1980s: NY State Commissioner of Taxation & Finance

 

In 1983, NY State’s newly elected Governor Mario M. Cuomo asked me to be his Commissioner of Taxation & Finance. I was the first Chinese-American and the youngest tax commissioner ever appointed to a cabinet position in NY State’s history. I was also one of the highest ranking Chinese-Americans in government in the U.S. Having been admitted to the Arthur Andersen & Co. partnership a year before, it meant a taking a huge salary cut, but brought great distinction to the Chinese community. Celebrating with us in Albany were my Cornell roommate, Bob Crane, who was serving as NYS’s Deputy Health Commissioner, Mike Finnerty and Wayne Diesel, Budget Director and First Deputy – who recommended me to Gov. Cuomo – and their wives Ethlyn and Carole. In NYC, celebrated with my AA&Co. mentor Paul Tom, and Laura with her former neighbors CBS radio newscaster Ben & Judy Farnsworth.

Yeh-Yeh, Mom, Pop, and I paid our respects to major Chinatown organizations, including the Pell St. Merchants’ Association and our Chiu Family Association (with our Sung Dynasty ancestral portraits on the walls). ABC TV News anchor Kaity Tong and I were fêted as Woman and Man of the Year by the Chinatown Planning Council. Mom, as founding president of OCA-Westchester, hosted a large dinner honoring visiting Governor Gu of China’s Jiangsu Province and celebrated Maria Lee’s honorary doctorate by Pace University. Billy Joel’s mother – a former NYS Tax Dept. Employee – invited Mom, Pop, & me to meet her son backstage before we saw his Madison Square Garden concert. 

 

 

One of the great perks of my job was a box at Saratoga Race Track for its August racing season. Guests included Vera Wang, Aileen Pei, Lili Lee, Peter & Ann Moran, and Elaine Chao. I rented vacation homes each year on Lake George for my family & guests to stay during the season. Cruised the lake on my boat, joined by my uncles and cousins Tony, Mai, and David Chiu. Old friends also accepted invitations to visit, including Grace & Ed Grigoleit, Bill & Cynthia Ling, and Randy Hatch.