The Road to City Hall: City Council District 29

Heidi Chain Profile

BY ALICE LOK

Wednesday, August 19, 2009 1:55 PM EDT

Name: Heidi Chain

Age: 55

Party Affiliation: Democrat

Occupation: New York City Department of Finance Attorney and Director in the Office of Legal Affairs.

Money raised thus far: Private $78,923

Why did you decide to run for City Council:

Chain, said she has dealt with every city agency during her time as an attorney and understands the business of government. Chain said she wanted to impact the city and community in a positive way, in a place where she can do the most good.

What are two major issues affecting your community:

To Chain, the economic crisis and public safety are her main concerns. Chain said there are ways to save money, and it is critical and important to do so.

“Finances will affect quality of life, libraries, senior centers and the delivery of every single solitary service,” she said.

With public safety, Chain said in case of emergencies or just walking down the street, public safety is something very important that affects citizens every day. Chain said she has worked with the city’s police for many years and with her background working with these agencies she can work with them to enhance safety in the district.

What’s the first thing you would focus on if elected:

“Everything regarding finance,” said Chain. “Because finance affects everything else.”

With threats of closing senior and public centers, reducing services to youth and children, Chain said working on the finance issues is critical.

Chain said an option to save money would be to do things better, cheaper and more efficiently. Some examples include using city employees to perform city services instead of outsourcing jobs and doing things via the Internet to save money and paper.