Category: Debate

From Queens Chronicle:
The four candidates for Helen Sears’ seat in the City Council laid out their reasons for running and responded to a range of questions from immigrants at a forum in Jackson Heights on Monday.
Among other things, attendees asked the candidates what they would do to ensure the availability of affordable housing, what measures they would take to help immigrants gain U.S. citizenship, how they would protect undocumented domestic workers from abuse and exploitation, what their positions are on non-citizen voting rights and where they stand on gay marriage.
The candidates, who are vying to represent parts of Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Rego Park, Woodside and Corona, began with brief opening remarks about their reasons for running.
Daniel Dromm of Jackson Heights, who has been a teacher for 25 years, started in Spanish before switching to English.
“I’m running for City Council because I have a hope,” Dromm said. “I have a hope that we can have a better community. I have a hope that we can have a better education system. I have a hope that together we can fight for civil rights for everyone in the community.”
Dromm added that he thinks it’s important that the council representative for District 25 speak Spanish to be able to “communicate with the majority of the people who live here in this community.”
Stanley Kalathara, an attorney and former real estate agent originally from India, said he aims to improve the quality of life in all parts of District 25 by reopening St. John’s Hospital, building a new high school, rezoning Roosevelt Avenue as a business improvement district and beautifying the neighborhoods.
“I know how to create jobs,” Kalathara said, citing his business and legal experience.
Alfonso Quiroz of Jackson Heights, a public affairs manager at Con Ed, said he stands out from other candidates because he is independent and said that if elected, he would work hard to reach out to the various communities in the district.
“One of the first things I’m gong to do when I’m elected is to create a task force where I can sit down with a lot of the people in each of the communities and figure out what’s going wrong and how we can solve it,” Quiroz said. “I think it’s extremely, extremely important that everyone has a voice — that everyone has a seat at the table.”
Incumbent Helen Sears, who has represented District 25 in the City Council for the past seven years, spoke of her accomplishments in office.
“It probably is the most progressive council that has ever been,” Sears said. “We have passed more laws for immigrants; we have passed more laws for gay rights; we have passed more laws for human rights; we have done more for tenants in housing. Can we do more? Absolutely. Do I wish to do more? Yes, and that’s why I’m running for reelection.”
During the question-and-answer session, candidates pandered hard to their audience. Dromm began many of his answers in Spanish; Quiroz several times compared himself to immigrants by mentioning that he moved to New York from Chicago without knowing anyone; Kalathara pointed out that he was an immigrant and went through the naturalization process; and Sears said her years in office have given her the experience and the head start she needs to get things done.
In response to concerns that were raised, each of the contenders repeatedly began their answers with something to the effect of, “I think that’s an extremely important issue, and I care deeply about it.”
The candidates sometimes used up nearly all of their allotted speaking time by reiterating the importance of the issue at hand rather than explaining what they would do to remedy the problem.
Nonetheless, attendees said they thought the forum was informative and useful — in part because the candidates sometimes took clear stances on issues that are of importance to minority communities.
For example, all four candidates said it’s important to establish better means of protecting day laborers and domestic workers, and all clearly said they support gay marriage.
There were also some topics about which the candidates did disagree or at least proposed varying solutions.
For example, when someone said that 35 percent of the district’s population can’t vote because they’re not U.S. citizens, Dromm said he thinks anyone who pays taxes should have the right to vote. Kalathara agreed but added the qualification that individuals with a criminal record shouldn’t be allowed to vote. Quiroz called for general immigration reform, and Sears said immigrants should have to show a commitment to the United States and to learning English before being allowed to vote.
On the subject of immigration and citizens’ rights, the candidates each talked of their plans to facilitate the naturalization process for immigrants. Sears said two offices in the district already offer ESL classes and other services, but Dromm called for “much, much more funding for ESL and help with getting citizenship.” He said he would set aside some of his discretionary funds for this.
Kalathara said he would provide his constituents with help on “all immigration issues, any time, day or night — for free.” Finally, Quiroz called for public-private relationships that would help provide ESL instruction.
A third example of differing opinions involved after school programs, many of which are reducing services due to budget cuts. Kalathara pledged to give seven percent of his salary to pre-kindergarten programs. Dromm said he would work to reprioritize funding and channel money back into the district. Sears reiterated that it’s hard to come up with adequate funding for extracurricular programs but that at least the mayor is committed to maintaining the number of teachers in classrooms. Quiroz said budget cuts are inevitable and advocated sitting down with principals, parents and students to figure out how to deal with them.
Several of the forum’s attendees said they thought the event helped them get a sense of who the candidates are and what they stand for.
“I didn’t really know the candidates,” said Monica Lorza, a Jackson Heights resident. “With this, you can get a sense of what they’re thinking.”
Victor Oquendo agreed, saying the forum helped him differentiate between the candidates, although as he put it, “Sometimes they derailed from the questions.”
Brendan Fay offered warm praises. “I was amazed,” Fay said. “What we’ve witnessed here is the ability of diverse communities to gather and debate about issues that affect their lives. … I was glad to hear every single one of [the candidates] say they’re for ending discrimination in our community.”