Queens People’s Movement, a nonpartisan, Filipino-led voter education organization, will hold a candidate endorsement forum Oct. 17 ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.
The public event will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Palace, 63-01 Roosevelt Ave. in Woodside. Organizers said confirmed participants include U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, Assembly members Jessica González-Rojas and Catalina Cruz, and Assembly candidates Brian Romero and Patrick Martinez.
Each candidate will have five minutes to discuss legislative priorities and plans for the next two years, followed by questions from the audience. Attorney Steven de Castro and Hannah Suarez, the organization’s deputy secretary-general, will moderate.
Outgoing Assemblyman Steven Raga will deliver opening remarks. Raga, who represents the 30th Assembly District, became the first Filipino American elected to the New York State Legislature in 2022. His district includes Woodside, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Maspeth and Jackson Heights.
Meng secured funding for Filipino community center
Meng, a Democrat representing New York’s 6th Congressional District in Queens, became the first Asian American elected to Congress from New York. Before entering Congress in 2013, she served in the state Assembly. She is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and chairs the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
In March 2024, Meng announced that she had secured more than $1.6 million in federal funding for the National Federation of Filipino American Associations to purchase a multicultural, multipurpose community center in Woodside. The funding was included in a government spending package signed into law by President Joe Biden.
According to her office, the proposed center would provide educational, cultural and social programs and bring together services offered by different organizations. Meng’s funding request described the project as the acquisition of a permanent home for NaFFAA’s New York State chapter.
Meng also worked with Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, on the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, enacted in 2021. The law directed the Justice Department to expedite reviews of pandemic-related hate crimes and support efforts to improve reporting and responses to bias incidents.
Her legislative record includes a law establishing a commission to study the creation of a national museum of Asian Pacific American history and culture, as well as legislation removing the term “Oriental” from federal law.
State legislative candidates
González-Rojas, who represents the 34th Assembly District, is running for the 13th State Senate District. First elected to the Assembly in 2020, she previously served as executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health.
Romero, the Democratic nominee for the 34th Assembly District, is seeking to succeed González-Rojas. He served as her chief of staff for about four and a half years before working for state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez. He won the district’s Democratic primary in June.
Martinez is running for the 30th Assembly District seat being vacated by Raga. A former teacher, community board member and City University of New York graduate, he won the district’s Democratic primary.
Cruz represents the 39th Assembly District. Born in Colombia, she came to the United States as a child and lived for years as an undocumented immigrant. She was the Assembly sponsor of the Clean Slate Act, which provides for the sealing of certain criminal records after individuals meet eligibility requirements. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the measure into law in 2023.
For more information about the forum, contact Suarez at 212-500-0591.
