By The TimesLedger
Don’t tell Queens Democratic Party boss Tom Manton, but it appears that, despite his best efforts to the contrary, democracy is about to break out in Queens. Thanks to term limits, the race is on for every city council seat in Queens. For better and worse, no Council member representing this borough is returning.
In Laurelton, at least 12 candidates are seeking the Democratic Party nomination to replace Councilwoman Juanita Watkins. The field includes a professor at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, a professor at the Borough of Manhattan Community College and the former principal at Campus Magnet High School. They are men and women with considerable experience in public service. The city’s matching funds will help to level the playing field, giving each candidate $3 for every dollar donated.
The candidates are promising to target a broad range of issues, including affordable housing, transportation, employment and even profanity. But the No. 1 issue driving this campaign will be education. The candidates speak of a “crisis” in public education and the need to give parents a greater voice in the educational process.
The citywide math and reading scores revealed Friday will underscore the need for educational reform. Citywide the overwhelming majority of students grade 3-7 performed well below grade level in math and reading. Sadly, only 30.9 percent of the city's public school students could do math at grade level. This represents a decline of nearly 2 percent from last year.
In Queens 100 candidates filed for City Council before the June 1 deadline, qualifying themselves for the matching funds. No other borough has more candidates. Although they represent a range of political parties, it now appears that there will be a Democratic Party primary in every district.
That’s bad news for the boys in the backroom who prefer to control each election by handpicking the Democrat candidate. This time, or so we hope, the voters will make the choice. This time the voters will set the agenda for the next four years. If that happens, democracy will takes a giant step forward in Queens.
Editoral: Say it ain’t so
Like his constituents, we are stunned by the controversy that surrounds City Councilman Alfonso Stabile (R-Ozone Park). Questions have arisen regarding the councilman’s handling of funds at the Ozone-Howard Little League.
Stabile suddenly resigned after serving as president of the Little League for more than 20 years. The league, one of the largest in the city, collects $130,000 in registration fees each year. In addition, there is an undisclosed amount in corporate sponsorships. The questioning of Stabile’s handling of the money began several years ago when a parent demanded to know how his son’s $140 registration fee was being spent.
The league was reportedly unable to give a clear accounting. This is unacceptable. Even the most disorganized PTA or Cub Scout troop can present its members with a detailed balance sheet each month. Certainly a Little League of this size, collecting this much money, should be able to account for every penny.
There is no question that Stabile is a beloved figure in the community he represents. Constituents know they can go to Stabile when they need help. His door has always been open and he has worked tirelessly for his district. For this reason, we hope that the councilman will be able to quickly provide an explanation that will put this controversy to rest.
