Young Kim, who is no stranger to the political scene, is planning to run for the 65th Assembly District in 2014 when that seat will be up for re-election.
The seat is currently held by Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (D).
Young Kim, who is no stranger to the political scene, is planning to run for the 65th Assembly District in 2014 when that seat will be up for re-election.
The seat is currently held by Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (D).
Kim has worked tirelessly with Congressman Ed Royce's office for 23 years.
The 65th Assembly District represents the city of Stanton and other local cities such as Fullerton, Buena Park, La Palma, Cypress, and West Anaheim.
“I want to offer my special thanks to my boss, Representative Ed Royce, for encouraging me to run for this seat,” Kim said during a fundraiser/dinner held in Fullerton recently. “Who would have thought when I started working for then State Senator Ed Royce some 20 plus years ago, that I would be running for an office myself? I got my feet in the door, largely thanks to my husband Charles, who first introduced me to Ed.”
Kim said before she met Royce, she was working in the private sector, first as a financial analyst at First Interstate Bancorp, doing mergers and acquisitions and then as a controller in a garment manufacturing firm in Los Angeles.
“It was around that time, in the early 1990s, I met Ed and the rest is history,” she said.
During the past two decades, working alongside Royce, Kim has done extensive community outreach, working with various organizations and community leaders and covering basically every event in the cities Royce's district covered.
“As a congressional staffer, I have done extensive work providing constituent services, assisting people from all the different communities that make up our diverse district – not just the Asian community, but all communities,” said Kim, whose ancestral background is Korean.
Kim said she understands the problems when constituents come to elected officials for help and that she knows where to go and who to ask to resolve the issues.
“I know, because I have personally handled hundreds of their cases,” she said. “The bottom line is that I know the district and will be a compassionate and effective representative who knows how to get things done.”
Kim thanked those on her committee who have offered their political wisdom and for being mentors. They include Royce, Board of Equalization Vice Chair Michelle Steel, Senator Bob Huff, Assemblyman Curt Hagman, Assemblyman Don Wager, Assemblyman Travis Allen, numerous council members and Dr. Mike Hong for serving as her finance committee chair and helping her raise money.
Also, she thanked her co-chairs for their generous contributions and the community leaders for their strong endorsement and financial support.
“To my husband, Charles, and my family, I thank you for your strong endorsement,” Kim said. “But most importantly, I thank you, my family, for your unconditional love and understanding of my crazy work hours.”
Kim and her family are long-time homeowners in North Orange County, currently residing in Fullerton.
Kim said the fundraiser dinner was successful, with nearly 400 people attending and cheering her on as she prepares to throw her hat in the race for the State Assembly.
She said she is looking to focus on getting the house back in order and restoring sanity and common-sense management practices in Sacramento.
“Asian-Americans are a naturally conservative voting population with shared conservative values – family-oriented, faith-based households,” Kim said. “We are highly entrepreneurial, hard-working middle class, small business owners.”\
Kim said if voters send her to Sacramento next year, she will work on improving the economy and making California business-friendly, so businesses can grow and create jobs.
“My goal as your new Assemblyperson will be to make our state business-friendly by cutting red tape and regulations. Let’s bring the gold back to the Golden State,” she said.
Citing an example, Kim said that it currently takes 60 days in Texas to get a building permit; 63 days in China; 125 days in Russia; and 285 days in Southern California for a company such as Carl's Jr. that was started right here in Orange County.
Another goal of Kim’s is to improve educational opportunities for all students, so they can be prepared to compete and prosper in their chosen fields.
“Instead of wasting $100 billion on a bullet train from Los Angeles to San Francisco, we should be investing that money into classrooms and students,” Kim said.
She also wants to make public safety a priority once again and stop early-release of dangerous criminals, saying that keeping people safe from crime is the government’s most important responsibility and that releasing criminals early or sending them to already overcrowded county jails, puts everyone at risk.
“As an Asian American, I fit the demographics of this new 65th Assembly District which is approximately one-third Asian,” she said. “I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work; let’s do this together.”
