Julie Won
Julie Won | |
---|---|
Personal details | |
Born | [1] South Korea | April 17, 1990
Political party | Democratic |
Residence | Sunnyside, Queens |
Education | Syracuse University (BA) |
Website | Campaign website |
Julie Won (born April 17, 1990) is a Korean American politician from New York City. She is the Democratic nominee for the 26th district of the New York City Council – tantamount to election in the heavily Democratic district, which covers the Queens neighborhoods of Sunnyside, Long Island City, Woodside, and Astoria.
Early life and education[]
Won was born in South Korea and immigrated with her family to Queens in 1998, when she was eight years old. Her parents, who had left their jobs in South Korea after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, both worked in local small businesses.[2] Won received her undergraduate degree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.[3]
Career[]
Prior to entering politics, Won spent most of her career as a consultant at IBM.[3]
2021 City Council campaign[]
In October 2020, Won announced her 2021 campaign for the 26th district of the New York City Council, held by term-limited Democrat Jimmy Van Bramer.[4] Won had been serving as a member of Queens Community Board 2 for most of the year, and cited the difficulties her family faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for her campaign. Ideologically a progressive, Won emphasized her work in the technology sector and her support for citywide free WiFi, alongside other left-wing policy priorities.[5]
Won faced 14 other candidates in the Democratic primary, many of whom also ran on progressive platforms, with no clear frontrunner among them. In part because of the size and volatility of the field, many would-be endorsers chose to remain on the sidelines, while others – including Van Bramer and the influential Working Families Party – coalesced around New York City Census deputy director Amit Singh Bagga.[6]
On election night, Won finished neck-and-neck with Bagga, receiving 18.5 percent of the vote to Bagga's 17.7 percent; every other candidate lagged behind in the single digits.[7] Won received a major boost, however, when absentee ballots and ranked-choice votes were counted, and prevailed over Bagga 57-43% in the 15th round of ranked-choice tabulation; she formally declared victory on July 6.[8][9] She faces minimal opposition in the November general election, and is expected to win easily.
Personal life[]
Won lives in Sunnyside, Queens, with her husband.[10]
References[]
- ^ @juliewon2021 (April 17, 2019). "Today is my birthday! thankful to be vaccinated so that I could celebrate w family & loved ones this year! come join me at 12pm to celebrate with some boba". Twitter. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ Michael Dorgan (October 20, 2020). "Long Island City Resident Julie Won to Run for 26th District Council Seat". Queens Post. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ a b "Meet Julie". Julie Won for City Council. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ Angélica Acevedo (October 20, 2020). "Tech change agent Julie Won announces candidacy for western Queens City Council seat". QNS. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ "Julie's Vision". Julie Won for City Council. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ Allie Griffin (February 25, 2021). "Working Families Party Rejects Queens Chapter Pick in Western Queens Council Race". LIC Post. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ Allie Griffin (June 23, 2021). "Julie Won and Amit Bagga Lead Pack in 15-Person Race for the District 26 Council Seat". Sunnyside Post. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ Kayla Levy (July 6, 2021). "Julie Won Wins LIC's 26th District City Council Primary Race". Patch.com. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ @juliewon2021 (July 6, 2021). "Julie won, WE WON!!". Twitter. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ Christian Murray (January 14, 2020). "PODCAST: We Talk to Julie Won, Candidate for the 26th District Council Seat". LIC Post. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- Living people
- 1990 births
- Politicians from Queens, New York
- Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs alumni
- IBM employees
- New York (state) Democrats
- American women of Korean descent in politics
- South Korean emigrants to the United States
- Asian-American people in New York (state) politics
- 21st-century American women politicians
- Women in New York (state) politics
- 21st-century American politicians