NEW YORK, United States (CMC) — Several candidates have  already emerged to replace Caribbean American New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams  as  the representative for the 45th Council District in Brooklyn, New York.

Nine candidates, including a significant number of Caribbean-born and Caribbean Americans, have announced that they are best suited to represent the district that comprises East Flatbush, Flatbush, Flatlands, Marine Park and Midwood. 

More than 188,000 people live in the district, of which about 61 per cent are either Caribbean American or African American, according to reports.

The candidates are: Trinidad and Tobago-born Anthony Alexis; Jamaican-born Rickie Tulloch; Monique Chandler-Waterman, the daughter of Jamaican and Barbadian immigrants; Jovia Radix, the daughter of Barbadian and Grenadian immigrants; Farah Louis, the daughter of Haitian immigrants; Louis Cespedes Fernadez, the son of Cuban immigrants; Anthony Beckford; Xamayla Rose; and Adina Sash. 

Alexis has been supervising city-funded senior centers in Brooklyn since 2016.

Before working with seniors, he began working for the New York State Assembly in 1997 and later for the New York City Council.

Waterman is hoping her community activism would set her apart from the other eight candidates.

“I’m a first generation American of Caribbean descent and lifelong resident of East Flatbush, and I’m running to be a vital voice for the people in our community,” Waterman told the Caribbean Media Corporation, on Saturday.

“As an activist and community organizer, I’ve been doing the work of a council member for the past decade, when I partnered with Council Member (Jumaane) Williams in his office, then as a nonprofit executive, providing many of the services his office utilised to address many issues our community faced, such as gun violence, mental health services, affordable housing programs and more,” she added.

“As the district’s next council member, I will continue to build on the foundation that Council Member Williams laid in this community by improving the lives of working families across district,” Waterman added.

Waterman, who is also a public servant, said her term as president for the East 29th Street Block Association marked her foundational work in civic engagement, which is guided by her desire to “improve lives by meeting the community where they are at.”

Lawyer Radix is the daughter of Barbadian-born, New York State Justice Sylvia Hinds-Radix and Grenadian-born, Brooklyn dentist Dr Joseph Radix.

Prior to pursuing her Juris Doctorate (law degree), Radix served as the Brooklyn Regional Representative to New State Governor Andrew M Cuomo.

Radix has served in various government and political positions, and has served her community in various levels of government.

Tulloch is senior director at New York City Health + Hospitals’ Office of Facilities Development and is also chairman of the Visionary Political Action Committee (VPAC).

In his first run for public office in New York, Tulloch placed second to now-New York State Assemblywoman, Haitian-American Rodneyse Bichotte in the 2014 Assembly race for the 42nd District in Brooklyn.

“My story mirrors that of so many immigrant families in our city,” said Tulloch in an email message to supporters in announcing his candidacy.

“I came here as a teenager and became the first in the family to go to college and earn a degree,” he added. “And like so many of us, I’ve dedicated my life to serving the public and giving back to the community that gave me so much opportunity.”

As the former deputy chief of staff and budget director to Williams, Louis said she supported the former council member and helped him make “critical decisions” on which organizations in the district to fund.

Louis said she aims to continue fighting for her community around economic development, affordable housing, and access to quality education.

In 2017, Cespedes Fernandez ran unsuccessfully for the 45th District against Williams.

He said his primary issues are housing access security and homeownership, education and vocational training, homelessness and un-employment.

Beckford said he has “lived in the 45th district his entire life.”

He founded Black Lives Matter Brooklyn in January 2019, “an organization to advocate for the Black History Education bill.”

Beckford is also the leader of the Brooklyn sector of Copwatch Patrol Unit, a police accountability group that documents police interactions in the community, as well as protests.

Rose is a longtime Brooklynite, born and raised in the 45th Council District. She serves on the board of Community Board 17.

In 2008, Rose worked for the borough president’s office. During that time, she also ran HIV public health campaigns, jobs programs and oversaw Community Boards 3 and 16, as well as the Business Improvement Districts in Bedford Stuyvesant and Brownsville sections of Brooklyn.

She said she plans to strengthen the communities in the 45th District “by examining how they can better allocate funds to support the safety nets in our community by financing local, grassroots nonprofits that effectively work right here in East Flatbush, Flatbush, Canarsie, Midwood, Flatlands and Marine Park.”

Best known as “Flatbush Girl” on social media, the Orthodox Jewish 31-year-old Sash “boasts more than 40,000 followers,” according to the Bklyner. 

 It said Sash also has been “a fierce advocate against anti-Semitism, and doesn’t shy away from advocating for those in the LGBTQ community,” referring to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.