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DEBI IN THE NEWS
Rarely have Staten Island voters been treated to
the kind of substantive, issue-oriented debate and dialogue that three topnotch
Democrats with strong community roots running for the open North Shore City
Council seat have offered to residents of the district.
Ms. Rose, a resident of Mariners Harbor, is a
former member of the District 31 School Board and has served on Community Board
1 for the last two decades. In addition to winning the School Board seat,
fellow Democrats elected her to serve as a delegate to the Democratic National
Convention last year -- making her, of the three, the only proven vote-getter.
If elected to the Council, she would be the first African-American to win such
a post on Staten Island.
Ms. Rose heads the Liberty Partnership, a dropout
prevention program based at the College of Staten Island.
All three have highlighted the issue of education
during the course of the campaign. But Ms. Rose was the most pointed in her
remarks on the topic during the editorial board meeting, calling outright for
the resignation of longtime District 31 Superintendent Christy Cugini, saying
he has a "lack of vision." McMahon and Del Giorno tempered their criticism of
the local management team, saying only that some changes should be
made.
But they disagreed -- again, politely -- over
future use of the site of the old Navy home port in Stapleton. Ms. Rose called
for a mixed-use scenario, with commercial, recreational and public access
components, as in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
Ms. Rose said her "grass-roots campaign" mirrors
her "community activism" and would be indicative of the kind of leadership she
would bring to the Council.
North Shore City Council candidates Michael McMahon
and Debi Rose disagreed yesterday over how to reform the city Board of
Education. The two Democratic candidates made a joint appearance at a luncheon
meeting of the Staten Island Rotary Club in the Staaten, West Brighton.
* * *
In her general remarks to the audience of about 50,
Ms. Rose touted her work with the Staten Island Mental Health Society and with
the Liberty Partnership, which helps kids stay in school. She said the Island
had been the victim of overdevelopment and "neglect," and said the borough
needed a comprehensive development plan.
"....But Ms. Rose has shown a particular energy
and persistence in the face of party opposition to her candidacy. We endorse
Deborah Rose, who hopes to become Staten Island's first African-American
political officeholder. "
North Shore City Council candidate Debi Rose
yesterday painted a picture of a Staten Island "in transition" and said the
borough has to plan for its burgeoning population and increasing ethnic
diversity.
"We have not adequately planned for the population
we have," said Ms. Rose, who served as co-chair of the Staten Island Census
Full Count Committee. The soaring population, including immigrants from across
the globe, has led to overdevelopment, overcrowded schools and "abysmal"
traffic, she said.
"Attached homes have sprung up like weeds, and
changed the character of Staten Island," said Ms. Rose. She said the Island
needed a comprehensive contextual zoning plan. "What we're doing is development
by proxy, a Band-Aid approach," she said.
North Shore City Council candidate Debi Rose
yesterday called for increased funding for programs for women and children. Ms.
Rose said more money is needed for day care services and women's health
initiatives, and said these issues "had not been addressed" thus far in the
campaign for the North Shore seat.
"Children are our most important asset," said Ms.
Rose.
As a member of the Staten Island Mental Health
Society, the candidate said she fought to have 80 additional Head Start seats
for the North Shore. She said the city should spend capital dollars to build
new day care centers and repair the old ones.
"Deborah Rose epitomizes
positive, hands-on public service and has a superb knowledge of the immediate
and long-term needs of her community. Her experience in serving her community
makes her Citizens Union's preferred candidate."
Debi Rose, a Democratic candidate for the North
Shore City Council seat, yesterday called for more city services for senior
citizens, including affordable housing.
"Seniors shouldn't have to run to Florida to
retire," Ms. Rose said, during a press conference outside the Parkside Senior
Apartments in Port Richmond. "They should be allowed to age in the community
they are accustomed to."
North Shore City Council candidate Debi Rose
yesterday called for increased school spending, a pay raise for teachers and
term limits for the borough school superintendent and Community School Board
members.
Staten Island Advance, Wednesday August 08, 2001 By
JUDY L. RANDAL:
Also qualifying yesterday under the money-match
program were the three Democrats vying for the North Shore City Council seat in
next month's primary. Debi Rose, Michael McMahon and Jon Del Giorno, who has
the Democratic Party's endorsement, each received $75,350.
Staten Island Advance, "City raising salaries for
poll workers: Pay hikes are first step toward revamping electoral process," By
STEPHANIE SLEPIAN, Wednesday August 08, 2001 :
The announcement comes on the heels of a call from
two Democratic North Shore City Council candidates to restructure the Board of
Elections and an insistence that a third candidate in the district give up his
position on the board.
Candidate Debi Rose said on Monday that Jon Del
Giorno, the board's administrative manager and the third Democratic North Shore
Council candidate, should resign his post to "avoid the appearance of
impropriety." .... "I think that's great, because the increase in monetary
compensation expands the pool of people interested in working at the polls,"
said Ms. Rose last night. "I hope the increase in funds will also be used to
provide comprehensive training and improve the competency level of the
workers."
But what once might have been a straightforward
contest between two candidates with deep Democratic roots has been complicated
by the presence of Deborah Rose, an administrator at the College of Staten
Island. Ms. Rose is vying to become the first black council member elected in
the borough.
While the district is mostly white, with large
neighborhoods of Irish- American and Italian-American families, it has
nonetheless become the most diverse community in Staten Island, with a growing
population of immigrants from the West African countries of Liberia, Ghana and
Nigeria. It is now nearly 20 percent black. Similarly robust immigration from
Mexico, Ecuador and other South American countries has pushed the district's
Hispanic population to slightly more than 20 percent.
Ms. Rose, 49, directs a program that seeks to
reduce high school dropout rates. She said is seeking to appeal not only to
black and Hispanic voters, but also to women and liberal whites in the
district. "With that kind of formula, I can win," she said. "I don't think
anyone should write this campaign off."
Democratic North Shore Council candidate Debi Rose
yesterday set forth a comprehensive zoning plan for the North Shore, saying
"development should improve communities, not ruin neighborhoods."
Ms. Rose said the city should consider retrofitting
certain historic buildings for other uses, such as establishing a new school on
the North Shore, and said that, if elected, she would be "aggressive" about
seeking federal monies to establish a light rail or a monorail system along the
North Shore rail line.
Ms. Rose said the city should consider retrofitting
certain historic buildings for other uses, such as establishing a new school on
the North Shore, and said that, if elected, she would be "aggressive" about
seeking federal monies to establish a light rail or a monorail system along the
North Shore rail line.
"We are tearing down existing homes in order to
squeeze in high-density townhouse developments that are inconsistent with our
neighborhoods," Ms. Rose said. "We need to comprehensively revise zoning so
that it matches existing neighborhood patterns."
She also said it has taken "too long" to designate
as historic districts parts of Stapleton, St. George, Port Richmond and the
neighborhood around Snug Harbor, sites that have been considered by the city
for such status since the mid-1990s.
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