The Marshall Plan Wins
Democratic Beep Nod

By NICK ABADJIAN 

Candidate Helen Marshall beat out the competition – garnering over 50 percent of the vote – to accept the Democratic Party nomination for the office of Borough President when the polls closed on Sept. 25.

With tears in her eyes, Marshall thanked her supporters in a packed room at Bruno’s Catering Hall in East Elmhurst, as she gave her victory speech after winning the nomination over Carol Gresser and Sheldon Leffler.

“I am living the American dream.  I now will become the first African American borough president of Queens,” said Helen Marshall, who is currently holds the seat for the 21st City Council District, which includes East Elmhurst. 

Marshall thanked her supporters and talked of a unified Queens, the most diverse county in the country, and touched upon democracy and the right to vote, despite the recent tragedy.  She also spoke of her agenda. 

“We have a big job ahead of us.  We have schools to build, students to educate, streets to clean, affordable housing to build.  We have jobs to create, businesses to expand.  By working together we can make a difference,” said Marshall.

She thanked Borough President Claire Shulman who was by her side.

“Not only has [Shulman] been a great borough president, she has pulled the borough together,” Marshall said. 

“I’m very happy that Helen won.  I think she’ll do a fine job,” Shulman told the PRESS.  When pressed for advice on becoming the borough president, Shulman said, “Get plenty of rest before.  Have a good diet, plenty of exercise.  It’s a very hard job.”

Also by Marshall’s side was City Council Member Karen Koslowitz.

“She stepped out of the borough race and supported me in the most profound way,” Marshall said crediting Koslowitz for helping her win the support of Forest Hills.

“Women have taken their place and changed the world,” said Marshall. “Men have done a spectacular job…Women bring something special to the table.”

Of the recent tragedy, the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, Marshall said, “It was a very hard campaign…It’s been a difficult to start a spirited campaign.” 

The Marshall campaign had basically stopped after Tuesday, Sept. 11, according to her campaign manager, yet Marshall’s campaign did start anew the Monday before and its strategy was to make sure people voted. 

“If we don’t carry out the right to vote.  Then the enemy has won,” said Marshall in her victory speech.

Assemblyman Jeff Aubry had worked the polls. 

“In some of the areas we had a very good turnout,” said Aubry, who explained that the turnout was not as low as expected. 

It seemed to Aubry that rain during the day didn’t help the vote.  But by 6 p.m. when the rain had dissipated, Aubry said, “We started seeing lines.”

Morshed Alam of the New Americans Committee said about Marshall’s victory, “Its shows unity and the demographic changes in Queens.” 

But the two years of smiling, shaking hands, and walking the streets of Queens ended in disappointment for Democratic Queens Borough Presidential candidates Carol Gresser and Sheldon Leffler, who were forced to go home empty-handed following Tuesday’s primary.

Carol Gresser exits the voting booth after supporting herself on September 25. Press Photo by Angela Montefinise

At about 11 p.m. on Primary Day, an upbeat Carol Gresser stood on a chair in her campaign headquarters on Austin Street and said, “My number crunchers in the back say things do not look good.” She thanked her “loyal and wonderful” volunteers for helping her out, and her friends for their support.

With a proud and reassuring smile, she told her visibly upset friends and supporters, “Don’t be disappointed. We did the best we could . . . And you know what? I’m not finished with this borough. I’ll still get everything done that I want to get done. I’m not going away . . . This shows machine politics beats people politics.”

Gresser refused to concede, saying with a laugh, “I want to wait for the real numbers to come in.” The numbers at the time of her speech were not promising, showing Marshall ahead by 15 percent of the vote. Still, Gresser said, “There’s no need to be upset. I feel fine. Now I can have a social life again.”

Leffler also refused to concede at his thank you party on Primary Day, saying that the final numbers have to be in before any winner is declared.

On the morning after the primary, Leffler said, “In Queens, it’s important to know what neighborhoods are being polled. Yesterday only four percent were counted. This morning, only about 20 percent. Those could be from Southeast Queens, where one candidate is clearly the strongest.”

Republican candidate for Borough President Al Stabile congratulated Marshall’s victory and said, “I look forward to facing her in the general election.”

Helen Marshall has held the seat for the 21st Council District for the past ten years. The district includes East Elmhurst, Corona, Jackson Heights, Flushing Meadow-Corona Park and LaGuardia Airport. 

Marshall is the chair of the City Council’s Higher Education Committee and co-chairs the Black and Latino Caucus of the City Council.  She also sits on the Housing and Buildings Committee, Environmental and Women’s Issues Committees.

Prior to the City Council, Marshall was elected to the New York State Assembly and served for nine years.  She was also elected as Democratic District Leader in 1974 and also became Democratic National Committee in 1975.

At Queens College, Marshall earned a bachelor’s degree in Education and served as an early childhood teacher for eight years. Then she worked as an administrator for the Queens Borough Public Library.

One of Marshall’s top priorities is education.  She is one of the founders of the Langston Hughes Library.  Also high on her agenda is healthcare, economic development, and the environment.  Marshall championed for the senior community, bringing two new senior centers to her district.

Helen Marshall is married to Donald Marshall.  She is the mother of Donald Jr., an electrician, and Agnes Marie, who works in the fashion industry. Marshall also has two grandchildren from her son.

– Angela Montefinise contributed to this story.