Manhattan Beep C. Virginia Fields:Branching Out To All NYers

She is probably the mayoral candidate Queens residents know the least about, and that is exactly why C. Virginia Fields felt it was important to open an annex campaign office in South Jamaica last month.
It makes a lot of sense. Anthony Weiner is a Congressman whose district takes in parts of Queens. As Speaker of the Council, what Gifford Miller does has an affect on our lives here and Freddy Ferrer has run for mayor before, so we’ve pretty much all heard of him too.
But Manhattan Borough President? How does that position affect the cost of milk in Maspeth?
Fields says you’d be surprised.
“I get tremendous encouragament from voters across the city, even in areas where I’m relatively new to them, never having run citywide before,” she said. “What they realize is that a lot of my work has spread throughout the city.”
For example, Fields cited her work on Mitchell-Lama housing, creating task forces in Manhattan that are now all over the city, including here in Queens. She also mentioned parent conferences and domestic violence groups — all now citywide, all of which started by Fields’ iniatives.
The 16-year veteran of elective office in New York City, Fields spoke of her “experience, background and vision” as the backbone of her candidacy.
In eight years as a City Councilmember and eight as Manhattan’s executive leader, Fields has built a resume of mayoral-ish accomplishments — from budget battles to land use issues.
Her background as a civil rights activist (she marched with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a teenager) and social worker gives her what she calls a natural instinct to see when government is failing its citizens.
“My sense of government is one that, while it cannot — nor should it — do everything, it still has an important role to play,” Fields said. “Where needs exist, where changes need to occur and where resources need to be allocated in order to address a situation that is what government is for and that is how I have viewed it since I’ve been elected.”
Fields said that currently the city was focusing its attention in the realm of education on standardized tests, rather than prioritizing preparing students for a “global economy.” She said more centers of excellence should be created, schools like Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Tech and LaGuardia, to get students ready for jobs in the hot job markets of today, like biotechnology and health care.
Fields also said she thought affordable housing and overdevelopment would be the big issues in Queens this Election Day.
With her entire life now centered on gaining the most prominent office in New York City government, you’ll have to forgive her if she lists her favorite pasttime as “nothing.”
“I just like to relax and spend time with friends and family,’ she said. “I also like to play Bid Whist.”
Bid What? Oh, it’s a card game, she says. Popular enough to have its own tournaments too. Fields loves it.
She also loves the time she’s spent campaigning.
“I feel very fortunate about the experiences I’ve had,” Fields said. “It’s not new for me to be confronted with a great deal of frustration from people about how they feel that government is not responding and who look to you for hope…It’s also inspiring.”
politics@queenscourier.com