PEP, September 2009: Union backs eight in tough City Council races

DC 37 is supporting City Council candidates in almost every district and plans to throw its political power and comprehensive field operations behind eight City Council candidates who face hotly contested races on Primary Day, Tuesday, Sept. 15.

The union will put hundreds of volunteers in the street and use its phone banks to help elect P.J. Kim in District 1 and Ydanis Rodriquez in District 10 of Manhattan, Fernando Cabrera in District 14 in the Bronx, Marquez Claxton in Queens District 31, Jumaane Williams in Brooklyn District 45, and Debi Rose in Staten Island District 49, and to re-elect Brooklyn incumbents Diana Reyna in District 34 and Darlene Mealy in District 41. For the list of all DC 37-endorsed candidates, see page 4.

Candidates support working families

“The DC 37 Executive Board voted to endorse these very qualified candidates because they each have proven records of support for working families and issues that affect our members,” said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. The Executive Board based its decisions on recommendations from the local leaders who make up the union’s Screening Committee, said Political Action Committee Chair Lenny Allen.

“We urge our members to support these candidates by voting for them and volunteering with the union’s Political Action Dept. on Primary Day,” Roberts said.

Activist P.J. Kim (Dist. 1, Lower Manhattan from the Lower East Side and Greenwich Village south) is a management consultant for not-for-profit organizations who served on Community Board 1 for two years and has led anti-poverty programs. Kim is an immigrant from South Korea who attended Princeton University and graduated from Harvard Business School.

Grassroots activist Ydanis Rodriguez (Dist. 10, Inwood, Washington Heights and Marble Hill in upper Manhattan) is a public school teacher who came to New York City from the Dominican Republic at age 18. A graduate of City College, he has been on the front lines in struggles for tenants’ rights, improved translation and interpretation services in local hospitals, the fight to keep subway token booths open and prevent transit fare hikes.

A former Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention (SAPIS) Counselor and Local 372 member, Fernando Cabrera (Bronx Dist. 14, Fordham, Kingsbridge, West Bronx and Morris Heights) co-chaired the Hispanic-Jewish Relations Task Force for former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion and is a member of Community Board 7. He has a doctorate in counseling and founded the New Life for Youth rehab program.

Marquez Claxton (Queens Dist. 31) is a retired city Police Detective who co-founded 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care. A long-time Queens resident, Claxton attended St. John’s University and Baruch College. A vocal advocate who continues to fight for justice and equitable resource allocation, Claxton says he has “spent years giving voice to the voiceless and fighting to empower the powerless.”

City Council member Diana Reyna, (Dist. 34, Ridgewood, Williamsburg and Bushwick) is seeking re-election. In office since 2001, Reyna has shown leadership on issues important to working families such as education and youth services, affordable housing and senior services. She chairs the Elections Committee and sits on the committees for Economic Development, Finance and Transportation.

City Council member Darlene Mealy (Dist. 41, Bed-Stuy, Ocean Hill-Brownsville, and East Flatbush) is seeking a second term. An activist who has stood with DC 37 on many issues affecting public employees, Mealy is a former Transit worker who chairs the City Council Women’s Issues Committee.

Jumaane Williams (Brooklyn Dist. 45, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Canarsie and Midwood) is a community organizer who serves on Community Board 18. He is executive director of the Tenants & Neighbors advocacy and organizing group and was housing director of the Flatbush Development Corp. A proud product of the city’s public school system, he attended Brooklyn Technical High School and has undergraduate and master’s degrees from Brooklyn College.

Community activist Debi Rose (Staten Island Dist. 49, North Shore) is executive director of the Liberty Partnership Program at the College of Staten Island, a dropout prevention program for at-risk high school students. She says the major issues affecting the North Shore community are transportation, health care, education and economic development. A graduate of Hofstra University, last February Rose lost a special election for the City Council seat by only 300 votes.