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New
York Caribbeans in the September Primary |
New York, August 2001: Since 1991, Councilwoman Una Clarke has held the title of first Caribbean Councilwoman elected to the New York City Council. But as term limits approach this year, it seems several Caribbean immigrants are taking her cue as they each vie for a seat on the city's legislative body. Nowhere is it more obvious than in Brooklyn's 45th District where almost all of the all-male candidates migrated here from several Caribbean islands.
Kendall Stewart,
Samuel Palmer, Samuel Taitt, Vaughan Toney, Ernest Emmanuel,
Anthony Alexis, Christian Hylton and Kevin Parker.Stewart, a Vincentian native, is a podiatrist with his own practice and a Democratic District leader. He ran unsuccessfully for the council in 1997. Palmer is a teacher at P.S. 138 in Brooklyn and is also president of the Flatlands Civic Association and a member of Community Board 18. Taitt, a Barbadian national, teaches communication at Kingsborough Community College and is a former broadcaster and manager with the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation. He has also been involved in setting up websites in the borough and the Caribbean.
Toney is the chief of staff for the incumbent Lloyd Henry. Toney also served as chief of staff for Una Clarke and worked in the state legislature. Emmanuel is a Haitian-American who ran against Henry in 1997 on the Liberal party ticket and secured 13 percent of the vote. Alexis is a Trinidadian national who is a staff member of Councilwoman Tracy Boyland. He lists his achievements as the co-founder and former president of the Brooklyn Young Democrats. He also did constituent work for Assemblymember Rhoda Jacobs and is a boardmember of the Flatbush YMCA and president of the 26th Street Block Association.
Hylton is a lawyer on staff with Queens Councilmember Walter McCaffrey and a former employee of Kings County Hospital. Parker is the lone non-West Indian and a special assistant to state Comptroller H. Carl McCall. He is also a member of Community Board 17 and has worked for both Councilwoman Clarke and Assemblyman Nick Perry.
The area with a population of 135,908, according to the U.S. Census, is largely populated by Caribbean nationals and encompasses East Flatbush, Flatlands, and a portion of Midwood around Brooklyn College. It is also the area where Abner Louima had his first encounter with Justin Volpe and friends. Issues of importance to residents include like other minority-populated districts, police community relations, health care, higher teacher salaries and test scores and day care programs.
In the 40th District, those contesting the seat that will be vacated by Clarke include her daughter Yvette Clarke, Lola Poisson, Jean Vernet, Alithia Allen, and Anthony Pugliese. The stress of the political race seemed to have been too much for Attorney Carl Thomas, who became famous for focusing attention on the brutality of Abner Louima. Thomas, 41, died in his sleep on Sunday August 5th apparently from a heart attack. His death has stunned local activists, including Rev. Al Sharpton and Councilwoman Una Clarke and her daughter.
The Trinidad and Tobago national was one of 10 candidates seeking to fill the term-limited seat. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and four children. Meanwhile, another hopeful, Wellington Sharpe, was kicked off the ballot after the Board of election rejected 2,000 0f his 2,800 petitions.
Yvette Clarke has worked for elected officials and District 1199. She was also the campaign manager of her mother's bid for congress last year and is the director for the business development at the Bronx Overall Development Corporation. While Yvette Clarke is not essentially a migrant from the Caribbean, her parents are Jamaicans.
Poisson and Vernet are both Haitian immigrants. Poisson is a community activist who founded the Haitian Community Health Project while Vernet runs the Legal Education and Assistance Program for the National Coalition for Haitian Rights.
Sharpe operates a day care business and is a community activist while Pugliese is a member of Community Board 6, an organizer for the New York City District of Carpenters and an activist in the community.
In a district that is predominantly black with a strong presence of Caribbean nationals, the candidates, like their counterparts in the 45th District, have cited education, economic development, police community relations and low cost health care as among the major issues affecting residents.
In District 36, which includes Bedford Stuyvesant, Crown Heights and Central
Brooklyn, African Immigrant Sidique Wai is running. Wai is also president of the United African Congress and is facing off against Barbara Smith, a member of Community School Board 13 and of the Black United Front; Letitia James, a staff member in the office of the state Attorney General and a former deputy state attorney general; Imogene Bladwin-Ferguson, an employee of the Human Resources Administration and a Community Board 8 advisor to the youth committee; and James E. Davis, a former cop and also a Democratic District leader and also a minister and youth organizer. All the candidates seem to agree that housing is a major issue since most of the residents in the primarily black neighborhood are renters.
Over in Southeast Queens, two Guyanese national are in the race for the seat being vacated by Councilman Thomas White in the 28th Councilmatic District. They are attorney Trevor Rupnarine vying for the Democratic nominationt and businessman Rameshwar Jodha who is running on the Republican, Independent and Right to Life tickets. .Jodha had also initially been contesting the Democratic primary but was challenged by Rupnarine. Rather than facing a lengthy and expensive court case (his signatures fell short by 133), Jodha agreed to pull out of the Democratic primary but to contest the other three primaries anyway.
Competition comes from Anthony Andrew, Jr., who claims Jamaican ancestry, Iman Aziz Bilal, Alan Jennings, Patrick Jenkins, Michele Titus and Inderjit Singh, a Sikh who is an account and former City College professor.
Neighborhoods including Richmond Hill, Rochdale Village and South Jamaica are affected by a lack of parking and like districts throughout the city, quality education and overcrowded schools. The immigrant candidates also claim lack of sensitivity to their needs, which include housing woes.
The other hot races in the southeast Queens area are the race for Councilman Archie Spigner's seat and Councilwoman Juanita Watkins'. Spigner has handpicked Leroy Comrie, who also claims Jamaican ancestry and is head of Community School Board 29, to fill the District 27 seat, but he faces competition from former state Assemblymember Cynthia Jenkins; activist Erica Ford; attorney Helen Cooper-Gregory, Earl Simmons; who works for Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields; Saundra Pope, a community activist and local television host and Ishamel Morgan, an OTB employee.
Students in the district clearly score poorly on reading and math and there is also overcrowding in school and few job opportunities.
In District 31, which include areas such as Springfield Gardens, Laurelton and Rosedale, potential representatives vying for this seat say their main focus has to be education and finding a solution to flooding. In the run for the seat being vacated by Councilwoman Juanita Watkins, is professor at Manhattan Community College and organizer of the Million Youth March of Queens, James Blake. Also in the run is Rosalind O'Neal, president of the African American/Caribbean Education Association; James Sanders, Jr., vice president and former president of school board 27; Edward Lewis, an assistant commissioner for the New York City Parks and Recreation Department; Dr. Sikiru Fadairo, a computer science professor at the City University of New York; Amanda Clarke, a Democratic district leader and Evelyn Brown, a home developer.