A new but “risky” campaign model might be one where a candidate runs for office while still holding their official post, allowing voters to consider their job performance at the polls, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
Ko was responding to reporters’ questions about Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), who are potential candidates for Taipei mayor, but have said they do not intend to resign first.
The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) electoral strategy committee has recommended that the party recruit Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅) to run for Taoyuan mayor and Hsinchu Deputy Mayor Shen Hui-hung (沈慧虹) to run for Hsinchu mayor. The two are expected to resign from their posts next month.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Ann Kao (高虹安) on Thursday said the resignations would make Hsinchu residents “orphans.”
Lin on Friday said Huang should not be a parasite of government resources.
While Taipei City councilors in the DPP and KMT have urged Huang to resign if she runs for mayor, Huang on Friday said her job is to fulfill her duties, and that she is not thinking about the election.
Chiang, who is the KMT’s pick to run for Taipei mayor, on Friday said Huang should not use administrative resources while campaigning, but that he should stay in his post since he is a public representative.
Chiang on Saturday said his situation is different from Huang’s.
Asked about Chiang’s “double standard,” Ko, who is chairman of the TPP, yesterday said there are many ways to run in an election, such as holding campaign rallies and recruiting “vote captains.”
“Maybe there can be a new model for running in an election — seeking voter support while continuing to work in their current posts,” he said, citing how he only took leave to run for re-election two weeks before the election.
However, Ko said it would be a risky move.
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