Remembering The Dean of Southeast Queens Politics
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Archie Spigner (right) campaigning with State Sen. Leroy Comrie (left) in 2014. Photo via Guy R. Brewer United Democratic Club/Facebook
By Sen. Leroy Comrie
What can you say to properly pay your respects to a man who has impacted the lives of New Yorkers and earned the respect of people throughout political, civic and religious communities for over 60 years?
How can you explain to people the pure drive and determination of a man who wanted to make sure that all people had a chance to get ahead in life, especially those who needed extra help?
The first time I saw Archie Spigner, I was working as a counselor and trainer for the summer youth employment program sponsored by Queensboro Council for Social Welfare.I was helping to conduct an information seminar at the Central Queens Library to let the children and parents know what they needed to apply to gain the summer jobs they were vying for.
Barbara Kent, the then-director, was talking when suddenly she stopped mid-speech and started introducing this person who had come in and was striding confidently toward the front of the stage.
Archie Spigner, she proclaimed, was the city councilman responsible for ensuring that Southeast Queens received more summer job slots than any other year before.
I marveled at how that introduction didn't phase him. He just wanted the crowd to know other important information about civil service jobs that they or their children could apply for, and that he was interested in seeing all the children be successful. He thanked Ms. Kent for her organizational efforts and then he was done and heading out the room.
That first intro made me want to meet him and understand what made him tick.
So I asked folks who would know.
Vivian Bailey was the political person in my church, Saint Alban the Martyr. She was connected to all local issues and she advised me to join the Guy R. Brewer United Democratic Club and then I would get to know Archie and the other politicos who ran Southeast Queens. So I took her advice and went to a club meeting and was hooked immediately. I started volunteering at the first meeting and then made myself consistently available for anything that needed to be done.
That got me noticed by the councilman, whose district covered most of southern Queens in those days. He was always recruiting volunteers to carry petitions, canvass and promote issues and candidates by physically spreading the word around the community.
After being involved for some time, Archie needed to expand his staff so he researched me prior to offering me the job. What I didn't know until many years later, was that he knew my dad, whom I didn't know had stumped for his one-time opponent, Larry Cormier, in the previous election.
Dad liked Mr. Cormier, an entrepreneur, because their names were so similar.
Archie knew that and hired me anyway. He would later tell me it was because I was riding my bike to ensure that I got to meetings on time. He would also joke that I should've kept the bike.
I started working for Archie in February 1982 and stayed with him until I was elected to his city council seat due to term limits in 2001. During our years together, I took to calling him “Chief” and our relationship became more than that of boss and mentee. He became a pivotal figure in my life.
I considered him a secondary father figure and when my dad died 27 years ago, he became my primary confidant.
I was a son of immigrants and he gave me the opportunity to get into politics and mentored me to succeed him. Not everyone is that willing to give a kid with no connections a break.
He would take me to City Hall often, to meet the citywide movers and shakers who consulted with him often. Since the Chief’s passing late last week, many of those same people have been calling to extend condolences to me because they remember him so fondly and because I had succeeded him and built upon his legacy.
Archie was driven by an internal rage.
He used to say to me that to be a Black person in this world, you must always be ready to battle to keep your soul intact and your focus ramrod straight; because while politics required the ability to compromise, you should never go into battle unprepared.
He loved engaging all types of people to understand their perspectives and his learning never stopped.
Archie was never boastful nor ego driven. He never wanted to dwell on his accomplishments, which were too many to detail here. But he never dwelled on the many issues he championed and gained for our district, city and state.
I had always marveled at the fact that so many leaders throughout the city would reach out to engage Archie, to seek his opinion or to have him advocate for their issue.
Rep. Charlie Rangel and the entire Harlem leadership team regularly met with him either in Harlem or at Carmichaels Diner to talk in the basement.
Leaders from all around the state would also regularly seek his audience. I wasn't in most of those meetings, but afterwards I would inquire why, what and how and he would bring me up to speed to the extent appropriate.
Archie loved making it to multiple events in one evening when they were scheduled at the same time. He taught me how to figure out how to get to all of them at the best time to be impactful and then to make a graceful exit to get to the next meeting.
He knew how to hold a conversation, get details and then scat before verbosity or suppositions came up that were only speculative and would prevent him from hitting the next event that wanted to see him also.
He also loved campaigning for anyone that he believed in, organizing door-to-door canvassing, standing in public venues, he would aggressively engage the community, waking people out of any fog to make them realize that there was an election and he needed them to vote.
I would be with him most weekends during campaigns and he loved to work until late into the evenings. On Sunday nights when he dropped me off at home, he would laugh and say "Enjoy the rest of your weekend!"
Archie didn’t tolerate foolishness or any type of intimidation. If someone at a meeting or in the street started trying to bully him with words or actions, he would let them know quickly that they didn’t have to vote for him and they needed to recalibrate themselves ... or else.
He was a shrewd negotiator, who always saved his best positions for direct conversation. He didn't like to negotiate major issues on the phone; he was going eyeball to eyeball to let the person or people know how passionate and invested he was in getting what he wanted done.
But he knew how to work with all kinds of people to get what he needed for our district.
My friend and former colleague, Joseph Goldbloom, who worked with Archie for 28 years and remained a dear friend for the last 18 years, fondly reminded me that Archie used to send holiday cards to all his Jewish friends and nemeses.
Joe recalled then-Mayor Edward Koch remarking in response to one card, “’Archie, that’s why you are my favorite mench.’” And my friend, Councilman Rory Lancman said that he learned more Yiddish from Archie than from anyone else.
As a district leader, Archie continued to be an active leader in the Guy R. Brewer United Democratic Club.
Referred to as “The Dean of Southeast Queens Politics,” people aspiring to public office continued to trek to the club to seek his support. He loved being in the thick of things and could regularly be seen in election night photos and on TV.
He was one-of-a-kind and Queens will never be the same without him.
I will miss him for the rest of my life, but I am proud to say that his legacy will live on not just through his family, but through all of us whom he supported and/or mentored.
A great hole has been placed in my heart and so many others who revered a true trailblazer.
My condolences to all who knew and loved this transformative figure. We have to be thankful for his presence in our lives and cherish the memories. Let us celebrate his legacy and the incredible life he led in the service of others.
So long, Chief! Rest in power! Job well Done!
Condolences to his wife, Leslie, his son, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, step children and the rest of his family.
State Sen. Leroy Comrie represents Southeast Queens’ District 14.
