Greg Meeks Said to be Seeking Candidate to Run Against Ruben Wills by Chris Bragg - City Hall News

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When Council Member Ruben Wills placed his hand on the Bible and took the oath of office in mid-December, the moment seemed to be one of détente.

Rep. Greg Meeks, the man who had feverishly tried to block Wills' road to City Hall, stood beside the new Council member and applauded. In the four months since, Meeks has repeatedly promised to work with the incumbent as the Queens Democrat gears up to run for reelection in November.

In a hurried interview before Meeks boarded a flight to Colombia, the congressman denied having spoken to anyone about running against Wills.

"I have not talked to anyone about my support or my commitments in the race at all," Meeks said.

Yet a number of politically plugged-in Democrats in southeast Queens tell a very different story.

In fact, they say Meeks has been quietly looking for a candidate to run against Wills. This has created a lot of speculation about who will challenge Wills, who won a special election in November following the death of Council Member Tom White.

Nicole Paultre-Bell, who ran against Wills last year with Meeks' support, is said to be uninterested in another run; she will instead focus on the nonprofit she founded in memory of her slain fiance, Sean Bell.

Lynn Nunes, who lost to White by four votes in 2009, was considered a highly viable candidate. Meeks even met with Nunes about a month ago to discuss a potential run, knowledgeable sources say, though Nunes ultimately decided to take a pass on the race.

(Disputing that any such meeting occurred, Meeks insisted that he "must have a twin brother, because I haven't met with the guy.")

Clifton Stanley Diaz, chairman of the Rochdale Village board of directors, has also emerged as a potential candidate. Wills has grown so concerned about Meeks backing Diaz that the Council member and congressman are meeting to discuss the matter this week.

Other possible challengers could be 2010 candidate Harpreet Toor, and former Council member and longtime Wills nemesis Allan Jennings. District leader Albert Baldeo would also be a strong contender, though Wills said Baldeo told him he did not plan to run.

Meeks and Wills have been political foes since 2008, when Wills challenged the congressman in a primary, and sharply criticized him for alleged ethical misconduct. Last year Meeks recruited Paultre-Bell to run against Wills, who pulled out a narrow victory by gaining the support of the rest of the southeast Queens political establishment.

There are many reasons why this November's special election, which will choose a Council member to serve out the remainder of White's term, is attracting so much interest. All of them have to do with the vulnerabilities of the incumbent. In office less than a year, Wills has not had time to build a political base. Last month The Daily News reported the existence of two outstanding misdemeanor arrest warrants stemming from Wills' contracting work more than a decade ago.

Wills has also been dealing with other personal foibles, which include unpaid debts for child support and questions about a member item Wills secured for his nonprofit while working for the State Senate. Wills acknowledged being so poor at handling money that his wife gives him only $100 in cash a week in an attempt to curtail his spending habits.

With so many local politicians under a cloud of scandal or investigation, including Meeks and State Sens. Shirley Huntley and Malcolm Smith, Wills said that residents of the district blame the media for the news stories.

"To everyone in the district, this has caused them to come out and support me even more," Wills said. "It's actually a slap in the face for the people that voted for me."

Wills has spent his short time in office opposing the construction of a homeless shelter in his district and trying to help his constituents stem a tide of foreclosures that rate among the highest in the country.

But Wills' money issues are never far away. While the Council member talked over coffee at a deli near City Hall, an aide walked in and handed him a thin manila envelope before abruptly departing. Wills pulled out a crisp $100 bill and bought a sandwich, soup and a Pepsi, burning through a full 10 percent of his weekly allowance.

If Wills wins reelection, some of his financial burdens would obviously be lifted with the guarantee of an $112,500 salary. Still, Wills does not expect his wife to back off anytime soon.

"No way she's going to let me spend more," Wills said. "Then, we're going to have to get a house."

Wills Prepares His Council Agenda by Ivan Pereira - Queens Campaigner

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Ruben Wills campaigns outside PS 223 in southeast Queens on election day. Photo by Christina Santucci

In the week since he won the special election to the southeast Queens City Council seat, Ruben Wills said he has been hard at work at making sure his constituents’ voices are heard when he enters City Hall.

The councilman-elect for the 28th Council District, which includes the neighborhoods of Jamaica, South Ozone Park, Richmond Hill and Rochdale Village, said he has been visiting with community leaders and constituents to hear their concerns and work on his agenda.

“It is just starting to settle in because we have been working, working, working,” Wills said of his Nov. 2 victory in the non-partisan election. “I haven’t had the chance to absorb it and smile.”

Wills, 39, filled the seat that suddenly opened up when Councilman Thomas White died Aug. 27.

The Democratic former aide said he already has a plan to help the district and has starting working on implementing plans for the community. He has met with the borough president and Aqueduct Race Track developer Genting New York about the jobs that will be created by the racino project.

He is also talking with the principals and parents of PS 30 and PS 40 in Jamaica, PS 147 in Cambria Heights and IS 231 in Springfield Gardens, which are slated for closure by the city.

“The education agenda is something that I have been working out. This is not a one-sided thing. It’s not just about if you have a child in the school. You can have a nephew or neighbor in the school and it affects them, too,” he said.

Wills said he also has long-term plans for the other problems that have been crippling the neighborhood. He is looking into drafting legislation that would curb the foreclosure problems in southeast Queens and has spoken with the NYPD’s chief of community affairs to see what can be done to stop the growing cases of violent crime and murders in the area.

Wills said the best solution was for law enforcement and residents to work together to combat crime.

“We want to let people know what’s going on with the gangs so we can discuss ways on the best possible solution to deal with it,” he said.

Wills won with 31.17 percent of the total vote and beat out Nicole Paultre-Bell, Albert Baldeo, Allan Jennings, Charles Bilal, Harpreet Singh Toor and Martha Taylor Butler, who had 436 votes, or 4.06 percent, according to unofficial results from the city Board of Elections.

Wills said that as of Monday the only challengers who had contacted him were Toor and Baldeo, both of whom congratulated his victory. He did, however, get congratulatory phone calls from U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Jamaica) and Councilman James Sanders (D-Laurelton), who both endorsed Paultre-Bell during her campaign.

Wills, who was endorsed by former bosses state Sen. Shirley Huntley (D-Jamaica) and Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans), said his years of work and trust with the community is what led to his victory.

“I had the confidence of the most important people in the community: the voters,” he said.

Wills Wins Way into City Council by Tonia N. Cimino - The Queens Courier

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"Ruben Wills beat out six other candidates in the non-partisan Special Election and will now serve the 28th City Council District, a seat left open with the passing of Thomas White Jr.

“We intend on getting to work right away,” Wills told The Courier on Tuesday evening, November 2.

With just over 31 percent of the vote, Wills, a former aide to Councilmember Leroy Comrie, won over challengers Nicole Paultre Bell, widow of Sean Bell, 25 percent; Albert Baldeo, 14 percent; Allan W Jennings Jr., 10 percent; Charles Bilal, nine percent; Harpreet Singh Toor, seven percent and Martha Taylor Butler, four percent.

Wills’ agenda, he said, will focus on foreclosures, affordable health care, job creation and education.

“Despite the negativity, the community voted me in,” he said. “I’m a little choked up right now.”

White, a Democrat who represented the 28th District, passed away on Friday, August 27 after battling cancer.

Wills will serve until 2011, at which point there will be another primary and general election for the remainder of White’s term, through 2013."

Baldeo Offers More Detailed Plans than the Others by AnnMarie Costella - Queens Chronicle

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Albert Baldeo, an attorney from Ozone Park, says he’s not running for City Council because he wants a new job, but because he has the skills to effect change and the experience to understand the community and its problems.

"We share common issues — a lack of city services, jobs and resources,” Baldeo said. “We all suffer similarly. And just as we have common issues, we have common dreams and goals. There is more that unites us than divides us.”

Baldeo will face off against Ruben Wills, Allan Jennings, Charles Bilal, Nicole Paultre Bell, Harpreet Toor, Martha Butler and Victor Babb for the 28th District seat formerly held by the late Tom White Jr.

Among his top priorities are job creation, healthcare, crime and seniors and he has plenty of ideas on how he will improve those areas if elected. Implementing his plans will take additional funding, and with a looming budget deficit, Baldeo says he will get the money by curbing Medicaid fraud, eliminating ineffective programs, increasing taxes on big corporations and cutting “unnecessary bureaucracy.”

To improve education, Baldeo says parents must be more involved in shaping policies and the way their children learn. He plans to fight for more funding to increase after-school programming, reduce class sizes and ensure that more quality teachers are hired. He believes that every pre-kindergarten student should have access to free all-day programming to increase the likelihood of long-term academic success. And he is advocating for added security measures to keep students safe.

“I want to make sure that all children get an equal opportunity to improve their quality of life,” Baldeo said. “I want to lift children out of poverty and give them a chance to reach their full potential. I have the ideas and the vision to make that happen.”

With the recent closures of three hospitals in Queens — Mary Immaculate, St. John’s, and Parkway, access to affordable, quality healthcare is on many resident’s minds. Baldeo hopes to partner with private agencies, doctors and medical volunteers to find out how to bring new hospitals and clinics into the district.

He would also like to expand health insurance coverage by getting more individuals to enroll in programs like Child Health Plus or Medicaid. He believes more people should be encouraged to purchase long-term care insurance by making matching funds, subsidies, tax credits and other incentives available.

Baldeo also supports the Paid Family Leave Act, which would let employees take up to six weeks off a year with limited pay to care for a new child or a sick relative.

Baldeo would combat Medicaid fraud by sponsoring legislation that would grant city enforcement agencies increased access to insurance files and expand their ability to prosecute cases to serve as a deterrent to other criminals.

Baldeo plans to expand the powers of the attorney general to investigate and prosecute more cases, providing extra staff if necessary. But that’s not the only type of illegal activity Baldeo plans to aggressively fight — sex crimes and gun violence are also high on his list.

“We need to build a better relationship between the police and the community,” Baldeo said. “We need to form neighborhood watch groups. People should feel comfortable going to the police and they should know that the information will be kept confidential.”

To curb gun violence, Baldeo says there should be more police officers patrolling the district, but in addition to that he would ban convicted felons from obtaining firearms, expand the ballistics identification data bank to assist law enforcement officers in tracking down guns used in crimes and require law enforcement officers to enter data regarding guns, bullets and shell casings found at crime scenes into the system.

Baldeo is in favor of life sentences for those who have perpetrated sex crimes against multiple victims and for those who have a previous felony sex crime conviction. He would prohibit offenders from working in all jobs that involve contact with children.

Seniors are an important group that Baldeo believes should not be neglected. He says he will work to keep senior centers open and offer more elder programming. “These people have spent a lifetime working and giving to the community,” he said. “They deserve improved access to services.”

Though a federal issue, Baldeo also weighed in on the St. Albans Veterans facility redevelopment plan, stating that he stands with those who oppose letting a developer build private housing on part of the site in exchange for modernizing the medical center there.

“People who have fought for our country should be treated with dignity and respect,” Baldeo said. “They need affordable housing, healthcare and hot meals.”

Baldeo is no stranger to politics. In addition to being an attorney he is a community advocate, democratic district leader, delegate to the Judicial Convention and county committeeman. He lost a Democratic primary challenge to White in 2005 and was defeated again the following year in a race against then-state Sen. Serphin Maltese, but he is confident that he will be victorious this time around.

“I am a breath of fresh air, because my candidacy is not controlled by special interests and lobbyists, but by a passion to serve our district,” Baldeo said. “Our district has been neglected for too long, and I will work hard for everyone in this district, so that we can have a better standard of life, and everyone can truly live the American dream.”

Seven Candidates Vying for Queens Council Seat by Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein - NYPOST.com

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And you thought the governor's race was crazy!

Meet the crew running for City Council from Queens: a deadbeat dad who allegedly threw a punch at a rival; a lawyer accused of drawing a gun on a rival's wife; an imam who filed for seven bankruptcies; a former city worker with $70,000 in judgments; two candidates with past campaign-finance violations; and four who don't live in the district or moved in so recently they're still unpacking their carpetbags.

Seven are vying for the seat left vacant when Councilman Thomas White Jr. died in August. It is one of only two council contests this year and the only one contested.

The candidate with the most name recognition is Nicole Paultre Bell, whose fiancée Sean Bell was gunned down by police on their November 2006 wedding day.

Bell lives outside the district, which covers Jamaica, South Ozone Park and Richmond Hill. She has said she will move in by Election Day, according to her lawyer.

Ruben Wills says he is in the process of moving into a rental in the district from his home in St. Albans.

Wills owes $27,147 in child support, according to state records. He says the bill is for back payments for a teenage daughter he didn't know he had until she was 14.

Wills, a former chief-of-staff for state Sen. Shirley Huntley, was accused last year of throwing a punch at rival Allan W. Jennings during a Board of Election hearing. Wills denies the incident and no arrests were made.

Jennings is also running.

He served on the council from 2002 to 2006 and was censured by his colleagues in 2005 after two female staffers accused him of sexual harassment. A probe found him guilty.

Jennings also owes $45,775 to the city Campaign Finance Board.

Immigration lawyer Albert Baldeo was accused of pulling a gun on an opponent's wife in a 2005 council campaign. The charges against him were dropped.

Harpreet Toor owns a home on Long Island but says he rented an apartment in the district last month.

Toor, who worked for the city's Human Resources Administration until 1999, racked up nearly $70,000 in judgments against him from collection companies.

Toor said the bills amassed when his late wife became sick with cancer and he wasn't working full time.

Charles Aziz Bilal, an imam who works at Rikers Island, unsuccessfully filed for bankruptcy protection seven times since 2000.

"You do what needs to be done to protect your property," he explained.

He owes $14,764 to the Campaign Finance Board for irregularities in a 2005 City Council race.

Also running is Martha T. Butler, the chief-of-staff for state Assemblywoman Michele Titus. Butler, an Air Force veteran, has raised no money in the race as of Oct. 1.

Wills Outraises Paultre-Bell by Ivan Pereira - YourNabe.com

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Ex-Huntley staffer nets near $51K in race for White council seat

Ruben Wills has a major financial lead over Sean Bell’s fiancee, his chief rival for late City Councilman Thomas White’s vacated seat, who has raised roughly $6,000 for her bid, campaign finance records show.

Although major groups and other elected officials, such as the Rev. Al Sharpton, City Councilman James Sanders (D-Laurelton) and U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Jamaica), have been throwing their support behind Nicole Paultre-Bell, only 15 individuals have given her money for her campaign, according to the city Campaign Fiance Board.

Wills — who has the backing of his former boss, state Sen. Shirley Huntley (D-Jamaica); Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans); and state Assemblywoman Barbara Clark (D-Jamaica) — has the financial backing of 157 contributors and is the only candidate in the race to receive matching public finds, campaign finance records show.

So far, he has collected a total of $50,921, with the largest donation of $1,375 from Local 1182, the union that represents traffic enforcement agents, according to campaign finance records. Wills has spent more than $7,000 on his campaign, with the largest outlays going to former state Sen. Martin Connor, who has been paid $1,500 to act as his attorney, according to the records.

Paultre-Bell, was given the green light to appear on the Nov. 2 ballot by a city Board of Elections judge last week, following a challenge to her petitions by Wills.

So far, she has received more than $6,000 in contributions, with the largest donation coming from New Jersey physician Christopher Kyriakides, who gave her campaign $1,350, Campaign Finance Board records show. All of her other donations are from single individuals and her attorney, Sanford Rubenstein, so far, according to the records. Paultre-Bell has spent $3,185 for her bid as of this week, including $3,000 to Oakland Gardens resident Jesus Ocasio to help with her signature petitioning, according to the Campaign Finance Board.

Albert Baldeo, who ran unsuccessfully for White’s seat in 2005, has more than $46,000 in his campaign coffers, with $27,000 coming from loans and nearly $4,000 coming out of his own pocket, according to the board. So far he has spent more than $19,000 on his current bid for office, including $3,350 to a political voter file vendor known as Prime New York for voter data, campaign finance records show.

Alan Jennings, who held the seat until he was censured by the City Council and forced out in the 2005 Democratic primary, has raised more than $7,000, with the largest contribution coming from a retired Jamaica resident named Norma Taylor, who gave him $1,375, campaign finance records show. He has spent more than $4,276 on his bid, including $590 that was given to Omar McClain for help in gathering petition signatures.

Harpreet Toor has raised more than $9,000 for his campaign, including a $1,001 donation from South Richmond Hill resident Prem Singh, based on the records. He has spent more than $6,000 on his campaign, including a $2,000 expenditure for voter data from the New York Public Affairs Group.

Charles Bilal has raised a total of $370 from $10 donations from 37 individuals, according to campaign finance records. He has not listed any expenditures for the race, campaign finance records show.

Although the city Board of Elections lists Martha Butler as a candidate for the race, there are no campaign finance listings for her as of press time Tuesday.

Baldeo Announces Council Run by Ivan Pereira - Queens Campaigner

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Albert Baldeo is joining the growing list of candidates who are vying to fill the Council seat vacated by Thomas White, who died two weeks ago.

Baldeo, an Ozone Park attorney who has run for several elected offices in the past decade, said he is collecting signatures to meet Monday’s deadline to be on the ballot for the Nov. 2 special election for the 28th Council district.

“This is taking my advocacy and community leadership to a new level,” he said.

The 28th Council district includes the neighborhoods of Jamaica, Rochdale Village, Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park. Other candidates officially in the running for the non-partisan election include Leroy Gadsden, the president of the Jamaica NAACP, Nicole Paultre-Bell, Ruben Wills and Allan Jennings, who held the seat from 2001-2005.

Baldeo was defeated by White in the 2005 Democratic primary and the next year he came within 900 votes of defeating state Sen. Serphin Maltese. He was slated to take on Joseph Addabbo in the 2008 Democratic primrary for Maltese’s seat, but dropped out of the race and endorsed his opponent, who went on to win the seat.

Last year, he collected funds for a shot at the seat left open by indicted state Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio, but the Queens Democrats chose Michael Miller to run the special election.