He loves them, but he doesn’t love them.
Queens Rep. Ron Kim, who once vowed to defund the police, has recently started touting his bona fide support for police to his constituents.
Kim, a progressive Democrat who has spent 10 years in Albany, is running for the June 25 Democratic primary from small business owner Yi Andy Chen, who has $227,149 in campaign funds. He finds himself facing a tough challenge — significantly more than Mr. Kim’s $136,367. His third candidate, Dao Ying, is also seeking the nomination.
Amid a surge in anti-Asian hate crimes, Kim assured regional leaders that he was on top of the situation.
“People are feeling unsafe. Therefore, we agree with the governor’s proposal to strengthen funding for state police.” Kim told voters. At the March Budget Forum. “We’re adding nearly $10 billion for emergency services, state police, and homeland security. That’s $10 billion to keep our communities safe, and we’re directing a lot of that money to different areas. We’re going to fight to make sure our community feels safe moving forward.”
In December 2022, he signed the letter Along with my colleagues in Queens, I called on Mayor Adams to send more police to the northeastern part of the borough to stem the rise in rapes, robberies, and robberies.
He claimed to be a staunch defender of police in the face of scrutiny from voters. At a re-election campaign event in his Flushing office in February, Kim emphasized that he has “repeatedly fought for funding for the police. He is not opposed to police, as has been rumored.” “And I have no intention of revoking his cash bail and encouraging a crime,” he said in Chinese. World Journal reported.
However, a review of his record by the Post shows that Kim supported police early in his career but made an abrupt U-turn after the death of George Floyd in May 2020. There is.
“40 years of exploitation from the bottom + militarization of police = criminalization of poverty,” he said in a June 2020 X-post, in which he “Immediate” funding suspension Termination of NYPD and Termination of Qualified Immunity.
“When I say ‘defund,’ I’m also referring to the military-prison industrial complex, the entire ecosystem. [sic] It’s invested in violence,” added in the same thread.
When the Minneapolis City Council voted to defund the police, it began a wave of violent crime that continues to this day. Kim spat, “This is how we truly honor #GeorgeFloyd, not water down legislation with input from police unions. Instead, we need a complete transformation towards a #CaringSociety.”
Kim in the National Assembly supported the legislation Decriminalize the possession and sale of hypodermic needles and syringes. end cash bailand Decriminalize prostitution.
Critics like veteran Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkoff said Kim’s defunding and anti-government stances put him on the “wrong side of history.”
“Voters aren’t stupid. The fact that an incumbent is having a primary election means the people are angry,” Scheinkopf said. “This is the final judgment of the enduring political class for putting New Yorkers at risk.”
In a statement to the Post, Kim was defiant.
“Like all good New Yorkers, I have called for accountability from time to time, and that goes hand in hand with improving public safety,” he said. “I have a record of calling for more police patrols in the subways and more funding to investigate hate crimes and crimes that target older New Yorkers.”
