David Chong lost his third bid for Palisades Park City Council by an unexpectedly large margin
Title
David Chong lost his third bid for Palisades Park City Council by an unexpectedly large margin
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4
Vtmbh article author
Joo-Chan Kim
Vtmbh article blurb
Republican David Chong received a total of just 865 votes for the Palisades Park, N.J. City Council. Chong's campaign staff called the result shocking, since this year's total was much less than last year's.
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At press time, Republican David Chong received a total of just 865 votes for Palisades Park, N.J. City Concil. This number does not include all absentee ballots, but his loss was evident regardless of the rest.
Mayor Sandy Favre (1,987 votes), and City Council candidates James Rotondo (2,057), Tony Omali (1,953), all Democrats, won with over twice the number of votes.
Chong's campaign staff called the result shocking, since this year's total was much less than last year's 1,300 votes. One Chong staffer said, last year Chong ran for City Council and got 1,300 votes, but this year two Republican candidates ran, and we received few votes. The campaign office counted 200 Koreans as voting.
This was Chongs third bid for a City Council seat. It seems that the Democratic Party's negative campaign to provoke racial conflict among residents affects me disadvantageously, said Chong, referring to an incident which has been an issue in the Korean American community. During the campaign, Mayor Favre distributed pamphlets calling Chong a boss and an alien and charging that he would represent only Korean Americans' interests.
Among 1,300 Korean eligible voters, 73 percent (950 people) voted but failed once again to produce the first Korean City Councilman in the Eastern United States.
Dong-suk Kim, director of the New Jersey Korean American Voters Council, said it is not possible to produce a Korean politician with only Korean votes, and when the Korean community and the support of the local party are united, a Korean candidate will win in the election.
In this election, the Republicans and Democrats argued over how to apply for absentee ballots and count them. On election day, the Democratic Party contended that 276 absentee ballots, assumed to be from Koreans voters, should not be counted.
The Democratic Party asked the County Prosecutor to examine the legitimacy of the absentee ballots and Judge Josep Yatino, of Bergen County Court, decided not to open the ballots until the legitimacy of the 276 absentee ballots was determined.
Mayor Sandy Favre (1,987 votes), and City Council candidates James Rotondo (2,057), Tony Omali (1,953), all Democrats, won with over twice the number of votes.
Chong's campaign staff called the result shocking, since this year's total was much less than last year's 1,300 votes. One Chong staffer said, last year Chong ran for City Council and got 1,300 votes, but this year two Republican candidates ran, and we received few votes. The campaign office counted 200 Koreans as voting.
This was Chongs third bid for a City Council seat. It seems that the Democratic Party's negative campaign to provoke racial conflict among residents affects me disadvantageously, said Chong, referring to an incident which has been an issue in the Korean American community. During the campaign, Mayor Favre distributed pamphlets calling Chong a boss and an alien and charging that he would represent only Korean Americans' interests.
Among 1,300 Korean eligible voters, 73 percent (950 people) voted but failed once again to produce the first Korean City Councilman in the Eastern United States.
Dong-suk Kim, director of the New Jersey Korean American Voters Council, said it is not possible to produce a Korean politician with only Korean votes, and when the Korean community and the support of the local party are united, a Korean candidate will win in the election.
In this election, the Republicans and Democrats argued over how to apply for absentee ballots and count them. On election day, the Democratic Party contended that 276 absentee ballots, assumed to be from Koreans voters, should not be counted.
The Democratic Party asked the County Prosecutor to examine the legitimacy of the absentee ballots and Judge Josep Yatino, of Bergen County Court, decided not to open the ballots until the legitimacy of the 276 absentee ballots was determined.
Vtmbh article date
2002-11-06
Vtmbh article edition
41
Vtmbh article hit count
37
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1
Vtmbh article original language
Korean
Vtmbh article publication
Korea Times New York
Vtmbh article section
elec02
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Vtmbh article title
David Chong lost his third bid for Palisades Park City Council by an unexpectedly large margin
Vtmbh article translator
Jeongwoo Han
Source
born-digital
Media Type
article
Original Name
Republican David Chong received a total of just 865 votes for the Palisades Park, N.J. City Council.
Created by Author
yes
Described by Author
no
Date Entered
2002-11-06
Collection
Citation
“David Chong lost his third bid for Palisades Park City Council by an unexpectedly large margin,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed October 1, 2026, https://911.dev.chnm.gmu.edu/items/1419/.