Name: Mark Weprin
Age: 48
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Area Serving: District 23
Occupation: Member of the New York State Assembly, attorney
Money raised thus far: private $116,000 public $84,000
Why did you decide to run for City Council?
“I decided to run because I felt like I could be a more effective advocate for the community in the Council,” he said. “So many of the issues I advocate for, like parental input in schools and services for seniors are administered on the local level,” Weprin explained, adding “I have established a number of programs at the state level, but they’re administered by the city.”
What are two major issues affecting your community?
“School governance,” Weprin responded immediately. “Someone needs to hold chancellor’s feet to the fire and make sure he pays attention to parent’s issues – such as that the local superintendent needs to have real authority, so parents have a person to go to when they have a problem,” he added. “Seniors need to be able to retire with peace of mind and security. They need tax abatements on their primary residence, be able to afford prescription drugs and access to programs like ‘Meals on Wheels’,” he said.
What’s the first thing you would focus on if elected?
“There are two ‘first things’ I’d focus on,” Weprin declared. “We need to be sure that the schools are being run in accordance with the school governance law that we just passed in Albany. I’d also call for a commission to review how the tax code is written and administered to achieve fairness for condo and coop owners.” Weprin laments that coop owners are treated like corporate stockholders rather than homeowners. “The way taxes are assessed and tax code changes– I understand the state and local aspects of what needs to be done,” he said.
