Designing Hong Kong boss faces off against ex-official in Pok Fu Lam district council poll
Battle between Paul Zimmerman and Jeremy Young Chit-on reignites debate about whether a councillor has to live in his or her constituency
The district council polls often boil down to which political party has been more helpful to residents in the district or which is most familiar with its social and welfare issues.
But voters in the ethnically more diverse and middle-class Pok Fu Lam constituency are faced with a more complex choice: should they choose a trilingual former government official or the English-speaking and pro-democracy incumbent?
The battle between the Liberal Party’s rising star Jeremy Young Chit-on, 39, and independent pan-democrat Paul Zimmerman, 56, has reignited a debate about whether a councillor has to live in or set up an office in his or her constituency to do a good job.
Young, who served as the secretary for education’s political assistant from 2008 to 2012, told the Post that as a resident in the nearby Mount Davis area, he would be able to devote ample time to communicate with those living in Pok Fu Lam.
“How much time [does Zimmerman] have in Pok Fu Lam, given the fact he’s the CEO of Designing Hong Kong and lives in Clear Water Bay,” Young asked. “On the amount of time dedicated to Pok Fu Lam, I believe I trump him hands down.”