The movers behind the shakers:
Part 2 - Tara Martin

Martin, who was born in Harlem and raised in Staten Island, originally came on board with Una Clarke as her Director of Legislative Affairs before Clarke transitioned out due to term limits. Martin still remembers how she felt the first time she entered City Hall: "When Una Clarke brought me here and I walked into the main Council Chamber for the very first time, I almost broke into tears. I was in awe. I couldn't believe that I was here and was going to have the privilege of serving the constituents of this city."

As to how she feels now, Martin said, "I love what I do. I can't imagine doing anything else. And that means you're working 12 hour days, you're working on weekends, you're reading 6 and 7 newspapers a day to make sure your Council Member is on top of the issues - you're doing all these things you wouldn't do if you didn't love it."

No wonder Yvette Clarke stated, "I was lucky to get Tara on staff after she had served my mother in the Council. She was able to provide the jumpstart and the leadership that was required to enable me to be effective as quickly as possible once I became a new member. I benefited a great deal from Tara's intellect and political savvy."

Martin found the whole transition very exciting, for never before in the history of the city did 38 seats change over at one time. "There was a fresh new energy and a lot of innovation that came in," she noted. "This new council seems like they're ready and willing to roll up their sleeves and do just about anything. For instance, the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus is so powerful. These folks are organized, they're prepared, they know what they want to do and they're taking a very proactive role."

She said, too, that there was a notable change up in the staff members as well. There is no longer a closed off, authoritative atmosphere, but a more communal feeling where people really talk to and assist each other. "And the best thing about this new council," she stated, "is that there are so many young well prepared people of color here. One of the greatest things term limits did was provide the ability to diversify. There's a lot of great staff members who are just so on point, and I'm glad to call them my colleagues."

Tara Martin feels that the most challenging thing for her has been dealing with the budget crisis. She commented that when facing the budget deficits and considering such things as whether to close firehouses or community health centers or senior centers or to cut HIV/AIDS funding, some people can think of these things in terms of dollars and cents. "But we see the faces; we go into communities and see what those cuts would do to people, and it's devastating. It breaks your heart sometimes. To sit in a room and listen to 30 or 40 people tell you how these firehouse closings will affect them personally - you'd have to be a monster to walk away from that experience and not take a piece of it with you."

She said too, that choosing between such things as shutting down a firehouse or cutting 50% to 60% of AIDS funding for communities of color are life and death decisions that she takes very seriously. "Yvette Clarke and I are kind of a team when it comes to making those types of decisions," Martin explained. "She calls on me to give her background information and we work together with the rest of the council and our whole staff to try to make those decisions fairly."

About Clarke, Martin said, "I love working for her because she's so bright, energetic and sensible. At the same time, she's got a conscience. Not only is she my boss, she's my friend. She's someone I look up to because eventually I would like to run for public office when the time is right."

In addition to her work in the council, Martin is Chair for the New York State Young Democrats Caucus of Color, a new caucus created to address issues dealing with youth and communities of color throughout the state. She is also National Committeewoman for New York State. Next month she will likely be elected National Chair for the Young Democrats of America Minority Caucus, which basically empowers young people within communities of color. "I love the whole concept of empowering people," Tara Martin declared. "That's what I want to do."