Councilman Peter Koo to switch sides, citing Republican infighting
Peter Koo. Peter Koo's facebook page
5:40 pm Jan. 19, 2012
Republican city councilman Peter Koo will switch parties and become a Democrat next week, a person close to the freshman lawmaker confirmed to Capital this afternoon.
Koo's switch, rumored for months but first reported by the New York Times this afternoon, will officially take place next week at the Board of Elections office in Queens.
Koo, who represents a heavily Democratic district in Flushing, "has been thinking about it for at least the last six months," the source said. "He's always been an independent guy. He raised money for Governor Cuomo."
The source said the driving factor in pushing Koo—one of only five Republicans in the 51-member City Council—out of the G.O.P. was the "infighting at the Republican Party."
The Queens County Republican Organization has been in a protracted fight with one of Koo's colleague's, Councilman Eric Ulrich, whose chief of staff, Bart Haggerty, and political mentor, Tom Ognibene, have long feuded with the current Queens County G.O.P. leader, Phil Ragusa.
Koo had limited political experience before leaving his pharmacy business to run for the Council, and he never fully integrated into the Republican fold, sources said, in part because of his more liberal stance on immigration. The infighting, according to one source, prevented Koo from overcoming some of the ideological differences he had with the G.O.P. leadership and base.
"The party is supposed to help the candidate," the source close to Koo said. "The candidate is not supposed to help the party."
The Republican leader in the City Council, James Oddo of Staten Island, told me it was too early to comment on potential party changes, but added, "Peter Koo is a gentleman and earnest Council member. He is, and will continue to be, my friend."
The person close to Koo also said, politically, it just makes sense for the lawmaker to become a Democrat. He narrowly won his seat in 2009 after the Democratic candidate, Yen Chou, squeaked out a narrow victory in a crowded primary, then failed to unite supporters who had backed the other Democratic candidates.
Chou's efforts were hindered because she did not have the Working Families Party line, which went to another candidate who did not actively campaign after losing the Democratic primary.
