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John Liu Has Dragon Ladies Raising Money For Him
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 1, 2011
Modified Dec 1, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 1, 2011
Modified Dec 1, 2011
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With NYC Comptroller John Liu's campaign finances under scrutiny by the federal authorities (they arrested one fund raiser), the media has been trying to shed light on who has been helping him build a significant war chest to compete in the 2013 mayoral race. And it turns out it's two women—two CHINESE women. And we know how they can be.
Yesterday, the Post had an "exclusive" on Liu's campaign manager Chung Seto: "Chung Seto, Liu’s political adviser and an architect of his aggressive campaign fund-raising, has been at Liu’s side during at least three meetings with investment groups even though she isn’t a city official, according to sources and records from the events." One "top Democrat" says, "She comes across like she’s Liu’s chief-of-staff... I had no idea she was just a political consultant." Another clucked, "Maybe there is an innocent explanation why he brought his fund-raiser to meetings where rich people were pitching business to his government office, but it is hard to see it right now."
Today, the NY Times (which questioned Liu's fundraising last month) has a front-page story about his chief scheduler, Mei-Hua Ru:
She is an almost invisible figure in New York politics, a former insurance agent and single mother who unwinds at karaoke bars in Queens singing Taiwanese pop ballads in a gentle soprano voice.
But Mei-Hua Ru quietly wields considerable power in the city, having guided Comptroller John C. Liu’s rise from an obscure councilman 10 years ago to a major political force today.
It is Ms. Ru who, as a fluent speaker of Mandarin, Taiwanese and Cantonese, has helped connect Mr. Liu to a network of Chinese businessmen and civic leaders who now make up his donor base in the city’s Asian-American enclaves.
And it is Ms. Ru who acts as Mr. Liu’s most aggressive gatekeeper — known as much for locking his critics out of his public events as for making Mr. Liu available to appear at the festivals, parties and other gatherings hosted by his Asian-American supporters.
A Chinatown power broker tells the Times, "She arranges everything, and goes to all the events, not Chung. She’s the one."
The Post's article from today about Seto (she's Liu's appointee to the Museum of Modern Art board, which is "stocked full of New York’s deep-pocketed elite, documents show") mentions Ru's "relentless" fund-raising and has this quote from a Liu spokesman, "[Ru] does not fund-raise during working hours. After work on her own time, she’s a volunteer for the campaign."
Tagged
campaign finance
chinese
chung seto
city comptroller
comptroller liu
fund raising
mei hua ru
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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