By Betsy Scheinbart
In Queens’ most crowded council race, James Sanders Jr. defeated seven Democratic opponents for the seat held by Councilwoman Juanita Watkins (D-Laurelton) two weeks after terrorists attacked New York City, based on unofficial results.
Sanders, who got more than twice as many votes as Queens Democratic Party nominee Charlotte Jefferson, will face four rivals on the Republican, Independence, Liberal and Green lines in the Nov. 6 election.
“It’s been a real blessing,” Sanders said of winning the Democratic nomination. “We have two powers, God and the people, and they both came through.”
All 14 Queens City Council members and Borough President Claire Shulman are barred from re-election this year due to term limits. Watkins was elected to the post in 1992.
A resident of Arverne on the Rockaway peninsula, Sanders works for a small non-profit organization, Forward Motion, which uses a network of 16 churches to help people get of welfare. He helped found People United for Local Leadership, a micro-economic development corporation and served as former U.S. Rep. Floyd Flake’s (D-St. Albans) assistant district manager.
Sanders attributes his victory to the relationships he developed on a “listening tour” during his campaign. He put aside issues he thought were important and just listened to what other community leaders had to say.
“Although many of those people still voted for a different candidate, it allowed me to understand the community much better,” Sanders said.
The overriding issue in the southeast Queens primary race, which attracted more contenders than any other contest in the borough, was education. Appropriately, many of the candidates work in jobs related to the field.
Sanders, who won 29 percent of the vote, according to an unofficial tally compiled by the Associated Press, is the vice president of Community School Board 27, which covers the Rockaway peninsula, Ozone Park and Woodhaven.
Professor James Blake, who teaches at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, came in second behind Sanders with 16 percent of the vote. High School teacher Amanda Clarke and Charlotte Jefferson tied for third place with 13 percent, according to the AP.
The remaining votes were captured by the Rev. Henrietta Fullard with 11 percent, Ed Lewis with 9 percent, Carol Howell with 5 percent and David Hooks with 4 percent, according to the AP.
The 31st Council District covers a large portion of troubled School District 29, which is beginning its third school year without a permanent superintendent and has been at odds with Schools Chancellor Harold Levy over finding a new chief.
Sanders said improving education in Board 27 and SB 29 would be a fundamental element of his job, if he is elected to the City Council.
“I intend to be very pro-active in terms of education and finding out why New York City had not properly funded our schools,” Sanders said.
Sanders was one of three candidates from the Rockaways to run in a district that stretches from Far Rockaway and Arverne to Cambria Heights and Laurelton. About one third of the district is on the Rockaway peninsula.
“People underestimated me and thought I was merely a creature of the Rockaways,” Sanders said, “but I came in second or third in every district in the main land.”
Sanders said the race was a close and many of his fellow candidates would have been good city council members. “The quality of the candidates from the mainland was especially high,” he said.
Sanders will face Republican Everly Brown, Independence Party candidate Rosalind O’Neal, Liberal Party contender Edward Lewis and Green Party nominee Francisco Pena in the general election. Lewis also participated in the Democratic Primary.
Reach reporter Betsy Scheinbart by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 138.
