Baldeo worked hard for Richmond Hill

Dear Editor,

This is in reference to the report on a Guyanese former New York district leader being found guilty in relation to election financing (Aug 12). I have only now have had an opportunity to catch up with news surrounding my community in Queens. The conviction of this Guyanese and Caribbean community stalwart on a petty matter pertaining to election finance is most unfortunate. I was not even aware the matter went to trial and in fact was informed a few months back that a deal was being sought to give him some relief. At any rate, Baldeo was prosecuted in relation to a law which most politicians routinely flout and get away with. Earlier in the year, US prosecutor Preet Bharara went after an Indian diplomat over an immigration violation of which virtually all diplomats are guilty. Perhaps Baldeo was targeted for prosecution to send a message to other politicians who continue to violate the campaign finance law that this would not be tolerated.

Others are findings fault with Baldeo and yes, he made mistakes, and critics are having a field day. But Baldeo also did many things that redounded to benefit of the community and one must give him credit for those positive traits. One must admire and applaud him for the work he did on behalf of the Guyanese, Caribbean and Indian communities of New York, that led to better representation for the Richmond Hill area. He may not be the best liked person but he certainly was among the hardest working individuals advocating community empowerment.

I have known Albert Baldeo for some 25 years as a community advocate. Few worked as hard as he did for the community. Others talked but Baldeo actually walked the talk. His critics and detractors were never in the streets working for the community. I can attest to the fact that he spent his personal funds to lobby and advocate for the community. No lawyer in the community, in fact no business person in recent years, spent as much as Baldeo did advocating for Guyanese or for the greater Richmond Hill area where people of varied ethnic stock live, the largest being Indo-Caribbeans, Punjabis, Hispanics, Italians and Irish, among others. I cannot think of any other lawyer or professional who has been so energetic in community matters. He found himself in virtually every issue that impacted on the community.

Just to cite one example: Over the last several years when electoral districts were considered for redrawing as a result of the 2010 census, I worked with Albert and several other community advocates to strategize on legislative representation for the Guyanese/Caribbean/Asian population in the Queens area to the NY City Council, State Senate, State Assembly and US Congress. We spent countless hours in meetings in the evenings and weekends planning how to pressure government officials to draw a boundary that would give our community a seat in the Congress or state legislature or city council. Only a handful of us volunteered for this project. Baldeo and the rest of us gave up the comfort and luxury of our homes and the opportunity to earn money to empower the community. In the middle of the night, I had to take some members home living a far distance from Richmond Hill. Baldeo and people like myself considered it an honour to serve our community. With regard to the redistricting battle, Baldeo contributed a significant amount of funds, as did myself and others, to print tee-shirts, and hired a bus to take community supporters to a public hearing at the Boro Office on several occasions. Baldeo prepared pickets and posters and organized refreshments for successful rallies. He made effective representation to the redistricting committee of the city council as did Mahadeo and others. Unfortunately, we were not successful in our mission, as the redistricting committees at the state, city council and congressional levels denied us a seat, gerrymandering the districts to empower other communities. But Baldeo and others put up a brave fight using strong words and deserve a lot of credit for their struggle.

In recent conversations with prominent community people, even the most critical of Baldeo’s detractors will admit they admired his zeal to achieve glory and to empower the community. But perhaps he was overzealous in his goal and that landed him in trouble.

His advocacy will be sorely missed should he opt to discontinue his fight on behalf of the community.

 

Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram