that she is running to represent the 26th Council District. The Democratic primary is scheduled for June 2023. (Photo: Hailie Kim for city council)
Hailie Kim was interviewed by the Queens Post last year prior to the Democratic primary in 2021. The following is a recording of that interview.
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31 Comments
When I read the headline, I assumed that someone with a different vision would run against Won. I was wrong. It’s someone that’s even more progressive…so basically worse.
Who’s going to deliver all the take out?
Who’s going to iron the shirts? I understand they can’t drive but why do these young progressive not want cars for people who can drive and who need them ?
People who love cars also love Robert Moses. They are old world, not able to catch up with changing times, and most are 50+ years old. The young generation wants less cars because we want to be healthier and not die with all the car accidents occurring on a daily basis. So yea, in a packed city with traffic jams all the time, we see the future, and it’s less cars, more public transportation and bicycles.
Your ✅️ right
Young progressives absolutely drive cars. It’s the white progressives who run the DOT etc. that want to turn cities into Maoist China where everyone uses bicycles. Then again Americans are fat and can’t bother to walk a block. I’m extremely fit and walk, run, bike in triathlons and do CrossFit. I also love sports cars and race in NJ.
What is “true community safety”? slap on the wrist? more of this failed “restorative” approach? I am looking for a “do the crime do the time” candidate. Everything Kim is stating as her running platform hurts real citizens. I am so tired of these people running with chronically online platforms…in other words disconnected from whats actually happening.
She is as unqualified as Julie Won. The Democrats need a strong candidate who will is on the side of innocent victims in the neighborhoods they are elected to represent, not their own pro-criminal viewpoints.
This is bigger news than Trump Trading Cards!
How old is she….10? Get out of here .
How old are you? Why don’t you run for office? Too lazy and scared?
Two shrill women who cater to the progressives who hate kids and are soft on crime
What could go wrong ?
Math and reading scores are the lowest in 30 years thanks to the teachers union. All our problems will get worse if kids can’t read or do math. When a company, union or an individual fail this badly they should be fired.
Ah cum on man- You’re politicizing an issue and deliberately misinforming people. New York State is in the top half of the country in school performance according to DOE and wallet hub. In fact all the best performing states in 2022 are Democratic leaning and worst performing Republican leaning. https://wallethub.com/edu/e/states-with-the-best-schools/5335 Your typical Republican attack on women and unions is what we’ve come to expect from partisan hacks.
Except you did not address the fact that math and reading scores are the lowest they have been in 30 years in the NYC public school system…but yeah Republicans…even though Democrats control everything in this city…
Ask Republican Rudy Giuliani, he was mayor 30 years ago. Republicans never take responsibility.
Anything??? get tested for ADD.
Bilingual instruction would improve test scores in NYC in all subjects. Hire more bilingual minority teachers and staff and more students will understand and relate to school. Also teach and include more latin and african history so students can relate to literature.
What’s so hard about learning the English language?? Want to migrate here? Then assimilate and become true Americans. So sick of this crap that we have to amend our laws and norms to suit those who refuse to learn the language. Who do they all think they are coming here and complaining??
Julie Won has been a disappointment, especially since I voted for her. Her positions on crime have created a danger to the law abiding community she has been elected to serve with her pro-criminal stance. I and others are looking forward to voting for new representation in the next election.
Good luck Kim!
The city has been coasting of federal Covid money. We lost a lot of high tax payers covid, roiting, looting, crime and increase in taxes making is the highest tax rate in the country pick your poison. I can’t really blame them especially if you make millions a year you have the money to visit whenever you want. Anyway we are facing massive tax deficits, expect more service cuts with more fare and tax increases.
Great job progressives that tax the rich policy is sure working out. There are a lot of beautiful and fun places in America where taxes are a lot less and the quality of life is good. Can’t wait for congestion pricing oh goodie yippee!
Liberals never learned the lesson of the Golden Goose.
All they seem to care about is the immigrants, what about the citizens who live here? I guess they don’t matter anymore. It’s the American citizens fault who live here, because someone is voting these people into office. Terrible. We citizens have been abandoned
And what else is beyond interesting is that so many first generation immigrants decide to run for office and usually win. Why do they choose this career path over all the others? There’s a big story here if any investigative journalists care. It’s as if they believe they are entitled to live off tax payers dollars forever and also believe they are entitled to change the laws to suit only their kind and screw the rest of us!! To me, this sounds very anti-America. If it’s so awful here, then go back where you came from!!
Donna- “First generation immigrants”. No such thing. Do you mean first generation American? These people should go back to where they came from? You sound so Republican.
Oh please.
Few progressives that vote in WQs have kids that attend public school. They are more about owning pets and dog runs. So she may want to rethink her agenda. Focusing on affordable housing and racial/lgbtq discrimination brings more voters from WQs to the polls. A photo op and an endorsement from AOC is also a guaranteed victory in our area.
Hoping someone black, latin or queer runs for the 26th District seat to represents western Queens!!
Or a drag queen would be good
I’m still voting WON!! I got my wifi thanks to her.
You mean Internet access? Wifi is not Internet access. How was she able to get you Wifi? She got you the password at the local 7-11?