Fil-Am activist replaces NY lawmaker on June Democratic primary ballot

Raga, who unsuccessfully ran for city council last year, is the executive director of Woodside on the Move. HANDOUT

Filipino American activist Steven Raga will replace Assembly Member Brian Barnwell on the June 28 Democratic primary ballot, after Barnwell announced he would no longer be running for reelection to his Assembly District 30 seat.

Raga, who unsuccessfully ran for city council last year and is the executive director of Woodside on the Move, will run against one other Democratic primary candidate, Ramon Cando, a Democratic District leader.

The two will be vying for a seat covering parts of Maspeth, Woodside, Middle Village, Sunnyside, Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst and Rego Park.

After Barnwell announced he was not seeking reelection, a committee consisting of Gregory Meeks (who leads the Queens County Democratic Party) along with Melissa Sklarz, Raga, Patrick Martinez and Kathleen Nealon, selected Raga to take his spot on the ballot, according to the Jackson Heights Post.

Steven Raga representing Woodside on the Move at a recent rally in NYC. (WOTM)

“He makes for an excellent choice,” Sklarz said of Raga, noting that the latter’s Filipino heritage will be helpful following the redistricting earlier this year to connect Queens’ Asian communities in parts of Elmhurst, East Elmhurst and Woodside’s “Little Manila.”

The new district population is nearly 50 percent Asian and 19 percent white whereas the current District 30 population is about 27 percent Asian and 39 percent white

Raga was Barnwell’s chief of staff for four years and has a long track record in government and the non-profit sectors.

Before joining Woodside on the Move, he was the Northeast Regional Manager for Policy and Advocacy for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, where he oversaw health care legislation in 11 states.

He has been a member of Community Board 2 since 2016 and sits on the boards of Queens Pride and the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA). He is also the Founder of Pilipino American Unity for Progress (UniPro) which he started in Woodside in 2009.