After some speculation, Nicole Paultre Bell will run for Thomas White's City Council seat. She confirmed her decision to the Daily News and said of her fiancé Sean Bell's death during a fusillade of 51 police bullets hours before their wedding, "What happened to me four years ago - I didn't expect that to happen. This is what life threw my way. It made me realize that there are serious problems out there."
The News points out, "The inexperienced candidate...already faces one obstacle: The 26-year-old single mother of two doesn't live in the Jamaica, Queens, district she wants to represent"— she lives in Far Rockaway but apparently plans to move to Jamaica relatively soon—and "needs to collect 899 signatures from registered voters on her nominating petitions by Monday to enter the nonpartisan race." Paultre Bell says she has enough signatures, "The community stood up for me, and now it's my turn to stand up for the community." (The city paid $3.25 million to settle the wrongful death shooting suit; the money is in a trust for the couple's children.)
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Queens) told the News that Paultre Bell's relationships with state and city leaders will "[translate] into representation immediately for the district" and the Rev. Al Sharpton said, "I've been involved in a lot of cases. She has been one of the few who stayed involved and decided to do something." However, opponent former City Council Allan Jennings brought up, "She has name recognition?" snapped Jennings. "So did George Bush. But he couldn't get elected in this district." Here's video of Paultre Bell discussing her candidacy:
