CITY COUNCIL RACES
District 2
Gur Tsabar: New York Times, Daily News, Amsterdam News
Rosie Mendez: Gay City News, The Villager
District 4
Daniel Grodnick: New York Times
Jack Lester: Daily News
District 5
Jessica Lappin: New York Times
George Spitz: Daily News, Amsterdam News
District 8
Joyce Johnson: Daily News
Melissa Mark Viverito: New York Times, Amsterdam News,El Diario
District 9
Yasmin Cornelius: New York Times, Daily News
Inez Dickens: Amsterdam News
Cynthia Doty: West Side Spirit
District 13 Ishmael Betancourt: Amsterdam News
James Vacca: New York Times,, Daily News
District 25
Bryan Pu-Folkes: New York Times, Amsterdam News
District 28
“Endorsing any of these clowns is out of the question” Daily NewsDistrict 41
Darlene Mealy: New York Times, Daily News, Amsterdam News
District 45
Kendall Stewart: Carib News
Sam Taitt: New York Times, Daily News, Amsterdam News Â
41st District (Bedford-Stuyvesant, Ocean Hill and Brownsville): The Boyland family, headed by the retired Assemblyman William Boyland Sr., regards this district as its own private political preserve. After Mr. Boyland won re-election to the Assembly two years ago, he stepped down and handed his seat over to his son, William Jr. Now he is running for City Council, hoping to succeed Tracy Boyland, his daughter, who is term-limited.
Mr. Boyland, who did not make himself available for an endorsement interview, told the good-government organization Citizens Union, ''I would like to do what Tracy did.'' That alone is reason to consider extending term limits to include family members. If Ms. Boyland distinguished herself in the Council, it was for nonperformance.
The non-Boylands in the race are plenty, which could splinter the vote to the family's advantage. The ball of fire here is Darlene Mealy, a transit worker and first-time candidate who has devoted years to organizing distressed neighborhoods and helping transform them into safe, desirable places to live. Ms. Mealy has the makings of a dragon slayer, which this underserved district needs. Darlene Mealy gets our endorsement.
25th District (Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Corona, Rego Park and Woodside): Even in this city of variety, it's hard to match the diversity in this district. The incumbent, Helen Sears, deserves credit for her work in seeking accommodation for day laborers in the district and extending health care services for immigrant women. She also helped the successful drive to keep Wal-Mart out of the district. But some of her votes in the Council have been off key -- like her opposition to the lead paint bill and a resolution calling on the government to uphold immigrant rights under the Patriot Act.
Her main opponent is Bryan Pu-Folkes, a lawyer who serves as a city human rights commissioner and has a long history as an immigrant advocate. Mr. Pu-Folkes, whose parents emigrated from Burma and Jamaica, shows the promise of being more than just a good public servant. He is already a role model for young immigrants and could pull more of them into civic life. Among his top priorities would be to reduce pollution and expand public green spaces, both important goals for a district with high rates of asthma. Bryan Pu-Folkes has a firm grip on the issues and exudes a confident eagerness to take them on, and wins our endorsement.