By Dustin Brown
The rainbow flag symbolizing the gay and lesbian community took on a broader meaning Monday night when three borough political candidates grappled with questions of color and politics in a forum held at the Queens Pride House in Woodside.
City Councilwoman Helen Marshall (D-East Elmhurst), a candidate for borough president, appeared at the lesbian and gay community center with city council candidates John Liu and Hiram Monserrate to discuss the significance of race and ethnicity in this year’s political contests.
Although the candidates acknowledged the powerful role that race plays in political and community life, they also encouraged people to look beyond race and recognize the common desires that unite borough residents across ethnic lines.
All three participants were the first political candidates from their respective racial and ethnic groups to receive the endorsement of the Queens Democratic Party for the borough presidency and the two council seats.
Marshall, the first black candidate to be backed by the county party for a boroughwide office, is among three Democrats vying to get on the November ballot by winning the party nomination for borough president in the Sept. 11 primary. She is running against former Board of Education President Carol Gresser and City Councilman Sheldon Leffler (D-Hollis).
Liu is an Asian-American consultant running for Democratic Councilwoman Julia Harrison’s seat in Flushing’s 20th Council District, while Hiram Monserrate, who is Latino, hopes to win the seat Marshall is being forced by term limits to vacate.
Pauline Park, co-chair of the Pride House communications committee and the moderator of the forum, described this year’s elections as “a harbinger of a revolution in Queens politics and New York City politics as a whole.”
Term limits imposed for the first time this year bar all 14 Queens delegates to the City Council and Borough President Claire Shulman from seeking re-election, allowing new candidates — including many minorities — to enter the field in unprecedented numbers.
“The outcome of these races also portends the eventual ascendancy of communities of color in the political establishment of the borough,” Park said.
The candidates stressed the need for political involvement among all Queens residents — even down to the most basic act of casting a vote — but also warned of problems that arise when communities become too factionalized along racial and ethnic lines.
“Everybody wants the same things,” Marshall said before reciting a list of basic desires that cross the barriers of race and class including a decent job, a good home and quality education.
Liu agreed, indicating that the ethnic background of a public official should have no effect on the way in which he responds to the concerns of a community.
“There is no black or Chinese or gay way to clean the streets,” he said.
Liu also noted that typical problems within a community are often incorrectly regarded as racial conflicts simply because the parties involved happen to be of different races, a tendency that is particularly prominent between store owners and residents in downtown Flushing.
“You realize that a lot of these difficulties have nothing to do with the fact that the residents are African-American and the store owners are Asian,” Liu said. “In fact, the tension really has to do with some of the differences between residents and shoppers vs. store owners and business owners.”
While the candidates recognized the prominent role their own racial backgrounds have already played in their campaigns, underlying the discussion was a feeling that candidates should be considered more for their ideas and drive than for their ethnic background.
“I’m hoping people will vote for me for the content of my soul, not for the color of my skin,” Marshall said.
Reach reporter Dustin Brown by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 154.
