Earlier this year, I visited the Fearless Girl statue that stands boldly at the intersection of Broadway and Whitehall St. in Manhattan. Last month I met the Fearless Woman who boldly champions her community, only from Southern Brooklyn. Both figures, one human, represent the spirit of womanhood and fearless leadership.
Lucretia Regina-Potter, Republican district leader of the 46th Assembly District, announced her candidacy for the City Council seat in District 43, in early June. As we waited for menus at an outdoor eatery the candidate touted her strong ties to the community as the winning edge over her contenders.
The district includes Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and parts of Bensonhurst and Bath Beach.
“People have asked me to run,” said Regina-Potter, noting the relationships she has fostered from servicing the community. “I am very active and involved in the community. I steer them into the right direction, I listen to them and I follow up.”
The candidate maintains that the role of the unpaid district leader is to help constituents, in spite of their party affiliations.
While Regina-Potter has not been successful in her attempts at winning a seat in the Assembly, she is the only candidate in the race that has been elected for five, two-year terms as district leader. The candidate says her strongly contested pursuits and being district leader will prepare her for the four-person battle to win the Republican nomination for city council.
By this time, we were scoffing down sandwiches at Panino Rusitco, in the heart of Bensonhurst, 8222 17th Avenue, when the topic of small business sprang up. The elder daughter of a local business owner who owned and operated a kitchen and bath design company knows something about the mom and pop experience in district 43.
“All they do is raise revenues by administering fines,” said the Regina-Potter. The candidate condemned the alleged frivolous fines that the city doles out to small businesses in district 43 –– a point of contention raised by other candidates and retailers.
The long-time member of the Republican Party who first registered while attending a Bishop Kearney High School –– a private, all-girls school –– said she has been a part of the party since the Reagan years.
“I’m a Ronald Reagan Republican,” said the Regina-Potter.
She furthered her education at Fordham University, where she met her husband of 27 years –– Christopher Potter. The couple has two children and while one is a successful college graduate and the other a rising freshman in college, Regina-Potter solemnly reflected on the growing opioid crisis and the impact that it has had on children the same age as her own.
“I’m concerned about the scourge of heroin impacting our kids,” said Regina-Potter.
“There are no activities for these young people.” She attributes the decline of community-engaging outlets as the root of the addiction problem, noting there are no longer movie theatres, or bowling alleys in the area.
The candidate said she was happy to hear the city had invested money into the local New Utrecht library branch, however. She finds the best preventive methods are to get kids motivated into participating in local events. “Get these kids busy,” said Regina-Potter. “Extend the hours of the library.”
Regina-Potter also floated the idea of funding churches, synagogues, parishes, temples and mosques to assist with opening community centers to provide neighborhood children with some place to go.
All the talk of libraries, children and community led us down the path of school choice. A platform Republicans have been unanimous in supporting, especially as it relates to charter schools. The candidate said she appreciated the autonomy of charter schools and categorized their philosophy as the same as parochial schools – a school system of which she and her 19-year-old daughter are products.
District 43 encompasses school district 20 and 21 and while the two are high achieving school districts, they are plagued with overcrowding. The candidate proposed to take advantage of the city’s underutilized facilities to help combat the overcrowding of public schools.
Real estate taxes inflicting people on a fixed income and the Medicare insurance gap for seniors are also issues the candidate plans to address when she wins the Council seat.
When asked about her media diet, the candidate rattled off the usual – The New York Times, New York Post, The Daily News and some local outlets that distribute throughout the district.
Finally, Regina-Potter addressed another ongoing issue in the district – illegal home conversions. The candidate said despite recent legislation mandating fines to those who violate illegal home conversion policies, the problem is still not being addressed. The candidate said the utility companies should be obligated to report owners who request more than three meters in a one-family home.
“Nothing is being done. The laws are not being enforced. They [constituents] call the agencies involved and they don’t do anything. I follow up and I listen,” said Regina-Potter. “I think that’s the most important thing that anyone can do as a parent, in business or in politics.”
When asked if the candidate had a successful petitioning run, the candidate responded with fearless confidence as she sipped her coffee, “Don’t forget, they know me. It’s not ‘Who are you?’ it’s ‘How are you?’”
