Queens Activist Takes Second Shot at Council Seat
Alfonso Quiroz, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst activist hopes to succeed Daniel Dromm
BY MATT TRACY
The call of the City Council
is being heard again
in Jackson Heights.
That, at least, is the
case for out gay Queens community
activist Alfonso Quiroz, who
is running to replace out gay termlimited
City Councilmember Daniel
Dromm in Elmhurst and Jackson
Heights more than a decade after
he fi rst ran for that same seat.
Quiroz, who works as a spokesperson
for Con Edison, is one of six
candidates running in next year’s
election to represent District 25,
according to the New York City
Campaign Finance Board. Quiroz’s
fi rst bid for that seat ended when
he dropped out ahead of the 2009
Democratic primary competition,
which Dromm went on to win.
Nonetheless, Quiroz’s previous
run for offi ce is paying off this time
Alfonso Quiroz said he hopes to bring a “change in leadership” to a City Council seat currently occupied
by term-limited lawmaker Daniel Dromm.
around: According to the New York
City Campaign Finance Board,
Quiroz has $41,446 in his campaign
chest, including $35,860
that was transferred over from his
FACEBOOK/ ALFONSO QUIROZ
previous campaign. During this
new campaign, he has pulled in
121 contributions totaling $5,712.
In an interview with Gay City
News, Quiroz described his current
POLITICS
campaign as an opportunity
to provide “a fresh start” and a
“change in leadership” in a district
that has been occupied by Dromm
for nearly three terms after he unseated
Quiroz’s old boss, Helen
Sears.
“I really believe I can provide”
that fresh start, said Quiroz, who
had once served as Sears’ deputy
chief of staff.
Until next June’s primary election
— and long after that, if he is
indeed elected in November 2021
— Quiroz will have his work cut
out for him in his quest to prove he
can bring such a change in leadership.
The city is in the midst of
a global coronavirus pandemic
that has no end in sight and city
residents have spent months voicing
their collective disdain toward
racial injustice and police brutal-
➤ ALFONSO QUIROZ, continued on p.29
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