8
QUEENS WEEKLY, MARCH 15, 2020
Far Rock Assembly candidates contend with
a hectic election schedule at Rosedale forum
BY MAX PARROTT
The race for the southeastern
Queens assembly
seat vacated by Michele
Titus kicked off Monday,
March 2, in Rosedale with a
forum hosted by the BlaQue
Resource Network before
the April 28 special election.
The event, organized
by a recently formed black
networking group, not only
gave six candidates a chance
introduce themselves, extoll
their civic bonafides and describe
their platforms, but
also prepared the audience
for the idiosyncratic election
process that is ahead
for the seat.
In February, Gov. Andrew
Cuomo consolidated
the special election for Titus’
seat on the same day as
the Democratic presidential
primary, ensuring a high
turnout of voters at the polls
– many of whom may lack
knowledge of the hyperlocal
race. But because Titus term
was set to end in 2020, two
months after the special election
the winner will have to
run again in the Democratic
primary in June.
Out of the six candidates
at the forum, only four will
appear on the special election
ballot. Chiedu “Shea”
Uzoigwe, Derrick DeFlorimonte,
Richard David and
Tavia Blakely will all run
on different party lines in
the upcoming race. The
other two candidates Lisa
George and Khaleel Anderson
chose to conserve their
resources and run for their
next shot at the assembly
seat – two months later.
The distinction between
the two upcoming political
contests came up right away
in the opening remarks. David,
who was endorsed by the
Queens County Democratic
Party and had the most cash
on hand as of the last filing,
framed two different sets of
priorities for his campaign:
both in the long- and immediate
term.
“We have some immediate
challenges that have to
be addressed,” said David.
“We have a census that’s
going to be mailed to our
homes. In Assembly District
31, we have among the
lowest response rate of anywhere
in New York City.”
David, framing his experience
working as District
Leader and with the NYC
Administration of Children’s
Services, said that
district also needed a seat at
the table for the Queens Bus
Redesign and the redevelopment
of JFK airport, which
falls entirely within the district.
David was also among
three candidates, including
Anderson and George, who
made clear that they would
fight against rolling back
bail reform. The other three
candidates didn’t directly
state their position on the
backlash over bail reform.
Anderson, a Rockaway
activist, distinguished
himself not only because
he pointed out that he was
the youngest candidate
on the stage, but with a
platform that framed his
policies as a response to
systemic problems such
as the housing crisis and
environmental racism.
“There is something
in the district that needs a
change. There are people
who say we need to go in a
different direction,” said
Anderson. “The model of
our campaign is a new fight
together.”
Asked about the controversial
Specialized High
School Admissions Test,
Anderson was the only candidate
to say that he would
scrap it. Four of the other
candidates answered that
they believed the right way
to address the disparity in
black and Latino admissions
to specialized high
school was to provide more
community resources for
preparation. Uzoigwe, a
former staffer for Senator
Sanders, said that the decision
should be left up to the
city council.
Despite these policy differences,
none of the candidates
hesitated to criticize
the outgoing assemblywoman
for not spending enough
time in the district.
George, a Senator James
Sander staffer who touted
her experience as a mother
and PTA president, said
that it would be a priority
to spend time with constituents.
“I’m already doing the
work,” she said.
Blakely, a staffer in Titus’s
office, took the moment
to distance herself from the
administration she works
for. “Please do not hold me
accountable because the former
Assemblymember was
not present as she was supposed
to be,” she said.
Blakely’s responsibilities
with Titus’ office later
led to tension. After Blakely
claimed that she was still
“running this district as we
speak,” David corrected her
that she was not working in
the office anymore. Blakely
shot back that she was still
on payroll until April 28 and
would be fulfilling her responsibilities
until then.
That wasn’t the only
charged moment. When one
of audience members asked
all the candidates who they
thought was least qualified
to represent the district, no
Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
one threw any of their colleagues
under the bus, but
DeFlorimonte, member of
Community Board 13 and
a combat medic with the
Army National Guard, did
accuse one of his competitors
of contesting his petition
signatures in an effort
to knock him off the ballot.
“I don’t know who it is
yet,” said DeFlorimonte.
The forum provided
the candidates a chance to
vaunt their dedication to the
district. Despite the sparks,
the candidates – many of
whom know each other from
their community work over
the years – stuck around the
venue after it was over to
debrief with the members
of the audience and one another.
“There is so much that
we didn’t get to touch on tonight,”
David said. “But this
is the start of an incredible
conversation.”
Reach reporter Max Parrott
by e-mail at mparrott@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260-2507.
/schnepsmedia.com
