Lester Chang will not face expulsion by a vote by the Democrats in New York’s Assembly. Chang, a Republican, won his seat in the Assembly after defeating veteran politician Peter Abbate Jr. in District 49, part of which falls in Brooklyn.
Statement by Speaker Heastie over Expulsion
“After careful review, the vast majority of our members have significant concerns about the truthfulness of Mr. Chang’s documentary evidence and testimony regarding his compliance with the New York State Constitution,” Speaker Carl Heastie said in a statement released Friday, January 6. “Although it is clear that there were more than enough votes to expel Mr. Chang, we will not do so at this time,” Heastie said in reference to the expulsion.
However, Chang’s victory was met with numerous questions regarding his area of residence. Democrats considered expulsion as many questioned whether he had lived in Brooklyn long enough to stand as a candidate representing the area. Election laws say Chang had to have been a Brooklyn resident in the 12 months leading up to the election. “I am a Brooklynite,” he said at a hearing in December 2022. Chang has indicated his address is a Brooklyn home that belongs to his uncle and mother. He claimed that he started living there in the years after his wife’s death in 2019.
Democrats’ Reasons for Expulsion
Despite Chang’s Brooklynite claims, according to Gothamist, in October 2021 he voted from a Manhattan address. In 2020 and 2021, he sought to run for office in Manhattan. A report compiled by Stanley Schlein under the direction of the Assembly Judiciary Committee found that Chang held a lease on an apartment in Manhattan. The report also showed that Chang was a “visitor” at his mother’s house. It is reported that he also used the same address when applying for a housing allowance after being called upon for National Guard duty in June 2022, which supports the grounds for expulsion. Chang claims the apartment in Manhattan is vacant, which may be a problem for him in the future. It is a rent-stabilized apartment and regulations say it has to be occupied.
One of the reasons the Democrats did not hold a vote for the expulsion of Chang from his position is that they did not want to test the wrath of Asian Americans who had expressed outrage at the possibility that Chang could be ousted from his position. Some members of the majority party in the New York Assembly do not want to politically alienate the Asian American community.
Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay felt that Chang had taken his rightful place in the Assembly. “Any attempt to expel Mr. Chang from the Assembly and unilaterally deny the will of the voters in Brooklyn would set a terrible precedent,” he said as a comment about the proposed expulsion.
Despite the fact that there was still the possibility of Chang facing the consequences of his actions and subsequent expulsion, he vowed to do his job as best as he could. Majority Leader Heastie’s spokesperson said the results of the aforementioned report will be forwarded to state Attorney General Letitia James and federal prosecutors. “My Brooklyn neighbors desperately need relief from New York’s high crime rates, the exorbitant cost of living, and nation-leading taxes,” Chang said in a statement. “I will also lead the fight in Albany for merit-based public school opportunities for hardworking students,” he added.
