Public Employee Press

Political Action 2009
Julissa Ferreras, endorsed by union, wins Queens City Council seat

In a special election that took place on Feb. 24 to fill three vacant City Council seats, DC 37-endorsed candidate Julissa Ferreras was elected to represent the 21st District of Queens.

A strong supporter of the needs of working people and families, Ferreras was recommended by the DC 37 Political Screening Committee, approved by the Executive Board and endorsed by the DC 37 Delegates Council.

In the four-way race, 46 percent of the voters in the western Queens neighborhoods of Corona, Elmhurst and Jackson Heights chose Ferreras. A Dominican-American daughter of immigrant parents, Ferreras was chief of staff for former Council member Hiram Monserrate, who was elected to the state Senate in November.

Ferreras’ City Council term ends Dec. 31. To retain the seat, she may have to run in a primary election in September; if successful, she would have to win again in the Nov. 8 general election, when all 51 Council seats will be on the ballot.

Debbie Rose, also endorsed by the union in the Feb. 24 vote, lost by only 324 votes in Staten Island’s 49th District and plans to run again in the September primary.