Endorsements | Asianwavealliance

November 2023 General Elections

Read our press release: https://www.asianwavealliance.org/post/asian-wave-alliance-announces-endorsements-for-the-2023-nyc-general-election

September 2023 Special Election

Read our press release: https://www.asianwavealliance.org/post/asian-wave-alliance-endorses-david-hirsch-for-assembly-district-27-special-election-on-september-12

June 2023 Primary Elections

Read our press release: https://www.asianwavealliance.org/post/asian-wave-alliance-announces-endorsements-for-the-nyc-june-2023-primary

AWA Statement on George Santos (May 12, 2023)

Asian Wave Alliance (AWA) makes endorsements based on evaluating candidates’ positions on issues we believe impact the local Asian American community such as public safety, quality education, and Asian-American Civil Rights. AWA endorsed then-candidate George Santos for Congressional District 3 for the November 2022 election based on publicly available information that was available to us at the time, and like the local Democratic and Republican party we were also surprised to learn about fraudulent claims and activities that was brought to our attention for the first time by the New York Times’ article in December 2022 (post-election) which have since led to his indictment on 13 counts of fraud and money laundering. While our endorsement of George Santos expired after the November election, we would like to make clear that AWA will not consider his candidacy in any future endorsements.

2022 General Election

Asian Wave Alliance Endorses Lee Zeldin for Governor and State Candidates Who Prioritize Safety and Prosperity for Our Community

October 4, 2022 (New York, NY) The Asian community has so much at stake this November. We face ever-present fear for our safety, attacks on our children's educational opportunities, economic desperation of small businesses and property owners, and the highest cost of living in our lifetime in New York City, we must vote for change.

We are pleased to announce our endorsements for the November general election. For Governor, we enthusiastically endorse Lee Zeldin for the changes he will bring to make our city safer and prioritize law-abiding residents above criminals. Our children will have equal access to high quality education and he will protect our Specialized High Schools. Zeldin will cut taxes and make NYC more livable and affordable. We endorse Alison Esposito for Lt. Governor. We believe her lifetime law enforcement experience will truly make a difference in addressing crime.

Vincent Lu, cofounder of Asian Wave Alliance and a community activist in Brooklyn, said “Crime is the top concern not only for Asians but for all New Yorkers. Lee Zeldin and Alison Esposito have a public safety plan to address surging crime and put communities before criminals. We can’t live our daily lives worried about being the next crime victim.”

Asian Wave Alliance is endorsing candidates who participated in our endorsement process, align best with our core values and will serve our community well if elected. For New York State Senate and Assembly, we endorse the following candidates: George Santos for Congressional District 3, Nicole Malliotakis for Congressional District 11, Stefano Forte for Senate District 11 (Qns), Joseph Addabbo for Senate District 15 (Qns), Vito LaBella for Senate District 17 (Bklyn), Maria Danzilo for Senate District 47 (Manh), Nily Rozic for Assembly District 25 (Qns), Michael Conigliaro for Assembly District 28 (Qns), Sharon Liao for Assembly District 40 (Qns), Alec Brook-Krasny for Assembly District 46 (Bklyn), William Colton for Assembly District 47 (Bklyn), Lester Chang for Assembly District 49 (Bklyn), and Sam Pirozzolo Assembly District 63 (S.I.).

Yiatin Chu, President of Asian Wave said “AWA encourages everyone to get out and vote this November. We need to bring back common sense and make New York a place we’re proud to call home. Asian votes, especially in competitive districts, can impact the outcomes of elections and send the message to electeds that our community matters.”

August 2022 Primary

Asian Wave Alliance Announces Endorsements for the August 2022 Primary

August 5, 2022 (New York, NY) Asian Wave Alliance endorses candidates in key races where Asian representation is important. For US Congressional races, we endorse Joshua Lafazan for the NY3 Democratic Primary (Queens/Nassau), Maud Maron for the NY10 Democratic Primary (Manhattan/Brooklyn) and Nicole Malliotakis for the NY11 Republican Primary (Brooklyn/Staten Island).

For the New York State Senate Democratic primaries, we endorse Joseph Addabbo for the SD15 (Queens), Danyela Souza Egorov for SD27 (Manhattan), Maria Danzilo for SD47 and Elizabeth Crowley for SD59 (Queens/Brooklyn/Manhattan).

The endorsement process consisted of completing AWA Candidate Questionnaires, reviewing candidate’s public comments, voting records when available, and meeting with us and taking part in our forums. Club members deliberated and cast their votes; majority votes in each race earned the club’s endorsement.

“We founded Asian Wave Alliance to help voters make informed decisions. I am confident we endorsed candidates who align best with the priorities of our Asian American communities on public safety, inflation and tax relief, access to equal opportunities in education, and quality of life in our neighborhoods. Because of the chaotic redistricting, the anticipated low turnout for this second primary in August for the Congressional and State Senate races makes it all the more critical that we go to the polls and cast our votes.” says Yiatin Chu, President of Asian Wave Alliance.

Yi Fang Chen, First Vice President and co-founder added, "While we are excited to see more Asian American candidates running and highly supportive of this, I am pleased we focused on the platforms, positions, and experience of the candidates who will best represent our concerns, and endorsed accordingly. We need to not only be more engaged in our democracy but also be more discerning in who we support.”

The election for these Congressional and State Senate races will be on August 23. We urge voters to turn out and support our endorsed candidates.

June 2022 Primary

Asian Wave Alliance Announces Endorsements for the June Primary

June 6, 2022 (New York, NY) Asian Wave Alliance endorses candidates in key races where Asian representation is important. In the governor race, we endorse Tom Suozzi for the Democratic primary and Lee Zeldin for the Republican primary. In the state Assembly races with primaries, we endorse Ethan Felder for AD28, Ramón Cando for AD30 and Kenneth Chiu for AD40 – all districts in Queens. We endorse Erik Frankel for AD51 in Brooklyn and Denny Salas for AD65 in lower Manhattan.

The endorsement process consisted of completing AWA Candidate Questionnaires, candidate’s public comments and voting records when available, and meeting with us and taking part in our forums. Club members deliberated and cast their votes; majority votes in each race earned the club’s endorsement.

Amy Tse, treasurer and co-founder said “We are pleased to complete our first club endorsements. Our Questionnaire reflected issues that matter to our community the most and we are glad candidates were earnestly sharing their positions with us.”

“Asian Wave Alliance did the work. New Yorkers can vote for our endorsed candidates with confidence knowing the candidates align with the priorities of Asian families - public safety, high quality public education, economic prosperity and concern for immigrant struggles.” says Yiatin Chu, President of Asian Wave Alliance.

The primary election for governor and other statewide races, and for the state Assembly, will be held on June 28th. We urge voters to turn out and support our endorsed candidates.

This year, a second primary election will take place on August 23rd for the US Congress and state Senate. Asian Wave Alliance will share endorsements for key races in July.