To Lee Tu, the 36-year-old Republican making his second run for North Hempstead Town supervisor, the immediate future looks bright indeed. It’s a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in early October, the general election is weeks away, and he’s enjoying himself at the Chi Dining Lounge, an upscale restaurant in Westbury hosting his campaign fundraiser.
Parked out in front is a maroon pickup truck with Tu’s name printed in big, bold red letters on a sign. Inside the lounge, a crowd is starting to build. A steady stream of adults stop by Tu’s table to shake his hand, pat him on the shoulder, clap his back and wish him luck. Some have envelopes to hand him, and a word of encouragement to share. He’ll need everything he can get. His campaign coffers pale in comparison to the incumbent’s. As of the latest filing, Supervisor Jon Kaiman, a Democrat, had reported $475,512.67 in contributions; Tu had $22,306.97.
In 2009, Tu came within single digits of unseating his rival: he’d gotten 46 percent of the vote, while Kaiman had won his fourth term with 54 percent.
Asked why he’s challenging Kaiman again, Tu leans forward to make his point, and for a moment his pleasant, engaging grin vanishes as he turns somber. He firmly believes that it’s time for new blood.
“My focus is on the town,” Tu says, listing what’s wrong with Kaiman’s tenure running North Hempstead. “I don’t think he’s done a good job.”
Tu accuses Kaiman of raising taxes “40 percent,” increasing the town’s indebtedness to record levels (“90 percent of our general fund is going to pay off debt service”), failing to fix the “corruption in the buildings department,” which had led to the arrests of five people (the building commissioner, the deputy commissioner and three inspectors were nabbed five years ago for taking bribes among other malfeasances), causing a huge delay in issuing building permits, and trying to acquire the run-down Roslyn Country Club, which would provide an exclusive tennis and pool club for perhaps 1,000 nearby residents (“at $2,000 a membership”) and prove too costly to benefit the town as a whole.
Kaiman, 49, counters that North Hempstead has “the highest bond rating in our history,” and property taxes have not gone up nearly as much as Tu claims. Kaiman hopes to acquire the Roslyn club because the 10.5-acre parcel is one of the last open spaces left in town; and if he can figure out how to restore its recreational facilities without severely impacting the town’s taxpayers, he intends to do it, adding that the membership fees might range from $750 to $1,000, half of what nearby private clubs charge. As for the buildings department, Kaiman says that Tu “doesn’t know what he’s talking about” because Kaiman never hired those disgraced former employees. He says he’s cleaned house and put in place a “system that works the same for everybody.” As for those complaining about delays in their getting building permits, he says, “I understand they’re frustrated and they’re blaming the buildings department. [But] it’s not because we don’t know what we’re doing; it’s because they don’t get away with stuff anymore.”
Tu, who got his degree in accounting and finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business, is director of administration at Cornick, Garber & Sandler, an accounting firm based in Manhattan, and president of the Albertson Republican Club in North Hempstead. He hasn’t held elective office since high school but political activism seems to run in the family. His great grandfather was one of the “six gentlemen” helping Sun Yat-sen end dynasty rule in China; his grandfather on his mother’s side served in Taiwan’s national assembly.
Born in Taiwan, Tu came to the U.S. with his mother when he was a year old to join his father who was in graduate school in West Virginia studying to be a civil engineer. Later, the family moved to Maryland. His father was a delegate to a national convention—as a Democrat. After Tu’s dad died, Tu’s mother brought him and his younger sister to New York City where she had relatives. While at NYU, Tu had a summer internship that seemed to set him on his present course. He was accepted as an Eisenhower Fellow at the Republican National Committee and worked closely with Jeanie Austin, the co-chairman. “Just to see her in action was an eye-opener,” he recalls.
Five years ago, Tu got his first taste of retail politics running against Nassau Legis. Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn). He learned from his defeat, Tu says, and when he was approached by his town’s political leader, Frank Maroney, to aim for the supervisor post, he thought he would try.
Democrats dominate North Hempstead in party registration, but Tu’s GOP backers express confidence that their candidate can benefit from President Barack Obama’s demoralized base, which contrasts with the enthusiasm of Republicans and conservatives.
“There was a malaise” among Democrats the last time he ran, Kaiman admits, but he says his supporters are energized again. As for the unconfirmed reports that Kaiman would use his town as a stepping stone to run for Nassau County executive, he demurs. “What I’ve learned in this business is that there is one election at a time.”
Tu says the closeness of his first race against Kaiman was a “shock” heard ’round the town, because, as he put it, “nobody’s ever come close to this guy!” This time Tu thinks he can do more than come in second place.
“Absolutely!” he says with a smile.