Felicia Singh in historic battle in Queens
FELICIA SINGH, the first Guyanese and Punjabi person to win the Democratic Party primary in Queens Council District 32, is joining the battle for the seat to ‘bring equity and justice’ in the community.
She will square off with Queens Republican Party Chairwoman Joann Ariola on Nov. 2 in the district which includes parts of the Rockaway peninsula, Howard Beach, Belle Harbor, Woodhaven, and South Ozone Park. Kenichi Wilson, chair of Queens Community Board 9, is also running on the Community First line.
The growing South Asian and Indo-Caribbean population in the district has been largely excluded from local politics.
‘A lot of our community members have felt erased in the way that they’ve received services from the city,’ Singh, a teacher by profession, said.
‘The thing that I envision the most about winning this election and what I hope we’re able to give back to our community is centering equity and justice in District 32.’
The election for District 32 is one of the most contentious races on the November general election ballot.
‘I’m running in one of the most competitive general elections in the city,’ Singh, who has netted endorsements from both the New York Working Families Party, the Sunrise Movement, and many labor unions, has said.
Democrats still heavily outnumber Republicans in Queens, with 807,187 active members across the borough.
And Singh, a lifelong resident of Ozone Park who would be the first South Asian representative in the Council, has pulled in more in contributions, campaign finance records show, with $74,965.
Several weeks ahead of the start of early voting, both candidates said they are focused on what is at stake-an ethnically and culturally diverse district, one uniquely vulnerable to the accelerating impacts of climate change, affordable housing and education.