By David Li, bostonese.com
Boston, Dec. 6, 2013, — In two elections over three days in Boston Chinatown at beginning of this month, Mr. Hung Goon came out as a winner. In the Dec. 3 CCBA-NE election, Hung Good won 23 votes from CCBA-NE board members, edging Simon Chan’s 21 votes. The Chinatown Neighborhood Council (CNC) election on Dec. 1 was not as close. Goon, who was up for reelection, received 1151 votes from Asian residents, and got the most votes among the eight councilors elected or reelected.
Candidates like Nicholas Kang You, a youth worker at Boston Asian: Youth Essential Service (YES), may be one of the reasons of large number of young voters turning out in this year’s CNC election.
(L to R)Kenny Wong, Hung Goon, Rosemary Lam, Sherry Dong and Nicholas You celebrate their victories in CNC elections (photo by David Li).
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“I’m really honored to be elected as CCBA-NE president. I will work hard for all Chinatown residents, including those who didn’t vote for me, ” said Mr. Goon during a phone interview.
Grew up in Boston Chinatown, Hung Goon graduated from Boston public school system and received a bachelor’s degree in geography from UMass in 1983. After working in private businesses for a few years, Goon became a state employee in 1995, and is currently a human resource generalist at Middlesex Sheriff’s Office. |
Besides his day job, Hung Goon has been active in the community. He served as co-moderator for South Cove/Chinatown Neighborhood Council, trustee for Bunker Hill Community College, and president of Goon Shee Association of New England.
“I will work hard to improve business environment in Chinatown, and help create more affordable housing in this neighborhood, ” said Mr. Goon.
A Chinatown resident since 2008, Nicholas You has been involved in Boston’s Chinatown community for over 15 years. He mentioned that he provided services and activities for community teens, and had been working at YES for over 10 years.
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“I want to serve on the CNC because I want to join others to make Chinatown a better place to live and work. I want to work together with business owners, nonprofit organizations, family associations, residents, property owners, and others that are part of our community to keep our community safe, economically strong, clean, vibrant and welcoming, ” said Mr. You on his motivation to run for CNC. |
“As a Chinatown resident and a long time employee at YES, I believe I can contribute to the mission and work of the CNC, and help address youth related issues,” said Mr. You with a smile.
CNC election winners Rosemary Lam, Shirley Dong of Tufts Medical Center, and Kenny Wong were also at the Chinatown Sovereign Bank branch, where the election took place on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013. All Asians living in Massachusetts can vote in the CNC election regardless nationality.