Public Employee Press

Roberts and Ensley face off in January election

DC 37 delegates nominated candidates for the union’s four executive offices and its 25-member Executive Board at their meeting Nov. 28.

For the second time, Executive Director Lillian Roberts, who is seeking re-election to a third term, is being challenged by SSEU Local 371 President Charles Ensley, whom she defeated in 2004.

The vote will be held at the Delegates Council on Jan. 23. Roberts, the first African-American woman elected to lead DC 37, heads the Members First Slate; Ensley leads the Unity Slate.

DC 37 Election Committee Chair Lenora Gates, executive vice president of Local 1549, presided over the nominations.

The Members First Slate, whose supporters were clad in yellow T-shirts at the delegates meeting, includes DC 37’s top three officers, who were nominated without opposition and have been declared elected. They are President Veronica Montgomery-Costa, who is also president of Board of Education Employees Local 372; Treasurer Maf Misbah Uddin, president of Accountants, Statisticians and Actuaries Local 1407; and Secretary Cliff Koppelman, president of Court, County and Probation Employees Local 1070.

Ahmed Shakir of Civil Service Technical Guild Local 375 was nominated for the secretary position but has withdrawn from the race.

The five locals that each represent at least 5 percent of DC 37’s membership elect their own Executive Board vice presidents. Chosen Nov. 28 were Local 371 Vice President Faye Moore, Local 372 Executive Vice President Santos Crespo, Local 375 President Claude Fort, Local 420 President Carmen Charles and Local 1549 President Eddie Rodriguez.

The other 20 seats on the Executive Board are elected at-large by the non-5-percent locals.

Executive Board nominees
Nominated from the Members First slate were Morris Johnson of Local 154, Jackie Rowe-Adams (Local 299), Cuthbert Dickerson (374), Esther “Sandy” Tucker (384), Darryl Ramsey (768), Walthene Primus (957), Jim Tucciarelli (1320), John Townsend (1322), Michael DeMarco (1455), Eileen Muller (1482), Michael Hood (1505), Sirra Crippen (1507), Shirley Williams (1219), Terry Cleveland (1559), Kevin Smith (1655), David Moog (1757), Alfred Edwards (1759), Charles Farrison (1797), Lenny Allen (Local 2021) and Colleen Carew-Rogers (2054).

Unity’s candidates for Executive Board seats for non-5-percent locals are Juan Fernandez of Local 154, Gene DeMartino (Local 376), Gloria Acevedo (436), Fitz Reid (768), Kyle Simmons (924), Victor Emanuelson (1087), John Cummings (1113), Mickey McFarland (1157), Dr. Leonard Davidman (1189), Carolyn Harper (1251), John Hyslop (1321), Ralph Carbone (1359), Alex Parker (1457), Melvin Bentley (1502), Raoul Baptiste (1503), Carol Thomas (1930), Franklin Silsdorf (1931), Pat Bahnken (2507), Ed Hysyk (2627) and Thomas Eppinger (3621).

— DSW