DANIEL DROMM, Democrat for City Council

From Queens Chronicle: by Willow Belden

A “Yes we can” mentality permeated Club Atlantis Tuesday night, when Danny Dromm celebrated his victory over incumbent Councilwoman Helen Sears.

Dromm took nearly 50 percent of the vote in the primary, beating Sears by about 10 percent, while rival Stanley Kalathara took just over 11 percent. No Republicans are running for election in District 25, so Dromm will be unchallenged in the November election.

“This is unbelievable,” Dromm told a crowd of jubilant supporters after the results came in. “The people have won, and the people will continue to win. ... We are going to redefine politics.”

Dromm, who has been a public school teacher for 25 years and is a leader in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, was the only candidate in Queens — and one of just four citywide — to unseat an incumbent in the primary.

“It is nearly impossible to take out a city incumbent,” said state Assemblyman Jose Peralta, who spoke at Dromm’s victory celebration. “They said it couldn’t be done, and we proved everyone wrong — we did it.”

Sears, who is finishing her second term on the City Council, had the backing of the Queens Democratic Organization and several prominent politicians, but she came under attack for voting to extend term limits, seeking to remove street vendors from parts of her district and opposing legislation aimed at toughening lead paint regulations. Opponents also complain that St. John’s Hospital closed under her watch and claim she is often unresponsive to the wishes of her constituents.

After thanking his staff and volunteers, Dromm’s victory speech took a serious tone. He noted that he is one of two openly gay Queens candidates who claimed victory in the primary — the other being Jimmy Van Bramer, who beat rival Deirdre Feerick in District 26 — and tears came to his eyes as he spoke about how his personal experiences have shaped who he is.

“Being a person who has faced discrimination, who has faced hatred and who knows what that does to people, I promise to every single community in this community — to our South Asian community, to our Latino community, to our LGBT community, to our Asian community — I am going to be your fighter on the New York City Council,” Dromm said.

That set off a chant of “The people, united, shall never be defeated! The people, united, shall never be defeated!” amongst the crowd of supporters.

Dromm then reached out to the individuals and groups backing his main rival.

“To the Queens County Democratic Organization, I am extending an olive branch,” he said. “I will work with you. ... We are going to work together for the betterment of this community. We will bring the resources to this community that the community deserves.”

He added that he looks forward to working with Congressman Joe Crowley (D-Queens and the Bronx), who also endorsed Sears.

Dromm didn’t dwell on specific policy items Tuesday night, but a large part of his campaign centered on improving education by creating more classroom space, reducing class sizes and ensuring that teachers and parents would have more involvement in decision-making processes.

The winner has pledged to take a tough stance on landlords who make life difficult for middle- and low-income tenants and prides himself on his detachment from the real estate industry.

To improve healthcare and ease hospital overcrowding, Dromm advocates setting up “primary care resource centers,” and he is a strong supporter of improving public transportation and creating more public green spaces.

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