CHINATOWN — A Chinatown banker is eyeing Rep. Nydia Velazquez’s Congressional seat, hoping to beat the longtime incumbent in the Democratic primary next year.
Yungman Lee, the 63-year-old president and CEO of Global Bank and a former deputy superintendent of the New York State Banking Department, announced his candidacy Wednesday for the 7th Congressional District, which covers several communities in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, including Chinatown, parts of the Lower East Side, Red Hook, Williamsburg and Ridgewood.
“Our 7th District needs a change for the better. We need new faces, new ideas and new energy,” he said at a press conference, calling his opponent “tired” and “out of touch” after representing the area for nearly 25 years.
Lee, who moved to The Bronx from China when he was 16 years old, highlighted his immigrant history, as well as his law and banking careers, while acknowledging that he had never run for political office.
“I’m qualified precisely because I’m not a politician," he said. "People are sick and tired of those non-productive, career politicians. We have enough of them."
Lee also served as program director of the Chinatown Health Clinic, now known as the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, and was chairman of its board of directors, according to his campaign biography. He has also been a board member of local banking associations, as well as a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the bio said.
Velazquez, who has served 12 terms in Congress, plans to run for reelection, her office confirmed.
"The Congresswoman believes if she does her job well, residents of New York's 7th District will recognize it,” a spokesman said in a statement.
“That's why she's focused on passing her new law to provide additional assistance to businesses and homeowners harmed by Sandy, working to ensure NYCHA funds are spent in a way that create jobs locally, holding Wall Street accountable through legislation to bring transparency to hedge funds, and promoting her bill to reduce gun violence, among many other efforts."
The primary will take place June 28, 2016.
