4 OCTOBER 1, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Maspeth native Juan Ardila vies
for District 30 City Council seat
the Department of Education (DOE),
supporting the expansion of the widely
popular universal pre-K and 3-K for
all programs, to ensure the youngest
New Yorkers receive free, high-quality
education.
Ardila particularly focused his eff orts
on expanding the pre-K Dual Language
programs to promote bilingualism
across the city, and serve the children
and their families who speak languages
other than English at home.
Ardila believes the city should invest
more in teachers and students. He wants
to see the way the city funds schools
drastically change, not only by investing
more in public schools, but also by
making the system more equitable for
low-income communities.
“We have a lot of overcrowding
throughout the district,” he said. “Students
learn so much more when they’re
provided more individualized attention.
Also, we’re in Queens, the most diverse
place in the world, and I want our classrooms
to genuinely refl ect that.”
He also wants to see more investment
in aft er school and summer programming,
as well as more support staff for
teachers and students, such as nurses
and counselors, rather than more inschool
police offi cers.
When it comes to District 30 — which
encompasses the neighborhoods of
Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth, Middle
Village, Woodhaven and Woodside
— Ardila sees housing, particularly affordable
housing, as a main issue.
“If there’s one thing that all the cities
that have implemented aff ordable housing
and reduced their homeless population
have in common, is that they view
homeownership not as a speculative investment,
but as a human right,” Ardila
said. “And I think that’s where New York
City fails, we view it as an investment.”
Ardila believes the city should prioritize
new housing for seniors and low
income families, and push an austerity
budget by taxing billionaires.
With Ridgewood being eyed as prime
location for development, which some
residents say is leading to gentrifi cation
and displacement of low-income communities,
and Glendale sought out by the city
for an embattled homeless shelter, Ardila
has a nuanced perspective on some of the
main worries of the district’s residents.
Ardila attended the march and sleepout
in Ridgewood, accompanied by his
mother, which was organized to send a
message to Gov. Andrew Cuomo about
what could happen if policy isn’t enacted
to directly prevent families from eviction
aft er losing their jobs and income
due to COVID-19.
“There shouldn’t be any evictions,
people are still not really working, we
shouldn’t have to be paying our rent,”
Ardila said at the sleep-out. “It’s all tied
into the homeless crisis and racial justice
issues.”
However, he doesn’t see the benefi t of
the city installing the homeless shelter
on Cooper Avenue.
“You want to support homeless people,
you want to set them up for success, so
they have access to aff ordable housing
and social services that they need so
they can get back on their feet,” he said.
“I’m not sure how placing people in a
transit desert mitigates poverty and
addresses root causes of poverty. It’s just
not setting up anyone for success here.”
Ardila is encouraged by the support
he’s received in the community so far. In
his fi rst campaign fi nance fi ling period
in July, he was able to raise more than
$20,000 with a little over 300 individual
contributors and an average donation
of $70.
“We actually had one of the most grassroots
campaigns in terms of fi nances,”
he said. “This was all from just doing
volunteer work and supporting people.
I am actually a bit shocked at how much
traction it’s gotten.”
Ardila is the fi rst Latino to run for City
Council in the district, according to his
campaign.
His goal is to represent the district
as a whole — which is 57 percent white,
30 percent Latin, 8 percent Asian and
nearly 2 percent Black — as well as the
growing LGBTQ+ community.
“I believe in collective leadership,
where it’s interdependent and you empower
others,” Ardila said. “One where
you bridge ideas together, and you establish
relationships to ensure that public
service and public programming can
actually come to fruition and actually
set people up for success.”
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Maspeth native and public
servant Juan Ardila is vying
to represent District 30 in the
City Council as a Democratic candidate,
with aff ordable housing for all, public
transportation access and investment
on more education as some of his main
policy points.
The offi ce is currently held by Robert
Holden, who’s amassed a loyal following
within the district’s conservative families
— but Ardila says he’s equipped to appeal
to the diverse needs of the district’s
constituents.
“Each neighborhood has it’s own
unique issues that really have not been
addressed,” Ardila said.
The 26-year-old is a fi rst generation
American, with a Colombian father and
a Honduran-Cuban mother. Born in
Elmhurst and raised in Maspeth, Ardila
describes himself as a “local boy.”
Ardila attended St. Adalbert Catholic
Academy in Elmhurst for elementary
and middle school, then Archbishop
Molloy High School in Briarwood, and
later earned his B.A. in Political Science
from Fordham University. He then got
his master’s degree in Public Administration
with a concentration in Public Policy
Analysis from New York University.
Ardila grew up in a working-class,
immigrant household. When he was
17, he nearly lost his mother to deportation
aft er she was denied her residency.
Just a few years later, some of his family
members in Honduras faced persecution
from gang violence.
“I’ve never felt more afraid in my life,”
Ardila said.
He currently works as a program
coordinator at the Legal Aid Society. Previously,
he worked at the International
Rescue Committee, providing at-risk
communities the services his own family
were denied.
Ardila has also picked up government
experience. He’s worked as the offi ce
manager for City Councilman Brad
Lander, who represents Brooklyn’s
District 39, where he learned the policy
making process and how to serve constituents
for two years.
He then worked as a consultant at
Courtesy of Juan Ardila’s campaign
Tom Zmich
Union Member, Veteran, Strong Supporter of Israel
Running for United States Congress in the 6th Congressional District, Queens, NY
Tom Zmich
Strong Supporter of Israel and Israel's
Right to Self Defense
Supports School Vouchers and Parental
school Choice
Proposes Tax Cuts for the Middle Class
Reduce Governmental Spending
Demanding Accountability
Root out Waste, Fraud & Abuse
Supports Law Enforcement and a
simplified immigration system
Grace Meng
Officially endorsed Rep. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez (AOC)
Has not supported law enforcement or
condemned the violence and rioting
Opposes School Choice
Sponsored bill to lower the voting age from
18 to 16
Opposes military recruiting in high schools
zmich2020.com Zmich for Congress @tomzmich2020
Paid for By Zmich For Congress
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