District 27 covers St. Albans, Hollis, Cambria Heights, Jamaica,…
By Betsy Scheinbart
One Republican and six Democrats are competing for the city council seat currently held by Deputy Majority Leader Archie Spigner (D-St. Albans), who must step down because of term limits.
District 27 covers St. Albans, Hollis, Cambria Heights, Jamaica, Baisley Park, Addisleigh Park, and parts of Queens Village, Rosedale and Springfield Gardens.
Republican Ishmael Morgan is up against Democrats Leroy Comrie Jr., Helen Cooper-Gregory, Erica Ford, Cynthia Jenkins, Saundra Pope and Earl Simons.
Spigner, who has held the seat since 1974, said the main concern he has for the district and the city is the unforeseen consequences of term limits, which are taking effect for the first time this year.
“What serves our best interest is to have a seamless transition,” said Spigner, who is supporting Comrie, his district manager since 1997.
Term limits will force all 14 Queens city council members and Borough President Claire Shulman out of office next January.
Morgan, 51, is a St. Albans resident who was born on the island of Jamaica. He said he got involved in politics because he wanted to change people’s lives in a positive way.
Morgan, who is a New York City Off-Track Betting branch manager, is a member of the Community Board 12 Neighborhood Advisory Board. He ran unsuccessfully for the same council seat in 1997.
Morgan said he believes the public school system should be privatized. “Public education in the black community is somewhat doomed and it only can be saved with private intervention,” he said.
On the Democratic side, Comrie, 41, has worked for Spigner for 18 years. He said his top priority for the district is improving public education.
“Everybody wants to blame the parents, but we have a community with a lot of low-income parents, a lot of immigrant parents. This city has had a history of responding to educating the children of immigrants,” Comrie said. “Why should this be different in the new millennium?”
Comrie is a St. Albans resident who serves on School Board 29 and is a member of the Guy Brewer Democratic Club. He was born in Jersey City, N.J., but was raised in Queens.
Cooper-Gregory is the program director and vice president of the United for Progress Democratic Club in St. Albans. She could not be reached for comment by press time.
Ford, 35, said she got involved with politics because of the number of people being killed in the streets.
“It led me to fight for something else in our community,” Ford said. “I believe it is time for young people to take control of our community.”
Combating crime and improving education are important issues for Ford. She is a St. Albans resident who works as a counselor for the December 12 International Secretary, a group that holds non-government status with the United Nations. She is also the chairwoman of The Code, which provides moral support to black and Hispanic youth.
Jenkins, 77, has lived in Springfield Gardens for more than 40 years and served as the state assemblywoman for the 29th District for 12 years.
She is the founder of the Social Concern Committee of Springfield Gardens Inc., which started as an educational action program and now has several programs, including offering health care to 2,000 seniors. However, education is her main concern for the district.
“If the education problem, not only in District 27 but in this country, is not solved, we are going down the drain,” Jenkins said.
Pope, 55, lives in Jamaica and became a community activist while fighting the Queens Zoo’s alleged dumping in her own backyard.
She has also battled the “gravel pit” at Baisley Boulevard and 172nd Street in Jamaica. She ran in state Assembly District 29 in 1998 but did not win.
Pope describes herself as an environmentalist and an insurgent candidate committed to fighting pollution in the air and water of Queens.
“Even though education is a priority,” Pope said, “if children are ingesting these pollutants, then we don’t know what is affecting their ability to learn.”
Simons, 37, has lived in Cambria Heights for more than 10 years. He is the director of the North Manhattan office for Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields.
Simons has worked for the Human Resources Administration and in the Washington, D.C. office of U.S. Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-Brooklyn). He is a member of the Douglas/King Democratic Club.
“As a parent of two children, I am very much concerned with the quality of education in the district,” Simons said, adding that he wants to see the delivery of additional city services to the district.
Democrat Shirley Huntley, the president of Community School Board 28, said she is running for the council seat as well, but as of press time she had not made a public announcement or notified the New York City Board of Elections of her candidacy.
Reach reporter Betsy Scheinbart by e-mail at TimesLedgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 138.
