By Nathan Duke
Debra Markell said her bid to replace City Councilman Tony Avella (D−Bayside) is not an opportunity for a new career, but merely an extension of an ongoing one.
Markell, who currently acts as the district manager for Sunnyside’s Community Board 2, has spent the past 11 years working in city government following an 18−year career working for Fortune 500 companies and a 1997 run for the City Council’s District 20 seat, which is currently occupied by Councilman John Liu (D−Flushing).
The Whitestone resident, whose first foray into public activism began in 1994 when she became president of Flushing’s 109th Precinct Community Council, said her three years of negotiating budgets at CB 2 as well as her eight years of work with the mayor’s Community Assistance Unit provided her with the experience necessary to fill Avella’s seat.
“I’m not just one of the boys,” she said, referring to her six male competitors in the Council race. “I feel that I’m the best candidate in the race because I’ve had experience in both the private and public sector. I have budget experience, government experience and community experience. It is important to elect someone who will be fiscally responsible but also bring money to northeast Queens.”
Markell, who also previously served on Flushing’s CB 7, worked as Queens director of the CAU under former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and as north Queens director under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. She began working as CB 2’s district manager in 2006 and currently serves as the president of the Waterside Estates at Cresthaven Homeowners Association in Whitestone.
Her opponents in this fall’s race include Democrats Jerry Iannece, Paul Vallone, Steve Behar, Tom Cooke and Kevin Kim as well as Republican Dan Halloran. The seat covers Bayside, Auburndale, Little Neck, Douglaston, Whitestone, Oakland Gardens, College Point, Malba and East Flushing.
Avella, first elected in 2001, is currently running in this year’s mayoral race rather than seeking a third term in the Council.
Markell said the issues on which she would focus most during her campaign were overdevelopment, improvements to district schools, public safety, truck traffic enforcement and women’s issues.
“The characters of our neighborhoods can change in the blink of an eye, so we want to make sure they are zoned right,” she said. “We also want to make sure we have smaller class sizes and ensure that parents have input. We need for our children to be able to compete nationally and globally.”
Markell also prioritizes public safety issues and said she would call for the creation of more police precincts in the district. She said she believes she is more dedicated to women’s issues than her opponents.
“I’m very sensitive to women’s issues like health care insurance and the need for more beds in our Queens hospitals,” she said. “And I’m the only candidate that is talking about these issues.”
Markell also emphasized a teamwork approach to solving the district’s problems and said she believed it is important to collaborate with other elected officials representing northeast Queens.
“I’m someone who cares very deeply about the community and the city,” she said. “In tough economic times, the district needs someone who can work with the community and its leaders to get things done. There is no Democratic or Republican way to fix a pothole or put up a streetlight.”
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e−mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 156.
