John Liu

In the November 2018 general election, Liu won a four-way race with 54% of the vote, defeating Republican Vickie Paladino with 24% of the vote, Avella, running on two third-party lines with 21% of the vote, and third-party candidate Simon Minching with 1% of the vote, becoming one of the two first Asian Americans in the New York Senate.

In September 2014, Liu ran in the Democratic primary race for New York State Senate District 11 (which includes some of the same neighborhoods as City Council District 20), losing to incumbent Tony Avella 47-52%. Liu and Avella had previously served together in the City Council, representing neighboring districts, and the two had a strained relationship.

Liu criticized Avella for joining the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), a group of senate Democrats that allied themselves with the Senate Republican Conference, creating a coalition that controlled the Senate. At the time, Democrats held a numerical majority in the Senate, but the IDC-Republican coalition prevented Democrats from holding power, while allowing Avella and other IDC members to gain committee chairships. Avella criticized Liu over the latter's campaign finance scandal, Liu's failure to pay fines from his earlier campaign for Comptroller, and Liu's record as Comptroller. Liu was initially supported by the Working Families Party, by the Queens County Democratic Party and by several unions, but these organizations largely dropped their support of Liu when Jeff Klein, leader of the Independent Democratic Conference, announced that its members would rejoin the mainline Democratic Conference after the 2014 elections. However, after Republicans gained an outright majority in the State Senate in the 2014 elections, the Independent Democratic Conference continued to caucus with the Republicans.

In 2014, Liu rejoined Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, where he has taught public finance. He also began a teaching position at Baruch College.

Liu initially stated he had no plans to run for office after his 2014 loss to Avella and declined offers to do so, but was inspired after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's upset victory over incumbent Congressman Joe Crowley in the June 2018 Congressional primary elections. He was then convinced to run for state senate by activists looking to defeat former IDC members. Liu was initially doubtful that the grassroots campaigners that approached him could gather enough signatures to place him on the ballot so close to the July filing deadline, but he received more than three times the number of signatures needed. New York's 14th congressional district, which Crowley represented, partially overlaps with State Senate District 11.

Unlike in 2014, the Queens County Democratic Party, which Crowley chaired at the time, endorsed Avella instead of Liu. In the September 2018 Democratic primary, Liu once again challenged Avella. In a reversal of their 2014 race, Liu defeated Avella 53-47%, attributed to backlash against the former members of the Independent Democratic Conference, which had dissolved earlier in 2018.

Liu ran as a candidate in the 2013 New York City mayoral election, but came in fourth place in the Democratic Party's primary election.

On August 5, 2013, the Campaign Finance Board denied Liu matching funds worth $3.53 million for his campaign. His supporters disagreed with the decision, saying they had legitimately donated funds to Liu's campaign, and were being denied their rights.

Investigations into Liu's election fundraising revealed that two of his former associates used straw donors to contribute to his campaign, a discovery that rattled his 2013 mayoral campaign

In February 2012, campaign treasurer Jia "Jenny" Hou was arrested for using straw donors to circumvent campaign finance laws and gain more matching funds from taxpayers. In October 2013, Hou was sentenced to ten months in prison after her conviction for attempted wire fraud, obstruction of justice and making false statements. Pan was sentenced to four months in jail.

In November 17, 2011, Oliver Pan was arrested on charges of wire fraud from illegal donations. Pan was approached by an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation agent posing as someone who wanted to donate $16,000 to Liu, well over the city donation limit of $4,950 for individual contributions, and agreed to arranged for 20 fictitious donors.

In March 2009, Liu announced that he was running for the post of New York City Comptroller. Liu had raised $3 million for his political run.

Later, in September 2009, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) began endorsing Liu. In the September 15 Democratic primary, Liu was the front-runner, ending up with 133,986 votes (38% of the vote), but because he did not manage to reach 40% of the vote, a run-off election was required between Liu and David Yassky, who received 30 percent of the vote in the primary, but Liu later won the run-off by taking 55.6% of the vote.

John Liu met with Xu Yousheng, a top director of the United Front Work Department (UFWD), an agency known for carrying out propaganda work via overseas Chinese associations and influential individuals, and reports directly to the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee. He visited People's Republic of China on a sponsored trip in 2007 to accept an award for "beautifying the world". The meeting was reported on by numerous overseas Chinese media outlets, including China Press and the Phoenix T.V. station. He raked in hefty campaign donations from the Fujian Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, an organization also tied to the UFWD and the Chinese consulate. During one violent incident where members of Falun Gong religion were attacked by CCP members, he encouraged lawsuits against newspapers that published images of the attack.

Liu was elected to the New York City Council in 2001, representing northeast Queens in the 20th District as its first Asian American member. He also served as the Chairperson of the New York City Council's Transportation Committee, and served on the committees on Education, Consumer Affairs, Health, Land Use, Contracts, Oversight & Investigations as well as Lower Manhattan Redevelopment. Liu was known for his outspoken and confrontational demeanor.

Liu attended PS 20 in Queens and Hunter College High School. He graduated from Bronx High School of Science in 1985, doing community organizing and volunteer work in his spare time.

John Chun Yah Liu (born January 8, 1967) is an American politician in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, he is a member of the New York State Senate for the 11th District in northeast Queens. He previously served as the 43rd New York City Comptroller from 2010 to 2013 and as a member of the New York City Council from 2002 to 2009, representing District 20 in northeast Queens. He was the first Asian American New York City Council member and Comptroller and one of the first two Asian American New York State Senators, as well as the first elected to legislative or citywide office in New York. He was also a candidate in the 2013 New York City mayoral election.