➤ ALFONSO QUIROZ, from p.15
ity — issues that will undoubtedly
remain at the fore throughout the
2021 election campaigns.
“We’re going to be running into a
$9 billion budget cut and that will
touch each and every one of us,”
Quiroz said. “I think I can provide
a different type of leadership that
would be able to bridge this year to
the next year.”
Quiroz appears to envision a
measured approach to police accountability,
saying he “stands
with peaceful protesters” while
also refraining from calling for
more drastic reforms that have
been touted by many progressives
running for city offi ce in the wake
of a summertime protest movement
and a budget battle that did
not result in the cuts to the NYPD’s
budget many demanded.
“I don’t have a problem with looking
at the police budget and trying
to fi gure out where funds can be
allocated to community groups,”
Quiroz said. “There should really
be a good opportunity for us to relook
at the police department and
re-look at public safety and start
from a blank page and say this is
what we want: a police force that
protects us, that is going to be able
to respond quickly.”
Quiroz did not mince words as
the conversation shifted to his
own district. He discussed the
way Elmhurst was disproportionately
slammed when the virus fi rst
gripped New York City — especially
in communities of color — and he
vowed to play a role as a councilmember
in addressing underlying
health issues that have made
individuals more vulnerable to serious
complications of COVID.
Quiroz believes re-opening the
shuttered St. John’s Hospital,
which has not been in operation
since 2009, would go a long way toward
bolstering healthcare options
in the area.
“It is sitting on Queens Boulevard
right now and it is vacant,”
Quiroz said. “God forbid anything
like the coronavirus pandemic
happens again, we need to make
sure there are enough healthcare
facilities that can handle the population.
Who knows how all of this
would have turned out if there
were adequate hospitals and if St.
John’s wasn’t closed?”
Among other local issues, Quiroz
cited a need to preserve areas of
Elmhurst that he said are “slowly
being gobbled up by developers,”
and he has an eye on the plight of
small businesses in the district. He
noted, for example, that the issue
Jabari Brisport is just weeks away from becoming the fi rst out LGBTQ Black person elected to the New
York State Senate.
➤ VICTORY FUND, from p.11
The number of bisexual candidates
skyrocketed this year, as
well, in the aftermath of the resignation
of out bisexual California
Congressmember Katie Hill last
year in the wake of her ex-husband’s
public release of sexually
MATT TRACY
explicit photos of her. There have
been 78 out bisexual people running
this year, a 100 percent increase
from the 39 bi candidates
in 2018.
The report cited signifi cant
variation in the number of LGBTQ
candidates based on geographical
location. California, unsurprisingly,
of navigating outdoor dining was
one that predated the pandemic in
his neighborhood.
“One restaurant I talked to said
it would take $16,000 for an architect
to come and draw up a sidewalk
café for them,” Quiroz explained.
On a broader level, Quiroz underscored
the hardships facing
small businesses as he called for
swift action to assist them.
“These people are counting every
straw they give out,” he said.
“They do not want to close. They
are trying to employ people who
live in this neighborhood. It’s really
important we try to help these
small businesses succeed.”
Quiroz’s involvement in his local
community has included stints on
Queens Community Board 3, the
board of Queens Theatre, and as
a Democratic Party district leader.
He also has led the Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce of Queens.
Quiroz also emphasized the experience
he has gained in his current
gig with Con Edison, saying
that the job has equipped him with
the kind of skills that are not typically
seen among city lawmakers.
“The understanding of the electric
grid and how we can become
more environmentally friendly is a
positive,” he said. “Having knowledge
Bronx City Councilmember is on the cusp of being elected as the fi rst Afro-Latinx gay member of the US
House of Representatives.
led the nation in total LGBTQ
candidates, followed by Florida
and Texas.
The Victory Found counted 28
queer candidates running for offi
ce in New York State, including
nine individuals who have sought
seats in the State Legislature.
Alabama is the only state without
about the city and how the
city operates is probably something
that will help me out. You want a
City Council and councilmember
to come from a very wide array of
different experiences. There really
is no one there that has that kind
of experience on the City Council
now.”
Quiroz did not go into detail
about how he would navigate queer
issues as a city lawmaker, but he is
running for offi ce during an election
cycle that includes numerous
LGBTQ candidates vying for city
offi ce across the fi ve boroughs,
including transgender and nonbinary
contenders as well as Black
women.
The candidates, if successful,
could help bring more diversity to
an LGBT Caucus that is currently
made up entirely of men, but the
future of that caucus hangs in the
balance because all fi ve of its current
members — including Dromm
— are on their way out of offi ce due
to term limits.
Quiroz, born and raised in Chicago,
is married to Jeff Simmons, a
former NY1 reporter and longtime
communications professional who
currently serves as executive vice
president of the public relations
fi rm Anat Gerstein, Inc. Quiroz and
Simmons live in Jackson Heights.
MATT TRACY
any known LGBTQ candidates
this year, but other states are also
lagging behind, such as Louisiana,
which has seen just three
LGBTQ candidates this year, and
Hawaii, which reported just two.
The Victory Fund tallied one
intersex candidate in 2020 and a
pair of two-spirit candidates.
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