➤ CRYSTAL HUDSON, from p.10
“I hope to be at the forefront of
some of those conversations,” she
said. “Personally, I’m a big proponent
of communities envisioning
and executing plans they think
are the best for communities that
don’t always involve police, and I
think it’s important to hear from
communities.”
Hudson’s diverse slate of work
experience, she said, has equipped
her with a unique perspective that
has shaped the way she approaches
local issues. Having worked in
the private sector, she said she has
thought about what it would be like
if there were a civil tech innovation
hub where government could be
a driver of certain technology instead
of a follower.
The city, she believes, should
begin thinking of the next AirBnb,
Uber, or Lyft, rather than having
to scramble to “fi gure out how to
deal with something they haven’t
thought of.”
Hudson, too, will need plenty of
fresh ideas herself as she prepares
for a crowded Democratic primary
competition next summer, which
TWITTER/ CRYSTAL HUDSON
Can Crystal Hudson become the fi rst out LGBTQ
Black woman elected to the City Council?
already features four other candidates
— Curtis M. Harris, Michael
D. Hollingsworth, Regina Kinsey,
and Hector Robertson.
Hudson has kicked her fundraising
effort into gear, asking her supporters
to chip in when possible,
and she’s disavowing donations
from developers, police unions,
and corporate PACs.
As the campaign heats up, Hudson
doesn’t shy away from the historic
nature of her candidacy. She
has reiterated that point on her
website and on social media, where
she has also been open about her
relationship with her partner,
Sasha Neha Ahuja, who is chair of
the New York City Equal Employment
Practices Commission and a
commissioner at the New York City
Commission on Gender Equity.
“I think that the fact that my
race would be an historic one is
just evident that we still have far
to go,” Hudson said. “We’ve come a
long way, but we have still so much
more to do. I think we all live intersectional
lives, some of us more so
than others, and some of us have
more intersecting identities than
others.”
That’s why Hudson is underscoring
intersectionality in other
areas, too, pointing to the need for
such an approach to housing, education,
homelessness, seniors, and
more.
The scope of that lens, she said,
should also include the coronavirus
crisis, which has disproportionately
impacted Black and Latinx
communities on multiple fronts
ranging from health disparities to
the jobs crisis that has emerged.
Hudson is calling for a major investment
in communities of color
in response to the pandemic.
“We’ve seen cuts to Medicaid,
cuts to many public hospitals in
Central Brooklyn,” she said. “We
should be doubling down and investing
in public hospitals, social
services, job readiness, technology,
and small businesses. We need to
help small businesses rebound; we
don’t need to be looking for new
ways to fi ne them.”
Hudson will spend the next year
laying the groundwork for what she
hopes is a successful campaign,
even if it is going to be in the midst
of an unprecedented crisis. Just
one election cycle ago, another out
LGBTQ candidate — Jabari Brisport
— fell short in a bid to unseat
Cumbo, but he bounced back this
year to win the 25th State Senate
District Democratic primary race,
putting him on track to become
the fi rst out gay Black member of
the State Legislature. In 2021, voters
in the same Council district
will have yet another opportunity
to make history.
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Bill de Blasio
Mayor
Oxiris Barbot, MD
Commissioner
GayCityNews.com | July 30 - August 12, 2020 11
/GayCityNews.com
