The Riverdale Press
Aliza Appelbaum
State Sen. Pedro Espada may face a new challenger for his seat this year.
Community activist Desiree Pilgrim- Hunter, board president of the formerly troubled Fordham Hill co-op and a leader in the fight for living wages at the Kingsbridge Armory, said she is mulling a run for Mr. Espada’s seat.
“I am strongly interested in running,” said Ms. Pilgrim-Hunter, 53, a Bronx resident for more than 25 years. “I am in the process of investigating this possibility, and I am looking to see if it’s feasible.”
In a story first reported by the Bronx News Network blog, Ms. Pilgrim- Hunter has been reaching out in the past few weeks to potential donors and community leaders, trying to gauge support.
“It has been a very positive and supportive response,” Ms. Pilgrim-Hunter said, citing important relationships with union organizations and other activists as playing a key role. “I am very much encouraged,” she added.
According to Ms. Pilgrim-Hunter, some of the issues on her agenda include opening more schools and relieving overcrowded classrooms, as well as affordable housing and good jobs for the Bronx, which has the highest poverty and unemployment rates in the city.
The most important thing is that the wishes of the community are well represented in the government, Ms. Pilgrim-Hunter said, something she said she feels has been lacking in recent years.
“What I have seen is that the community’s voice seems to be absent from the process,” she said. “I am a very active community leader who believes in her community. I live here. My daughter went through the public school system here.”
That could be seen as a direct shot at Mr. Espada, whose critics often accuse him of living mostly in a posh Westchester home while keeping a pied-á-terre in Bedford Park.
Mr. Espada did not say whether he planned to run for another term. He was named Senate Majority Leader after staging a coup during the summer of 2009, and is being investigated for potential wrongdoing over campaign finances.
“The most important focus for me in the weeks and months ahead as Senator of the 33rd District and Majority Leader of the Senate will be to continue to help the residents of my district through these difficult economic times,” Mr. Espada said Monday in an e-mail message.
Restoring integrity to the office and the neighborhood’s representative in Albany is key, Ms. Pilgrim-Hunter said.
“I want to rebuild the trust,” she said. “My loyalty is not for sale.”