Guyanese narrowly loses election in N.Y Compatriots disappoint candidate
By Vishnu Bisram
GUYANESE, Gyanda Shivnarain, a Berbician, narrowly lost a bid for elective office on the School Board in the Richmond Hill area, according to election results released last week by New York City Board Of Election officials. Gyanda was defeated by only 12 votes in one of the lowest turn outs in school elections. Had Gyanda won his seat, he would have been the first Indo-Guyanese to win elective office in the United States. Gyanda was seeking a seat on School Board District 27, which encompasses Far Rockaway, South Ozone Park, Ozone Park, Wakefield, Richmond Hill, Woodhaven, and Howard Beach, which contain tens of thousands of eligible Guyanese voters. The Board is comprised of nine elected members who are in charge of running 38 schools, many of which have large numbers of Guyanese students. The board overseas the spending of hundreds of millions of dollars and has the power to hire and fire some of the staff, including principals, Assistant Principals, and the Superintendent (equivalent to Chief Education Officer), and to select books for classroom use. The Board also plans and implements the curriculum, sets certain policies and provides services not only for students, but for the parents in the community. District 27 is only one of nearly forty school boards that are responsible for running all public schools, except high schools which are controlled directly by the city. The City established the boards to run schools nearly 30 years ago in order to empower local communities. And the city allocates over $8B annually to these boards to administer their schools. In addition, New York State and the Federal governments provide them with billions more every year. And Gyanda, realising the power and importance of school boards, wisely contested a seat. It was his view that the "School Board as constituted before the elections, was not representative of the population of the District". He had also complained about the allocation of money and distribution of services. He had noted too that the Caribbean community, in particular Guyanese, hardly receive any service from the board. Gyanda felt that by getting elected he would help to empower the community and open new avenues for Guyanese. Gyanda ran on a platform that promised to address the concerns that are close to the hearts of Guyanese such as teenage pregnancy, high school drop out rates, truancy or hookey jams, overcrowded classrooms and violence. He felt that his presence on the board would lead to funding for after-school adult programmes in computer literacy and social programmes for Guyanese who have domestic problems. Among Gyanda's plans too were establishing an advisory committee of parents to advise him on policy and needs of the community; pressuring the board to hire a staff that is representative of the population of the district; and helping to provide jobs for qualified Caribbean educators who better understand the needs of Caribbean children. No Guyanese had previously run for School Board elections. In District 27 where Gyanda ran for a seat on the nine-member school board, his election was considered by political analysts as a shoo in because of the preponderance of Guyanese in the district. But Guyanese disappointed him by not turning out to vote. Gyanda polled 287 votes. The person who qualified ahead of him received 298 votes. At the polls, even non-citizens were eligible to vote providing they had children enrolled in public school. Gyanda feels very strongly that if the community had been more active and mobilised he would have won handsomely. He claims that he had registered more than 1,000 Guyanese, but does not understand why they did not turn out to vote. He said: "I canvassed these people by writing them and mailing a flyer to each one of them reminding them to vote on election day". He noted that he had received 200 votes in far Rockaway and 50 votes somewhere else which means that he got less than 50 votes in Richmond Hill. A disappointed Gyanda said: "With the tremendous amount of campaigning, including distributing over 50,000 flyers, I cannot understand why Guyanese and other Caribbean people did not turn out to vote. And I also don't understand why all those who pledged support did not deliver. Many mandirs promised to get their members to the polling booth and other community leaders promised the same, but clearly the results don't show it". He added: "Voting is not a priority for our people. But without a greater degree of political involvement and activism, our community will continue to be left behind as others become empowered through the political process". But all hope is not lost for Gyanda. There is a dispute over 100 affidavit ballots. "These (mostly Guyanese) voters claimed that they were registered to vote but the polling clerks could not find their names on the roster. They were allowed to vote after signing sworn affidavits about their eligibility. However, since proof of registration has not been found, election officials don't want to consider these ballots". So Gyanda wants to take the matter to court to force officials to find the registration forms. But a court case would be costly, involving more than $10 000 and would take a long time to resolve. Raising the money would be an inhibiting factor, but Gyanda does not want to let the matter go unchallenged because it would send the wrong message. He is awaiting guidance from community leaders and advice from a non-community lawyer schooled in election matters. Of the disappointing experience, Gyanda said: "It is a learning process and there is much more to be learned." He has expressed a willingness to help educate Guyanese about the political process, but noted that it will take active Guyanese participation in order for this to become successful.
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