“We need leaders that are instrumental in getting parents back to work, struggling businesses to get back on their feet, and most importantly, helping our communities heal,” says Lee.
City council candidate Linda Lee, a Democrat running for City Council in Queens District 23 (Bayside Hills, Bellerose, Douglaston, Floral Park, Fresh Meadows, Glen Oaks, Hollis, Hollis Hills, Holliswood, Little Neck, New Hyde Park, Oakland Gardens, Queens Village), officially kicked off her campaign by releasing her first campaign video on Monday.
A parent to two young children and full-time President and CEO of a NYC-based nonprofit, Lee would be the first Korean-American elected to the City Council and the first woman to hold this seat if elected.
“I’m a second-generation Korean-American. A proud daughter of small business owners. Where we come from matters, but not nearly as much as where we are going. Our normal lives have been completely upended by a global pandemic. In the midst of it, I still had to juggle my responsibilities. I had to help my 6-year-old with remote learning, tend to my toddler, all while running a large community-centered non-profit organization,” said Lee in the ad.
The video discusses Lee’s history in the community, the challenges families have faced during COVID, and her priorities in the City Council.
“We need leaders who understand what safeguarding our quality of life means. It means providing for our seniors, keeping our streets safe, and ensuring our teachers and students have the resources to learn safely and stay healthy,” said Lee. “Eastern Queens has always been overlooked and too often ignored. We deserve better.”
Lee is a native New Yorker, 11-year resident of Oakland Gardens, an active member of Community Board 11 and the School Leadership Team at her son’s school, and is a former Commissioner of the New York City Civic Engagement Commission. As the President and CEO of Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York (KCS), Linda led the creation of community-informed solutions to improving the daily quality of life for thousands of community members through programming in the areas of education, senior care, mental health, healthcare access, economic and workforce development, and immigration services. In 2014, KCS was named a “Champion of Change” by the White House for its work in advancing healthcare access in the Korean community. And in 2015, KCS became the first and only New York State-licensed mental health clinic operated by a nonprofit serving the Korean American community. In recognition of her work at KCS, Lee received the Schneps Communications’ “Stars Under 40” Award and New York Nonprofit Media’s “40 Under 40” Award. Most importantly, Linda is the mother of two young children and the daughter of immigrant small business owners.
