Staff writer, with CNA
Health and Promotion Administration Director-General Chiou Shu-ti (邱淑媞) said yesterday she would decide by the end of the month whether to take part in the Yilan County commissioner election in November.
Chiou, who served as director of Taipei City’s Bureau of Health during President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) stint as mayor of Taipei, said two reasons prompted her to consider running in the election.
First, a poll conducted by local media last year suggested that 15 percent of Yilan residents supported her, although she did not express any intention of running in the election at the time, she said.
The second reason was that residents asked and persuaded her to run after former Yilan County deputy council speaker Lin Hsin-hua (林信華) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) decided not to run for commissioner.
Incumbent Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who will be seeking re-election, said yesterday he welcomed Chiou’s considering to run.
However, he added that he was confident that the county’s constituents would recognize the current administration’s efforts.
Rumors about Chiou possibly participating in the election have been circulating for almost a year, so it was not a surprise to learn the news, Lin added.
The election is to take place on Nov. 29, when elections are to be held for all directly elected local government positions.
Additional reporting by Chris Wang