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#Lester Chang likely will survive NY Assembly Dems’ bid to oust him

“Lester Chang likely will survive NY Assembly Dems’ bid to oust him”

Republican Lester Chang appears likely to survive a formal challenge to his eligibility to represent southern Brooklyn in the state Assembly though the Democratic supermajority has yet to make a final decision.

“It’s hard not to seat someone when a good portion of the conference doesn’t agree,” one Democratic member of the chamber told The Post on Thursday.

Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) has scheduled a meeting for Friday for Democrats to discuss the matter after the first official day of the 2023 legislative session passed with Chang casting procedural votes like any other member of the chamber.

A report commissioned by the Judiciary Committee that was publicly released on Dec. 31 detailed evidence showing Chang did not become a legal Brooklyn resident in time to run in November 2022 to represent District 49 that covers parts of Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights and Bay Ridge.

Chang would represent southern Brooklyn in the state Assembly.
AP

Chang has maintained that his main residence was in Brooklyn while supporters say any challenge to his eligibility should have been made well before he beat longtime Democratic Assemblyman Peter Abbate 48.6% to 47.49%.

The embattled Republican has also kept a rent-regulated apartment in Manhattan despite state rules requiring that be his primary residence.

Residency concerns aside, some Democrats have big concerns about booting Chang at this point given fierce opposition among Asian Americans outrages over the possibility of losing one of few legislators representing their community in Albany.

Assemblymember Lester Chang, R-Brooklyn, takes the oath of office in the Assembly Chamber.
Assemblymember Lester Chang, R-Brooklyn, takes the oath of office in the Assembly Chamber.

Chang, R-Brooklyn, takes a photo of himself at his seat in the Assembly Chamber.
Chang, R-Brooklyn, takes a photo of himself at his seat in the Assembly Chamber.


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But a Heastie spokesman said Thursday “no decision has been made.”

“There’s a sense of the Constitution needs to be respected, but I’ll also say I don’t want to make it seem like it’s been lost on the members that an election did happen,” Heastie told WNYC Wednesday.

There is some precedent for waiting on a decision considering how the Assembly expelled several socialists members in 1920 months into their terms in office.

But people on both sides of the aisle say the longer Democrats wait on acting — the more likely Chang ends up serving a full term in office.

“Blocking his path to being seated isn’t a precedent that should be set,” Assembly Republican Minority Leader William Barclay (R-Pulaski) said Thursday. “I know this was not an easy process for him, but he deserves to celebrate an historic victory.”

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