# New York City's 20th City Council district

New York City's 20th City Council district is one of 51 districts in the New York City Council. It has been represented by Democrat Sandra Ung since 2022. She succeeded Republican-turned-Democrat Peter Koo, who was term-limited in 2021.

## Geography

District 20 is based in the Queens neighborhood of Flushing, covering its downtown areas as well as its Murray Hill and Queensboro Hill subsections. Kissena Park is located within the district.
The district overlaps with Queens Community Boards 7 and 11, and is contained entirely within New York's 6th congressional district. It also overlaps with the 11th and 16th districts of the New York State Senate, and with the 25th, 26th, and 40th districts of the New York State Assembly.
With its population base in Flushing, which has a large number of Korean and Chinese American residents, the 20th district is the most Asian district in the City Council and the only district with an Asian majority. Former 20th district councilmember John Liu was the first Asian American elected to the City Council. Until 2021, Liu's successor, Peter Koo, was one of only two Asian Americans in the body (alongside former Manhattan councilmember Margaret Chin). This number has increased to five.

## Recent election results
### 2023 (redistricting)

Due to redistricting and the 2020 changes to the New York City Charter, councilmembers elected during the 2021 and 2023 City Council elections will serve two-year terms, with full four-year terms resuming after the 2025 New York City Council elections.
2023 New York City Council election, District 20 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Yu-Ching Pai | 819 | 56.0 |
| | Republican | Dany Chen | 638 | 43.6 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 6 | 0.4 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,463 | 100 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Sandra Ung (incumbent) | 5,087 | 57.8 |
| | Republican | Yu-Ching Pai | 2,524 | |
| | Conservative | Yu-Ching Pai | 275 | |
| | Total | Yu-Ching Pai | 2,799 | 31.8 |
| | Better Flushing | Dany Chen | 863 | 9.8 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 49 | 0.6 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 8,798 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2021

In 2019, voters in New York City approved Ballot Question 1, which implemented ranked-choice voting in all local elections. Under the new system, voters have the option to rank up to five candidates for every local office. Voters whose first-choice candidates fare poorly will have their votes redistributed to other candidates in their ranking until one candidate surpasses the 50 percent threshold. If one candidate surpasses 50 percent in first-choice votes, then ranked-choice tabulations will not occur.
2021 New York City Council election, District 20 Democratic primary :
| Party | Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Democratic | Sandra Ung | 8 | 4,205 | 55.2% | ​​ |
| Democratic | Ellen Young | 8 | 3,406 | 44.8% | ​​ |
| Democratic | Neng Wang | 7 | 2,146 | 25.2% | ​​ |
| Democratic | John Choe | 6 | 1,845 | 20.2% | ​​ |
| Democratic | Anthony Miranda | 5 | 1,550 | 15.9% | ​​ |
| Democratic | Hailing Chen | 4 | 1,337 | 12.8% | ​​ |
| Democratic | Dao Yin | 3 | 968 | 9.1% | ​​ |
| Democratic | Ming-Kang Low | 2 | 50 | 0.5% | ​​ |
| Write-in | | 1 | 13 | 0.1% | ​​ |
2021 New York City Council election, District 20 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Sandra Ung | 7,718 | 59.3 |
| | Republican | Yu-Ching Pai | 4,781 | |
| | Conservative | Yu-Ching Pai | 487 | |
| | Total | Yu-Ching Pai | 5,268 | 40.4 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 35 | 0.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 13,021 | 100 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2017

2017 New York City Council election, District 20 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Peter Koo (incumbent) | 3,822 | 58.2 |
| | Democratic | Alison Tan | 2,719 | 41.4 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 27 | 0.4 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 6,568 | 100 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Peter Koo (incumbent) | 9,065 | 97.8 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 202 | 2.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 9,267 | 100 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2013

2013 New York City Council election, District 20 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Peter Koo | 7,985 | |
| | Conservative | Peter Koo | 1,088 | |
| | Total | Peter Koo (incumbent) | 9,073 | 79.7 |
| | Jobs & Education | Martha Flores-Vazquez | 1,182 | 10.4 |
| | Reform | Sunny Hahn | 729 | 6.4 |
| | Green | Evergreen Chou | 385 | 3.4 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 20 | 0.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 11,389 | 100 |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |

### 2009

2009 New York City Council election, District 20 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Yen Chou | 1,935 | 24.9 |
| | Democratic | S.J. Jung | 1,752 | 22.6 |
| | Democratic | Isaac Sasson | 1,741 | 22.4 |
| | Democratic | John Choe | 1,267 | 16.3 |
| | Democratic | James Wu | 1,073 | 13.8 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 1 | 0.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 7,769 | 100 |
| General election |||||
| | Republican | Peter Koo | 7,185 | |
| | Independence | Peter Koo | 752 | |
| | Conservative | Peter Koo | 512 | |
| | Total | Peter Koo | 8,449 | 49.1 |
| | Democratic | Yen Chou | 7,793 | 45.2 |
| | Working Families | S.J. Jung | 700 | 4.1 |
| | Green | Evergreen Chou | 282 | 1.6 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 1 | 0.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 17,225 | 100 |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |