The 39th Assembly…
By Brendan Browne and Daniel Massey
With the overcrowded schools of Jackson Heights, Corona and Elmhurst on their minds, four Hispanic candidates who have never before held public office are contending for the area’s new state assembly seat created by redistricting.
The 39th Assembly District was created by a legislative task force to represent the neighborhood’s growing Hispanic population. According to census figures, the district, which covers Corona, Elmhurst Jackson Heights and a pocket of Woodside, is 65 percent Hispanic, 20 percent Asian, 9 percent white, 3 percent black and 3 percent others.
Jose Peralta, an immigrant advocate for the New York City Central Labor Council; Francisco Moya, a development specialist at Elmhurst Hospital Center; William Salgado, an attorney; and Isabel Guzman, a geriatrics nurse, are all vying for the seat on the Democratic Party line.
The Queens Democratic Party is backing Peralta, director of an immigrant council for the New York City Labor Council. Peralta has raised more money than any other candidate and the political support he offered to such Queens politicians as Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin may be returned.
Peralta, 30, touted his work with several local politicians and immigrant and labor groups, saying he could coordinate coalitions between such organizations in order to push for improvements in Jackson Heights, Corona and Elmhurst.
Peralta, who has lived in Corona for 22 years, said his work in the community has centered on educating and empowering immigrants in Queens. He has organized voter registration drives and educational seminars on immigration information, the census, education, and economic development, he said.
But Moya, 28, believes his more than 12 years of service to the community will help defeat the party’s choice. A Democratic district leader, he started campaigning in May 2001 and said he would knock on every door in the district to bring his message to the people.
“The one endorsement that matters to me most is the endorsement of the people of the community,” he said. “When I have senior citizens and parents giving me $5 checks, they’ve seen what I’ve done.”
Moya, a Corona native who is associate director of development and strategic planning for Elmhurst Hospital Center, began working in the community at the age of 16, when he received a small grant from then Councilwoman Helen Marshall to launch a block association.
What started as five residents armed with whistles patrolling the streets is now the 100-member Corona Gardens Civic Association, which organizes neighborhood cleanups, immigration counseling, adult computer classes and a neighborhood basketball league. He secured funding for an asthma outreach program in Corona, which has one of the highest asthma rates in the city.
Salgado, a general practice lawyer from Jackson Heights, is throwing his hat in the ring for the third time. He was defeated by Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette in 1998 and 2000 in the race for District 34 before state redistricting allowed him to avoid another run against the incumbent.
Salgado, 47, said he has raised $40,000 for his campaign and believes the name recognition he earned in his first two assembly runs and years of work with civic associations can trump Peralta’s support from the Queens Democratic Party. He said he expects voters to relate to his views on education, housing, and crime.
Salgado said he believes students need smaller class sizes, highly qualified teachers, and schools outfitted with more computers. He also said he would fight for funds to put more police officers on the street to combat rising crime in parts of Elmhurst and Corona.
Salgado, who immigrated to the United States from Colombia at age 11, said many low- to middle-income families suffer from the city’s steep rents and hopes to create incentives for real estate developers to build more affordable housing.
Unlike her opponents, Guzman, 50, does not have any political experience. She came to New York from Puerto Rico at the age of 11, graduated from Lehman College and went straight into nursing.
“They might be the perfect politicians,” she said about the other three 39th AD candidates. “But this community doesn’t need the perfect politicians. They need somebody who cares.”
Guzman has been that person, literally, working as a nurse for more than 30 years. For the last seven years, she has served as coordinator of the memory disorder clinic at Elmhurst Hospital Center. She founded the Latino Alzheimer Task Force in 1998.
If elected, Guzman, who lives in Pomona, N.Y., said she would focus on easing overcrowding in the district’s schools, which are among the city’s most packed. In gathering signatures for her ballot petition, Guzman said education and prescription drug coverage for seniors were the issues foremost on voters’ minds.
Most importantly, Guzman said, she would keep an open ear to all people in the district.
Reach reporter Brendan Browne and Daniel Massey by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.
