| 10/21/2004 |
| Graves courts Chinese vote with Flushing biz group visit |
| By Sophia Chang |
As Election Day neared, Congressional hopeful Stephen Graves has reached out to the Flushing Chinese Business Association last week at its Main Street offices, presenting his conservative platform to the group.
"Today we're very happy that Graves visits our community," said Peter Koo, president of the business association at 40-48 Main St. Although the association is non-partisan and does not formally endorse political candidates, Koo said of Graves "he is young, energetic and ready for the job."Graves is the Republican candidate for the 5th Congressional District seat against U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside), who has held the office for 21 years. The district includes most of north Queens and parts of Nassau County. Graves won the Sept. 14 Republican primary against Gonzalo "Jun" Policarpio, a retired Immigration and Naturalization Service customs agent who is still running on an independent line, For All Americans. Graves said he supports preservation of marriage between men and women, reforming education through charter schools and the No Child Left Behind act, but he spent most of his time with the business association speaking about taxation. We have some of the highest tax rates in the country," Graves said at the Oct. 13 meeting.. "Big business has people to support them. No one is speaking out for small businesses." He added that he would support simplifying tax filing for small business owners through a special tax designation. In addition, Graves said he would like to see more enterprise zones in the district to encourage small business startups. When asked how he viewed the future of Flushing, Graves said he was concerned about the lack of parking in the area, particularly with the recent proposal to convert a large municipal lot into a office park. He said that if elected, he would bring in federal funding for more parking structures in Flushing. The Tennessee native, who runs his own biotechnology company, tried to connect with the Chinese community in Flushing by emphasizing his experience working in Asia. "I've lived in Indonesia and Singapore, traveled all over Asia," he said, noting hat he had visited Taiwan earlier this year. "I want to represent the values of our community," he said. "We all are pretty traditional in social and fiscal issues." Reach reporter Sophia Chang by e-mail at news@timesledger.com, or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146. ©Times Ledger 2006 | ||||||
