Name: Julissa Ferreras
Age: 32
Party affiliation: Democrat
Area Serving: District 21
Occupation: Ferreras, the incumbent, has been in office since winning a Special Election on February 24 to replace the seat vacated by state Senator Hiram Monserrate. In between stints as Monserrate’s Chief of Staff, she served as New York Director of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials for two years. Before entering politics, she directed the Beacon afterschool program at P.S. 19.
Money raised thus far: Private $34,917 Public: $21,031
Why did you decide to run for City Council? “I’m running because I want to continue the work I’ve been doing since I was 14 years old,” Ferreras said, referring to her service on the Corona Youth Concil as a teenager. “I have a great love for our community, and we’re in an interesting time now where I’ve been able to advocate and pass the $60 billion budget and I’m the person with the most experience. Our community deserves more, it deserves better, but it definitely deserves quality, and I think that that’s what I’d bring to the Council. It’s quality and experience that this district needs.”
What are two major issues affecting your community? Education and affordable housing. “Even before I was the councilmember I advocated strongly for affordable housing. Now it’s about bringing my experience to ensure that whoever comes in to develop knows these are the commitments that the city signed onto before we approved them.”
What’s the first thing you would focus on if elected? “I really believe that it’s a continuation of what I’ve started. One of the things that I’m most proud of is being able to have a green market in the area that accepts food stamps. A healthy community is a stable community, and then we can talk about the education of our children, then we can talk about affordable housing.”
