1. What is the most important issue in Council District 8 you would address if elected?

Building on her experience as a member of Community Board 11 and as a labor organizer, Melissa will organize and empower tenants throughout District 8 to fight to protect affordable housing, and work with her colleagues to devise innovative strategies to build more.

2. What other important issues would you address if elected?

Standing up for the health of children and families has been an important part of Melissa’s career – from chairing the Violence Intervention Project to her work with ASPIRA of New York – and she’ll continue that work on the City Council, implementing education campaigns to address the increase in asthma and HIV infection rates in District 8.

3. What makes you the best candidate for this office?

Melissa Mark-Viverito has maintained a consistent and active commitment to both the local issues affecting our community and the major challenges facing working families.

As a strategic organizer for 1199 SEIU, New York’s health and human services union, Melissa has fought for better wages and quality health care for New York’s working families. And as a former Director of the Hispanic Education and Legal Fund, she’s worked to increase civic participation by New York’s Hispanic community.

Here in our community, Melissa chairs the community based Violence Intervention Program. She founded “Women of El Barrio,” to help promote women’s leadership in East Harlem, and was formerly Deputy Director of ASPIRA of New York, a youth leadership development organization.

To meet the challenges that face every part of District 8, from the South Bronx to East Harlem to the West Side; to make sure affordable and sensible housing is part of our community’s economic development; to give our schools and our kids the tools they need to succeed; we need a committed community activist, a Democrat who has shown she’ll fight and never give up when it comes to our future. That Democrat is Melissa Mark-Viverito.

(Reprinted as supplied by the candidate.)

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