The “K-Team” is back in action.
Korean-American candidates running for Congress (34th District), State Assembly (54th District), and Los Angeles City Council (10th District), all of which include Koreatown, are kicking off their campaigns with a joint agenda on key issues of concern to the Korean-American community.
Democratic Congressional Candidate David Kim, Assembly Candidate John Yi, and City Council Candidate Grace Yoo will hold a press conference in Koreatown on the afternoon of April 19 to unveil the details.
Ed Han (44th State Assembly District) failed to advance to the runoff election, receiving only 16 percent of the vote.
Once in the runoff, the situation is not favorable for all three candidates.
Kim advanced to the runoff with 28% of the vote in the primary, finishing second. This is his third attempt, but this time he was unable to expand his vote due to the emergence of a Korean-American Republican candidate and another minor Democratic candidate. Meanwhile, the incumbent remained strong with 51% of the vote.
Yi finished in second place with 34 percent of the vote. However, the fact that Mark Gonzalez (LA County Democratic Party Chair), who has the organization and power within the Democratic Party, only received 45% of the vote despite spending over $1 million, still gives Yi some room to maneuver. Yi’s opponent, Republican Elaine Alaniz, received 20% of the vote. Yi will need to appeal to progressive, young, and multiracial voters, while also making his presence known to those who have yet to vote.
Yoo took 23% of the vote against a strong challenge from appointed incumbent Heather Hutt, who took 38% of the vote. But she’ll need to offer policies and a vision that can encompass the votes of the other three minority candidates in the runoff. She will have to present an agenda that can defeat the “incumbent dominance” narrative and demonstrate compelling rhetoric that can increase voter participation.
In this joint announcement, Kim will lay out specific initiatives that could benefit small businesses, and Yi will take a stand on public safety issues. In particular, Yoo will point out the problem with the LAPD. Despite its large budget and generous allocation for helicopters and other equipment, the LAPD neglects actual street policing.
Yoo’s campaign will focus on streamlining the department’s parks, libraries, and sports facilities.
“All three candidates had slightly different personal preferences and campaign directions, so there was not much synergy in the primary,” said a campaign official, adding, “However, the K-Team together should at least look for ways to maximize its expansion within and outside the Korean community.”
BY BRIAN CHOI, JUNHAN PARK [ichoi@koreadaily.com]
