NYC Council Elections 2021: Aleta LaFargue Seeks Village Seat

WEST VILLAGE, NY — Voters in New York City's 3rd Council district — which includes Greenwich Village, West Village, Chelsea, SoHo, Hell's Kitchen, Times Square, Hudson Square, and the Flatiron — will see six names on their ballots when they vote in the June 22 primary election.

One of those will be Aleta LaFargue, a founding member and president of the Hell's Kitchen Democrats and community organizer, who is among the Democrats seeking to replace the term-limited incumbent Corey Johson.

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

Answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

Aleta LaFargue

Age (as of Election Day)

43

Position Sought

City Councilperson District 3.

Party Affiliation

Democratic

Neighborhood of residence

Hell's Kitchen

Family

Elijah Del LaFargue, 8, Son

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

School of Hard Knocks

Occupation

Actress

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Judicial Alternate For The 75th Assembly District.

Campaign website

http://aletalafargue.com/

Why are you seeking elective office?

Our leadership has failed us and our community can't wait any longer for solutions.

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

Covid-19 Recovery; we need to cap commercial rents and pass legislation to protect our small businesses against the big box retailers and mega-corporations trying to take over our city.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am the only candidate born and raised in the district. I'm the only candidate with a child in public school. I'm the only candidate that has put in the work for my community when I had nothing to gain and everything to lose.

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

n/a

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

Our elected leadership has focused more on their political prospects than the health and safety of our community. I'll never stop working for our community even when it's hard. I'm not running for office to take care of the easy things, I'm running so that our community has someone to rely upon when things are difficult.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Public Education, Disability Justice, Affordable Housing, Police Reform & Public Safety, Universal Basic Income, Climate Change.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

As President of the Manhattan Plaza Tenant's Association; I've executed and conceptualized many programs from start to finish. I organized a complete revitalization of our senior center, crafted an on-call program to vaccinate seniors for Covid-19, and developed free mental health services and programming for troubled youth. Furthermore, I worked to integrate our police with our local community members by creating one of the first successful community policing models in the city; "8 for 8."

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Wear comfortable shoes.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I am not in this race for the paycheck or the clout. I'm doing this for my son and all the children like him. I want him to grow up with a chance for real opportunity, where the schools provide him with an education preparing him for a competitive world, where the streets are streets are safe, and he can have a fair shot at pursuing his dreams. We need to bring our businesses back from Covid-19, tackle racial and economic inequality, and fully invest in our people.