White…
By Betsy Scheinbart
Six Democratic candidates from backgrounds as diverse as the population of the district they hope to represent in southeast Queens have publicly announced their candidacy for the post now held by City Councilman Thomas White (D-South Ozone Park).
White was elected in 1992 and is not permitted to run again due to term limits.
The 28th Council District covers Richmond Hill, Jamaica, Rochdale Village and parts of South Ozone Park. It has residents from many different religious and ethnic backgrounds as well a large immigrant population.
The city Board of Elections has four Democratic candidates for the seat on record thus far: Anthony Andrews Jr., Imam Aziz Bilal, Garth Marchant, and Trevor Rupnarain.
Inderjit Singh, another candidate, recently held a fund-raiser at the Bombay Palace in Great Neck and Michele Titus has made a formal announcement of her candidacy.
Andrews, who was born in Jamaica and still lives in the area, has been politically involved since he was 16.
Andrews, 36, has been a Democratic state committeeman for the 32nd Assembly District since he was 21 and has also worked on the staff of White, Councilman Archie Spigner (D-St. Albans) and former state Sen. Alton Waldon.
“I am probably most versed in the field of education,” said Andrews, the assistant director of student activities and campus programs at York College.
Andrews is also a member of the Fred Wilson Democratic Club.
Aziz Bilal is an imam, or Muslim leader, at Mas Jid Li-Ham-Dullah, a mosque in Jamaica, where he lives.
“As a community leader over 30 years, I have constantly been in touch with the people and their problems,” said Bilal, 48, who was born in Selma, Ala.
“My top priority is inclusion,” he said. “My interest is to increase and enlarge political involvement.”
He has served as a chaplain for the city Department of Corrections on Rikers Island and the Queens Hall Detention Center for 14 years and is the CEO of Keys Elevating Youth Services.
Garth Marchant, a 46-year-old businessman and Jamaica resident, has returned to the Democratic Party after a switch to the Republican Party in support of his second cousin, Colin Powell, a prominent Republican frequently mentioned as a presidential candidate in 1996 who was recently named secretary of defense. Marchant is also a member of the Working Families Party.
In 1996, Marchant lost a GOP bid to defeat Walton for the seat now held by Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans). Marchant also attempted to unseat City Councilman Archie Spigner (D-St. Albans) in 1997, but was unsuccessful.
Marchant said his work as census supervisor in Jamaica last year inspired him to run for office this year.
“There is a lack of economic development in our community,” Marchant said, but his top priority is addressing problems in the school system.
Marchant said he was the victim of police brutality in 1996 and is suing the New York City Police Department for $60 million.
Rupnarain, a Richmond Hill resident who will be 39 next month, has been a general law attorney in the area for the past 10 years.
He emigrated from Guyana in 1986 and many of his clients are immigrants, so immigration issues are of particular concern to him.
“A lot of my clients have had problems with housing, immigration matters, and a lot of things I can’t help them with as an attorney,” he said, explaining why he decided to run for office.
He writes for several of the Caribbean papers in his neighborhood and is a member of the New Concept Democratic Club.
Singh, 64, has been involved with local and national politics for more than 40 years, beginning with the 1960 campaign of President John F. Kennedy.
Singh was born in an area of India which is now Pakistan, but he has spent most of his adult life in the United States. He lives in Richmond Hill.
“I am running because this district had been neglected for a long time,” Singh said. “This district lacks in municipal facilities and it is a major exporter of money to the city.”
Singh is a member of the Eastern Queens Democratic Club and the Nation Democratic Committee’s Asian American Advisory Committee.
Titus, 31, has served as the female district leader for the 31st Assembly District, Part B, since 1998.
She is an attorney for the city Board of Education and is thus far the only woman to declare her candidacy in the race.
Titus has lived in South Ozone Park almost her entire life.
She is the former executive director of the New York State Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus and the co-founder of the People’s Democratic Club.
“My whole career has been dedicated to public service,” Titus said.
As as new mother, Titus is particularly concerned about public education. “No child should be left behind,” Titus said.
Allan Jennings, the male Democratic district leader for the 31st Assembly District, Part B, who tried to unseat White three times and won 42 percent of the vote in the 1997 general election, has said he plans to run for the seat. But neither he nor Patrick Jenkins, who is an executive assistant to U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-St. Albans), has made public announcements yet or held fund-raisers.
Reach reporter Betsy Scheinbart by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300 Ext. 138.
