PROGRAM
Roosevelt House is pleased to present a primary election forum featuring six candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to represent the East Side’s District 4 in the City Council. Covering Manhattan’s East Side and Midtown, District 4 is also, of course, home to our own Hunter College campus. Primary Day is June 24. Early voting begins June 14.
If you vote in the Hunter community, do not miss this chance to hear the candidates for your Council seat!
Nick Garber, moderator, is the politics reporter at Crain’s New York Business. He previously covered the Upper East Side, Harlem, Hell’s Kitchen, and Western Queens for Patch.
Participating Candidates:
Vanessa Aronson is the former president of the Lexington Democratic Club and member of the New York County Democratic Committee. Previously, she served on Community Board 8 and co-chaired the Tikkun Olam (“repairing the world”) Committee at Park Avenue Synagogue. In addition, she has been a New York City public school teacher, a senior advisor to the president of Hunter College, and a United States Foreign Service Officer.
Faith Bondy is a litigator and New Yorker who has resided in East Midtown for nearly 25 years. President of the Samuel J. Tilden Democratic Club, she is also a board member of, and legal advisor to, the Sutton Place Parks Conservancy, whose mission is to help preserve parks in the Midtown East community. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the East Sixties Neighborhood Association, and former member of Community Board 8’s Street Life Committee.
Luke Florczak is a former Marine musician who studied music at the University of the Pacific and political science at John Jay College. He sits on the executive board for the Eleanor Roosevelt Independent Democrats and served as a volunteer for Councilman Keith Powers’ most recent campaign. An advocate for the city’s veteran community, he works in the John Jay Office of Military and Veteran Services and supports the New York Central Office for Veterans Affairs.
Virginia Maloney is a New Yorker from the East Side who has experience in the private and public sectors. At the Economic Development Corporation, she led Mayor Bloomberg’s initiative to expand free public Wi-Fi. The daughter of former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, she has served on local campaigns as well as Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Lexington Democratic Club, where she worked to pass Prop 1.
Rachel Storch is the Chief Operating Officer of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue on the Upper East Side. Previously, she served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Senator Jean Carnahan of Missouri, and was elected to the Missouri legislature as a State Representative; she became a Deputy Whip of the Democratic caucus and member of the Budget Committee. In addition, she served as State Director for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.
Ben Wetzler is a New Yorker from the Upper East Side who serves as a data and policy specialist with New York State’s housing agency. As Democratic District Leader for Lenox Hill, he focused on connecting grassroots volunteers with campaigns outside the city, and advocating for an affordability agenda.
