Jun Choi

Jun H. Choi (born May 17, 1971) is an American politician and the current Mayor of Edison, New Jersey, a community of over 100,000 people and the fifth largest municipality in the state. He was sworn in on January 1, 2006 as the youngest mayor in Edison history.^[1] In 2006, Edison was rated the 28th most livable Small City in America by CNN's Money Magazine.^[2] Prior to becoming Mayor of Edison, Choi worked on education policy as a senior official with the New Jersey Department of Education. He also served in the White House Office of Management and Budget and worked in the private sector as a management consultant for Ernst & Young.

Choi was born in Seoul (Korea) and moved to the U.S. at the age of three. He graduated from J. P. Stevens High School in Edison. Choi earned a Bachelors in Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master in Public Policy and Administration from Columbia University. Choi is also a Leadership New Jersey Fellow (Class of 2003). .

Election 2005

Running on a government platform and a call to reform the Democratic Party, Jun Choi won the June 2005 primary by a 56-44% margin, defeating longtime incumbent Mayor George A. Spadoro. This was the first time in Edison history that a challenger won the Democratic primary. While most of the county and state Democratic organizations endorsed Spadoro, Choi was endorsed by former Senator Bill Bradley, for whom he worked on the 2000 presidential campaign, and was unexpectedly endorsed by a number of traditionally candidate-neutral unions in Edison.

During the primary campaign, Choi's candidacy was at the center of "Jersey Guys" controversy involving local radio shock jocks who made anti-Asian remarks on the air.^[3] The Jersey Guys made racist remarks regarding Choi and Asian Americans on their show over a few hours, in 2005 when Choi first ran for mayor. The Jersey Guys had said on their show that Asian Americans are not “real Americans."

The controversy drew national attention and seven major advertisers withdrew their support of Millennium Radio.

In the ensuing general election, Choi did not face a Republican candidate, but instead faced a former Democrat turned Independent, Bill Stephens. Stephens ran with a "fusion ticket" of four council candidates, with two Democrats and two Republicans. Choi endorsed the incumbent council before defeating Spadoro, and subsequently ran with the organization's candidates for the general election. Choi narrowly defeated Stephens in the mayoral race, although Stephens attempted to challenge the results with claims of voting irregularities. One of "Fusion Ticket" council candidates managed to be elected.

The 2005 Edison Mayoral campaign brought together four key factors that helped Choi win both the primary and general elections. An American Prospect article details these findings. They include 1) attracting new voters into the process, 2) a good government message, 3) anti-Wal-Mart or economic justice theme and 4) an effective Internet-based progressive mobilization. These dynamics, the article argues, can be a model for progressive candidates in developing a winning campaign^[4].

Police

Mobile video recorders (cameras) were installed in every patrol car and sensitivity training has been mandated for every officer in Edison.^{[citation needed]}

On July 4, 2006, an Indian resident was arrested for disorderly conduct by an Edison police officer. Choi stood by the officer involved, who was ultimately cleared, but there have been calls for his resignation from the President of the Police PBA union, Michael Schwarz, because of an investigation Choi requested of the incident. The Indian resident turned out to be an illegal immigrant who has since been deported. Since Schwarz made his claims, an editor of The Sentinel, a local newspaper, called for Michael Schwarz' resignation, asserting that there was no legitimate basis for his call for Choi's resignation.^[5]

Election 2007

For 2007 primary, Choi ran a slate of four council candidates under the "Edison Democratic Party" (Column A) ticket against the incumbent Democratic council (Column B), who were endorsed by state senator Barbara Buono as well as the county organization. Choi's opponent from his 2005 mayoral race, Bill Stephens, also led a slate of candidates under the "Edison Democrats for Change" ticket (Column C). ^[6]

Choi, Buono, and Congressman Frank Pallone participated in a protest against President George W. Bush's visit to Edison for a New Jersey Republican fundraiser. ^[7]

All four of Choi's council candidates won the primary. ^[8][9] All four Democratic candidates subsequently won the general election. In addition, an attempt to create a ward system in Edison and expanding the council to nine members from seven was defeated in two municipal questions. Choi and the Democratic slate campaigned against the ward system. ^[10][11]

On July 27, 2007, Choi endorsed United States Senator Barack Obama for president in the 2008 election, becoming one of the handful of politicians in New Jersey to support Obama whereas most of the party establishment supported then frontrunner Sen. Hillary Clinton. Choi, pledged to Obama, was a candidate for Democratic District Delegate in the Tenth Democratic District in New Jersey, which is composed of the 17th and 18th legislative districts. Senator Buono of the 18th District, pledged to Hillary Clinton, was also a candidate in the same Democratic district for a seat in the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The New Jersey presidential primary, coinciding with Super Tuesday, took place on February 5, 2008. ^[12][13]

Election 2009

For the third straight time, he challenged the local party machine organization, but this time lost re-election to a second term in the 2009 Democratic primary to Antonia Ricigliano During the campaign, Choi attempted to point to three areas of reform under his three and a half years in office. They included his efforts to bring about fiscal responsibility to Edison after years of mismanagement, the implementation of the strongest ethics reforms in Edison's history, and police reform and accountability. While Edison made tremendous strides (property tax increases) since Choi took office in 2005, ultimately the rigorous campaigning of Ricigliano, several complaints of "dirty tricks' by Choi and his campaign (including reports of Choi, himself, electioneering outside of polling places) as well as his alienation of the voters, led to a narrow three point loss for the self-described Edison native.

Choi has failed to discuss the negative impact of his self promoted rise from a part time to full time mayor or his substantial pay increase during his four year stint as mayor. The change in the mayor's status from part-time to full time as well as his substantial pay increase were undertaken by the Choi controlled council rather than voted on by the citizens of Edison in a township wide referendum..

References

External links

• Mayor Choi's homepage
• Mayoral campaign
• Korean American Jun Choi Shines in Local Politics