Beloved Board of Elections staffer dies after COVID outbreak in Queens facility
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Board of Elections engineer Timothy James died of COVID-19 Saturday following an outbreak at the BOE facility in Middle Village. James was long active in local politics and served on the board of the Guy R. Brewer Democratic Club. Photo via Facebook
By David Brand
A New York City Board of Elections engineer long active in Southeast Queens politics has died of COVID-19, two weeks after he alerted local officials about a coronavirus outbreak at the agency’s Middle Village facility, the Eagle has learned.
Timothy James, a former aide to ex-State Sen. Shirley Huntley and a past board member at the Guy R. Brewer Democratic Club, died Saturday after working in the Queens warehouse that stores voting machines. At least five employees there tested positive for COVID-19 in late January, their union leader told councilmembers at a hearing Jan. 27.
Councilmember I. Daneek Miller, chair of the labor committee and a longtime friend of James, said workers are in danger at the cramped Middle Village facility — a warehouse and cafeteria-style space with drop ceilings wedged in the corner of a shopping mall.
“It’s an antiquated warehouse with bad ventilation and they’re working upwards of 80 hours a week,” Miller said.
At a labor committee hearing Jan. 27, CWA Local 1183 President Donna Ellaby, who represents BOE workers, also said the facility and other BOE sites are unsafe for workers. Four union members employed by the BOE have died since the pandemic began, she said.
“While we are essential workers, we transmute into frontline workers during the height of election season,” Ellaby said. “We are overcrowded in our offices.”
Miller said it wasn’t just the physical constraints of the building that put workers at risk. The BOE responded too slowly to protect employees even as other agencies administered COVID tests and advised staffers to follow state Health Department quarantine rules, he said.
“When this outbreak occurred, on Thursday [Jan. 21] morning, I got a call from the shop steward and by that point DCAS had come in with a mobile unit to clean,” Miller said. “They sent their workforce home and did a deep cleaning and in the meantime, BOE left its members on the property.”
By Jan. 25, Miller said, the BOE had begun staggering the workforce at the Middle Village facility, with early voting underway ahead of the Feb. 2 special election.
The strain of the pending election, the city’s first test of ranked-choice voting, may have complicated the response to the spread of the coronavirus in the facility.
The agency’s employees are also not yet eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine unless they qualify based on age or other factor. At 54, James likely would not have qualified for one of the dwindling doses.
BOE spokesperson Valerie Vazquez-Diaz said the agency “has done everything we can to keep our employees safe.”
She said the agency administers daily temperature checks, makes mask-wearing social distancing mandatory and provides personal protective equipment to staff.
“Our Board of Elections staff are essential workers who deserve praise for working tirelessly throughout the entire pandemic to conduct the required Elections within the City of New York,” she said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which also operates out of the rented building, said the agency notified the city’s Test and Trace Corps and began weekly testing after an employee at the site tested positive for the coronavirus. DCAS also commenced a deep cleaning inside their offices and common areas, he said.
Board of Elections engineer Timothy James worked for former State Sen. Shirley Huntley. Photo via Facebook
None of the precautions prevented James from becoming sick, however. His friends and colleagues in government and politics say they are convinced his employer could have done more to order potentially sick staffers to stay home.
“It’s a damn shame that the Board of Elections did not step up and follow the protocols,” said State Sen. Leroy Comrie. “Timothy reached out to all the elected officials and said there was a lot of COVID cases among the staff.”
James, a large man who spent his life in Southeast Queens, was popular in political and social circles dating back to childhood. His mother served as secretary to late long-time Councilmember Archie Spigner and James began his own career in politics as a teen.
In addition to his work with the BOE, James founded an education nonprofit and manned the barbecue at community events. “He was always the one grilling the meats,” Comrie said.
James’ imposing frame belied his kind and caring personality, said Huntley, a former state senator who hired him as an education specialist. He held the role for for years.
“My granddaughter used to call him the ‘gentle giant,’” Huntley said. “People loved him — the kids, the parents.”
She questioned why the city did not provide the COVID vaccine to BOE workers or take better precautions to limit the spread of the illness among employees leading up to the election Feb. 2.
“I don’t think they followed any rules,” Huntley said. “Timmy had called me about it and I said, ‘Timmy maybe you should take some time off.’”
Southern Queens Park Association Executive Director Jacqueline Boyce said she was heartbroken to learn of James’ death and called him a “terrific community servant.”
“He worked for the city but he was a community servant,” Boyce said. “He was a special man.”
And his long-time friend Leroy Gadsden recalled James’ work on behalf of students. James, he said, organized regular toy drives and made sure to track down his friends to present at school career days.
“He never went out for recognition or looking for a pat on the back,” Gadsden said. “He loved education and he loved the kids. And he would do it all with a gentle, kind spirit.”
