EPICANTHUS

EDISON TOWNSHIP, NJ—Political opponents are mounting a race-based campaign against incumbent Mayor Jun H. Choi as he seeks reelection and supports a three-person reform ticket of township council candidates.

Choi, 37, became the first Korean American elected mayor in the continental U.S. in 2005. Born in South Korea, Choi grew up in Edison, a city of more than 100,000 and the home of famed inventor Thomas Alva Edison’s Menlo Park lab. He holds a bachelors degree from M.I.T. and a masters in public policy from Columbia Univ.

Choi is facing Councilwoman Antonia Ricigliano, who has been endorsed by the Edison and Middlesex County Democratic committees. The Democratic primary is set for June 2.

According to Choi for Mayor campaign manager Mike Barfield, race became an issue when a direct mail flyer from an opposition slate of council candidates urged Edison voters to “send Mayor Choi a one-way ticket out of Edison.” Then, at a recent public form, council candidate Thomas Hanke quipped: “Let’s send Choi a one-way ticket back to Korea.” (Read entire post)

• Jersey Boy, The American Prospect
• Korean American Mayor Scores Political Win, The Korea Times
• Jun H. Choi Backgrounder, Wikipedia
• Edison’s Mayor Running Again Without Party’s Endorsement, The Star-Ledger
• Letter to the Editor: Choi Uninterested in Needs of Edison, Courier News
• Mayor’s Page, edisonnj.org
• Choi for Mayor Campaign Page, junchoi.com

Barfield added that opponents have attacked Choi by trying to link him with North Korea and implying he cares more about Asian Americans than Edison citizens. A May 18 letter to the editor of the local Courier News was headlined: “Choi Uninterested in Needs of Edison.”

“I wonder why he (Choi) is being promoted, publicized and financed by special-interest groups and ethnic-advocacy groups from California to Chicago to Boston. They honor him as their guest. Some finance trips for him. Some raise funds heavily for him,” wrote Edison resident Loretta Smith

Listing several prominent Asian American political organizations—Asian-Americans for Good Government; Korean-American Community Foundation; Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Korean-American Coalition and the Network of Korean-American Leaders—Smith’s letter continued: “Is Jun Choi spending too much time visiting these organizations instead of meeting with and understanding the problems of Edison citizens? When he asks for our vote, we should all say `No Way!”’

Facing racial attacks is nothing new for Choi. During the 2005 primary Choi’s candidacy was at the center of “Jersey Guys” controversy involving local radio shock jocks, Ray Rossi and Casey Bartholomew, who made anti-Asian remarks on the air. The controversy drew national attention and seven major advertisers withdrew their ads from radio station WKXW.

Seeking his second four-year term as Edison’s mayor, Choi, an early endorser of President Barack Obama in 2007, will again run without the endorsement of the Edison Democratic Committee. He did the same in 2005, unseating 10-year incumbent mayor George Spadoro in the Democratic primary en route to his election in November.

“We are very focused on transforming the Democratic party with an infusion of fresh talent, untarnished by old-guard politics,” Choi said. “It’s an organization that’s focused on the past. This is the fight for the future of Edison.”

Continuing to challenge the local Democratic Party machine, Choi tabbed a teacher, a businesswoman and a former Union County official for his ticket of township council candidates.

Running for council on Choi’s ticket are Rachel Callen, 35, a middle school language teacher at the township’s Rabbi Jacob Joseph Yeshiva School; Chinese American Meiling Kravarik, 46, president of a local realty firm; and Edward Fitzgerald, 52, a retired Union County Prosecutor’s Office captain. They will vie for three open four-year seats.