I write to thank those NY-based Guyanese and others who came out to vote for my candidate, John Liu, enabling him to win the Primary for the vacant position of NYC Comptroller which is like the Auditor General, Accountant, and Bookkeeper of the city’s finances. Liu oversees the city’s annual US $60 billion plus budget and the investment of city employees’ $80 billion plus pension contributions.

Liu is a friend of Guyanese New Yorkers and other immigrant groups. He has taken up several immigrant issues (including bias crimes) during his tenure as City Council member and has sponsored Guyanese celebrations in the City Council (City Hall) including Diwali, Phagwah, Caribbean Indian Arrival, and Guyana’s independence celebrations. He also participates in the carnival celebrations in Brooklyn.

Liu is the first Asian to win a primary for a city wide office. Several Indo-Guyanese (who are defined as Asians in America and placed under Asian Americans in the national census) ran for City Council and state offices but were unsuccessful.

Liu was first elected to office in 2001 as a City Council member from the heavily Asian concentrated neighborhood of Flushing where several Guyanese and South Asian nationals are settled. Flushing is like a mini-Chinatown with a multitude of nationals with beautiful Hindu and Buddhist temples and Masjids. I lived there with other Guyanese for almost a year and thousands of Guyanese from other neighborhoods would visit Flushing’s beautiful parks for picnics. Incidentally, before Richmond Hill became the hub of Guyanese business activities20in the late 1980s, many Guyanese shoppers would trek to Flushing for their massala, curry powder, religious paraphernalia, and other Guyanese items.

Liu regularly visits Richmond Hill for community events. He was a Chief Guest at the last Phagwah Parade and has been invited for this year’s Diwali Parade. The Indo-Guyanese community often donates heftily to his campaign most recently last week for his run off campaign. In fact, politicians from the Bronx and Brooklyn often come to Richmond Hill for campaign donations and leave with heavy bags. The Governor of NY, Dave Patterson, also received campaign funds from Richmond Hill.

Liu won Tuesday’s run off primary winning 56% of the votes but received only 101K votes in a low turnout of about 9%. He attributed his victory to labor unions and the ethnic newspapers which endorsed him, including Caribbean New Yorker. I penned an article in favor of Liu.

Having now won the Primary to be the Democrat’s standard bearer in the general election on November 3, Liu needs the community’s support. I urge Guyanese-New Yorkers to join the campaign as volunteers. We can be sure that he will continue to celebrate the city’s diversity and we can look at him as a friend in a higher office.
VISHNU BISRAM