Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday rebutted media reports claiming he was preparing to run for the position of Taipei County commissioner next year.
“I was surprised to see today’s [Sunday’s] newspapers saying that I was poised to run for the Taipei County post. It is a misunderstanding. I have not proposed running in the Taipei County race,” Su told reporters.
Approached for comment, Su said “I defer to the chairperson’s nomination,” which was widely interpreted by the media as Su expressing interest in the post.
“Because July’s DPP National Conference decided that the party would not hold a primary for next year’s city and county elections and authorized the party to nominate all candidates, I told reporters the nomination is the chairperson’s responsibility,” he said.
There are calls within the party for Su, who was Taipei County commissioner between 1997 and 2004, to join the race.
The DPP has said that Taipei County — the country’s largest administrative region — would be key among next year’s city and county elections and that the party would be sure to put forth its best candidate.
The DPP believes it has a good chance of winning back the county, as Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has repeatedly had one of the worst approval ratings among local government heads in polls conducted by different agencies.
In related news, DPP Vice Secretary-General Hung Yao-fu (洪耀福) yesterday told reporters that more DPP candidates for next year’s city and county elections would be decided before Lunar New Year on Jan. 26.
Last month, former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) was chosen to represent the party in next year’s Taichung mayoral election.
The party hoped candidates for Tainan City, Tainan County, Kaohsiung County, Taichung County and others would be named by Lunar New Year, Hung said.
He said the party would not select a candidate for Taichung County if a bill merging Taichung City with Taichung County into a special municipality by 2010 was passed by the legislature by the end of this year.
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