Lester Chang
Lester Chang is an American politician who represents the 49th district of the New York State Assembly, which comprises part of South Brooklyn. A Republican, he defeated longtime Democratic incumbent Peter J. Abbate Jr. in 2022.
Early life and education
Lester Chang was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to parents from China. When he was 8 years old, his father died of cancer and the family moved to Hong Kong before moving to Midwood, Brooklyn. Chang graduated from Midwood High School, then Brooklyn College with a Bachelor of Science in accounting and the State University of New York Maritime College with a Master of Science in international transportation.Naval Reserve
Chang is a retired member of the United States Navy Reserve and current member of the New York Naval Militia. In the aftermath of 9/11, he was assigned to Washington, D.C. and was deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan as a military analyst.Political career
Chang first ran for office in the 2016 special election for the 65th Assembly district to succeed Sheldon Silver following his resignation due to a corruption scandal. He was on the ballot for the Republican, Reform, Independence, and 'Clean Up This Mess' party lines. He placed third behind Democrat Alice Cancel and Working Families Party-endorsed Yuh-Line Niou respectively.In 2020, he ran for State Senate in the 26th district, losing to incumbent Democrat Brian Kavanagh.
In 2022, Chang announced he would run against longtime Democratic incumbent Peter J. Abbate Jr. in the 49th Assembly district. The redrawn district is majority Asian-American and includes parts of the Southern Brooklyn communities of Dyker Heights, Sunset Park, Borough Park and Bensonhurst. In an upset attributed to Republican organizing in the traditionally Democratic-leaning Chinese community, Chang defeated Abbate. He was sworn in as a member of the Assembly on January 3, 2023.
Chang was re-elected to the Assembly in 2024.
Residency questions
Following his election to the State Assembly, the Brooklyn Democratic Party attempted to block Chang from being seated. Proponents claimed that Chang had been living in Manhattan and was therefore ineligible to have been elected under New York's one-year residency requirement for candidates. Chang claimed to have lived in Manhattan until 2019, when his late wife died, before moving back to Brooklyn; however, records showed he had voted in Manhattan in 2021 and previously ran for office there in 2016 and 2020. Critics of the move pointed out that his ballot petitions could have been challenged in court before the election, but Democrats waited to make an issue of Chang's residency until after he had already won.Following an investigation organized by Speaker Carl Heastie, Assembly Democrats announced in January 2023 that despite concerns as to the truthfulness of Chang's claims about his district residency, they would not attempt to expel Chang from the Assembly based on those concerns. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie emphasized that Assembly Democrats were at liberty to revisit the issue at a later time.
The Daily News editorial board published an article in support of Chang taking his Assembly seat, noting hypocrisy from Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn and Heastie.