NYC Council District 22 Election: Felicia Kalan Seeks Seat

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Republican voters in New York City's 22nd Council district, which includes Astoria, Rikers Island, parts of Jackson Heights, Woodside and East Elmhurst, will see one names on their ballots when they vote in the June 22 primary election.

Felicia Kalan, the founder and CEO of Elevate Her Consulting, is the sole Republican candidate in the race.

Patch reached out to all candidates in the election to create these profiles. Kalan's responses are below.

<b>Age (as of Election Day)</b>

32

<b>Position Sought</b>

City Council District 22

<b>Party Affiliation</b>

Republican

<b>Neighborhood of residence (i.e., East Village, Astoria, etc.)</b>

Astoria

<b>Family</b>

I am not from a wealthy or political family. I grew up in a struggling single-mom household. It wasn't until late high school/early college years that my mother, Mary, went back to nursing school and started a home health care business- and I witnessed firsthand the power of entrepreneurship in changing lives. I worked since the age of 15, graduated valedictorian and worked through college, and was fortunate enough to receive a full-ride scholarship. Because of my childhood, I have always been passionate about ending cyclical poverty through economic empowerment and education- particularly for women and minorities- and interrupting cycles of poverty and addiction.
I met my husband Andy Kalan while studying abroad at the American University in Cairo, Egypt- Andy was teaching english in Jordan at the time. Andy served in church ministry for over 9 years- and we originally moved to Queens because Andy was helping to start a church in Astoria- Journey Queens. Andy also served as an Elder/Pastor at Bridge Community Church in Long Island City since February of 2021, and he now works in digital marketing full-time while we focus on the City Council race. Andy was originally born in New York, but was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio- and we came to Queens as quickly as we could :).
We have two children- Zaden (6) and Zaria (5). Zaden went to P.S. 85 for Pre-K and started at P.S. 2 Alfred Zimberg for Kindergarten and Zaria attended Pre-K at St. Francis. My kids are my main motivation for running for City Council.

<b>Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?</b>

No

<b>Education</b>

Bachelor of Arts from the University of Evansville and semester abroad at the American University in Cairo, Egypt.

<b>Occupation</b>

In college, I worked as a Youth Director for a Presbyterian Church and I also worked in the International Student Office. Post college graduation, I began my career as a Legislative Aide in the Ohio State Legislature and also worked for the Ohio Board of Regents and after about 3 years left the government sector to pursue my passion for social entrepreneurship and leveraging business for good. In 2013, I co-founded UNCHAINED, an anti-human trafficking organization working directly with survivors of human trafficking and raising awareness nationwide, co-founding an ethical clothing line as well. After leaving UNCHAINED in 2017, I became the V.P. of COhatch, a co-working and social enterprise space that helps revamp local economies and incubate start-ups.
Over the past few years, I transitioned to do operations consulting for women-led businesses/admin work part-time (and various other odd jobs!) so I could focus on raising my children and now running for City Council.

<b>Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office</b>

None

<b>Campaign website</b>

www.feliciakalan.com

<b>Why are you seeking elective office?</b>

I am a working mom 2 running for office because career politicians are out of touch with everyday families like mine, and it’s time we put people before politics and restore common sense, humanity, and servant leadership back to City Hall.

<b>The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.</b>

As Chairwoman of the Interfaith Coalition for Peace and Safety, it is one of my highest priorities to ensure a safe and peaceful environment for everyone in our community- and public safety is the single most pressing issue I've heard when I talk to my neighbors. Public Safety coupled with clean streets has been neglected for far too long. We can’t build back better if families are scared and businesses refuse to do business. We need policing for the people rooted in common sense reform, compassion, and justice for victims.

<b>What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?</b>

1. I have experience in government, non-profit and corporate sector, and I'm ready to unleash the creative and innovative spirit of my district and help our borough recover and rebuild. Over 1/3 of our small businesses have closed down and many people are still out of work- we need to bring good-paying jobs to Queens.
2. I'm not a career politician or someone from a political background- I'm running to represent the real needs of our community not a Republican, Democrat or socialist agenda.
3. I'm a mom of two young children- I know what it's like to raise a family and I want to fight to represent children and families.
4. I've had the privilege of traveling the world and working with many people from different cultures, and lived in Cairo, Egypt for 7 months. We have a diverse district with many different cultural backgrounds, and I'm excited to continue to unify our beautiful borough and fight for everyone that calls Queens home.

<b>If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)</b>

While the seat is currently an open seat, I would say that the needs of our community have been neglected when it comes to basic governmental services provided- we have a huge sanitation problem and we need to make sure we have clean streets.

<b>How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?</b>

There are many things I would have done differently during the pandemic. First of all, I understood the initial shut-down as we began to understand how the virus works, and we wanted to protect people. However, I would have never shut down our businesses and at the very least, would have fought for 50% capacity with all safety measures in place.
Moreover, I would have never shut down our schools for an extended period of time. Now, many kids have fallen behind in education and parents have been left to foot the bill. Many women had to leave the workforce, and families are still trying to recover.

<b>Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.</b>

Keeping Us Safe & Protecting Our Quality of Life
• Fully Fund our local precincts to ensure safety
• Make our subways safe again
• Clean up Trash on our streets and replace outdated trash bins
• Fight Hate Crimes
• Invest in crime prevention, focusing on youth mentorship for 14-18 year olds
Supporting Small Businesses & Job Creation
• Implement targeted economic revitalization efforts in commercial areas in our district
• Cut Burdensome laws and regulations for small businesses
• Partner with companies to provide training and internships programs that lead to permanent jobs
• Invest in a community space and start-up incubator hub for our district, helping small businesses and start-up companies connect to resources while also helping connecting job seekers to employers
implement a targeted plan for recovery for hardest hit industries while investing in training our population for jobs of the future
-focus on supporting small businesses and local entrepreneurship.
Improving Our Schools
• Invest in smaller classes and boost learning
• Invest in school nurses and counselors
• Ensure sports and resource equity for all of our schools, giving every child the opportunity to access after school tutoring, extracurricular activities, sports and arts programs
• Invest in apprenticeships programs, trade schools and access to college courses for all students
• Childcare subsidies for families

<b>What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?</b>

I would say my career background co-founding UNCHAINED, and also my success while serving as the V.P. at COhatch- now one of the fastest growing businesses headquartered in Columbus, OH.
One of the greatest human rights issues of our time- human trafficking- was an issue that I have fought tirelessly for in my career- and co-founded a social enterprise, artistic fashion show that was even showcased at the Harvard Social Enterprise Conference. I'm an innovator by nature- because growing up in American poverty I had to be. On the road to recovery, I will fight to rebuild our borough and commit to empowering people, like I have always done.
As a mom, I've experienced so much during the pandemic and I would say just running for office while also teaching two children from home is a huge life accomplishment.

<b>The best advice ever shared with me was:</b>

I once served in Kerala, India with a church and an Indian pastor recited this poem to me, and it's something I re-read often, and it's somewhat of well-known poem.
If—
BY RUDYARD KIPLING

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

<b>What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?</b>

Every single piece of legislation I vote on or propose I'm going to be asking one question- how is this empowering people in my district? I will always serve with humility and an open-door policy and my favorite thing to do is sit across from someone to hear their stories and help them get to where they want to go.