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Vol. 30, Issue 20 BROOKLYN EDITION May 17–23, 2019
Farah Louis, fl anked by Haitian American New York State Assemblywoman, Rodneyse
Bichotte (to Louis’s immediate right) delivers victory speech Tuesday night at the Juicy
Box, a Haitian-owned restaurant and lounge in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Photo by Nelson A. King
By Nelson A. King
Haitian American Farah
Louis emerged victorious
Tuesday night in a crowded
field in a special election to fill
the seat vacated by former New
York City Caribbean American
Councilman Jumaane
Williams, who was recently
elected New York City public
advocate.
Farah Louis, who was born
in Brooklyn to Haitian immigrants
and served as deputy
chief-of-staff and budget director
for Williams in the 45th
Council District in Brooklyn,
defeated seven other candidates
in the intense race. Most
of the candidates were either
born in the Caribbean or are
of Caribbean heritage.
With the strong backing of
the Haitian and Jewish communities
in Brooklyn, and support
from many elected officials
and labor unions, Louis
garnered over 41 percent of
the votes, with 99 percent of
precincts reporting, according
to New York City Board of
Elections (BOE).
The BOE said Louis, who
was not endorsed by Williams,
the son of Grenadian immigrants,
received 3,861 votes,
or 41.8 percent, of the 9,200
votes cast on the rainy day.
Louis’s closest challenger,
Monique Chandler-Waterman,
the daughter of Jamaican
and Barbadian immigrants,
received 2,790 votes, or 30
percent. Chandler-Waterman,
who was endorsed by Williams,
served as the former
councilman’s community outreach
director in the district
that comprises the Brooklyn
neighborhoods of Flatbush,
East Flatbush, Midwood and
Canarsie.
Lawyer Jovia Radix, the
daughter of Barbadian and
Grenadian immigrants, placed
third, receiving 849 votes, or
9.1 percent. Radix, a former
Brooklyn regional director
for New York State Governor
Andrew Cuomo, is the
daughter of Grenadian-born
dentist Dr. Joseph Radix and
Barbadian-born Justice Sylvia
Hinds-Radix. They all reside
in Brooklyn.
The other candidates in the
special election were: Jamaican
born senior director at
New York City Health + Hospitals,
Rickie Tulloch; Trinidadian
born community advo
Continued on Page 28
By Bert Wilkinson
In the Caribbean Community
family of 15 nations, there
are two major simmering border
rows dating back centuries
to the days of British and Spanish
colonialism. One involves
Venezuela’s claim to almost
two thirds of Guyana and large
tracts of its sea space where
American supermajor Exxon-
Mobil has found more than six
billion barrels of light, sweet,
crude oil. The other has to do
with Guatemala laying claim
to half of the territory of Belize
so it could easily gain road
access to the Caribbean coast
through Belize for its imports
and exports.
In the past, Guyana has filed
papers with The Netherlandsbased
International Court of
Justice (ICJ) to get rid of what
authorities deem as Venezuela’s
spurious claim to Guyana’s territory.
Officials there think the
country has such a strong case
that the World Court will eventually
dismiss the Venezuelan
effort and settle the decadesold
dispute once and for all.
In Belize’s situation, locals
voted in a referendum in the
past week to take the case to
the ICJ after years of dithering
by successive governments.
Just over 54 percent of those
who bothered to turn out voted
Yes to allow judges on the court
to decide Belize’s fate. A whooping
46 percent voted No but
figures were higher than the 26
percent of those who voted in
Guatemala a year ago to allow
the ICJ to settle the dispute.
The actions by Guyana, the
largest of the regional member
states and Belize, the third
after Suriname, will help Caribbean
leaders to breathe a sigh of
relief as neither country has the
military firepower or even the
human resources to compete
with Venezuela and Guatemala.
Governments there have both
used the border row to whip up
strong nationalist sentiments
back home, particularly during
times of domestic disturbances.
The move to the ICJ, officials
say, will help sooth nerves
and ease tensions although, in
Guyana’s case, Venezuela has
refused to be a party to the
upcoming proceedings.
In the past, Guatemala had
Continued on Page 22
Farah Louis wins special election
MAJOR
BORDER
ROWS
Guyana, Belize go to
International Court of Justice
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