With the passing of primary day, a special election looms for the city council seat left vacant after the passing of Councilmember Thomas White.
The number of potential candidates reached double digits barely one week after his death – with some of the candidates being familiar faces, and some being completely new to the campaign game.
One of the newer faces is Nicole Paultre Bell, whose husband, Sean Bell, was gunned down in a hail of police bullets in Jamaica just hours before their wedding in 2006.
In an interview with the Daily News, Bell said that her platform centers on education reform and elder care – and improving police and community relations.
“The community stood up for me and now it’s my turn to stand up for the community,” Bell told the Daily News.
Bell will have her work cut out for her, as she goes up against political heavyweights and other novices rumored to throw their hat in the ring. Other possible candidates include Charles Bilal, Martha Butler, Vishnu Mahadeo, Hettie Powell, Harpreet Singh Toor, Ruben Wills, Allan Jennings and Stephen Jones.
Also on the list of challengers is perennial Albert Baldeo, who announced his candidacy for city council in District 28 on September 9.
“I have received overwhelming requests from diverse groups from every corner of this district to be their Councilmember, and I have answered their call,” said Baldeo, who heads the United Communities Alliance. “Time is overdue for our community to get its fair share of our tax dollars, and we need a representative to ensure that we have fair census redistricting, a better quality of life and an equitable allocation of jobs, schools, hospitals and resources.”
Another possible challenger is Lynn Nunes, who ran against Thomas White last election and nearly won.
While campaigning for Senator Shirley Huntley’s seat, Nunes said that he would make a final decision on whether or not to run for city council only if he lost to Huntley.
Now, with Huntley’s victory secured, the borough waits for Nunes’ decision.
