Ramdat Singh looks to find common ground among Dems

It’s time to go back to old school politics says special education teacher Ramdat Singh.

That means knocking on doors, phone banking and encouraging high voter turnout. The male district leader in the 81st Assembly District seeks re-election and common ground with Democrats to get Joe Biden re-elected as president.

“One thing that I bring to the table is being able to break down policies, break down why people should be civically engaged and bring it to a place where it’s digestible for folks to be able to understand,” Singh said.

“And the other thing is I’m an organizer, being able to organize and bring people together is one of my strong suits.”

The Unity Democratic Club candidate was elected district leader back in 2022. Since then, Singh has helped Gov. Kathy Hochul get re-elected, as well as state senators Robert Jackson and Gustavo Rivera.

He has also partnered with elected officials and held several community events, such as food, toy and backpack giveaways. His proudest accomplishment, he said, was launching the Unity Dem Club, which aimed to hold seminars to engage voters in the district on a multitude of issues as well as and host candidates.

“When I knock on doors and say ‘Hey, I’m a teacher,’ they tend to listen more,” Singh said. “They see a teacher being politically engaged is important because we see how policies and politics play a role in our classrooms. And we’re able to explain that in a way that makes sense to them and their kids, and show how participating and voting will improve the quality of life.”

Before moving to Kingsbridge when he was 23, Singh grew up in Norwood. He got to observe and admire how his parents, who moved to the United States from Guyana in the 80s, had great resiliency in starting a new life and adapting to a changing environment.

As a student at John F. Kennedy High School, Singh got the opportunity to volunteer with a teacher in Philadelphia to campaign for Barack Obama in 2008. While doing his undergrad at CUNY in 2012, Singh worked as a field organizer in Philadelphia. He volunteered again in 2016. He plans to join the Biden campaign this summer as well.

After graduating from CUNY in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Singh decided to go into the classroom to do research and education for his policy thesis on special education.

“I saw there was a disconnect between policy implementation and what’s happening in the classroom, so I wanted to get a broader understanding,” Singh said. “But then I fell in love with teaching, fell in love with working with youth. And nine years later, I’m still there.”

During that time, Singh graduated from Brooklyn College in 2017 with a master’s degree in special education and teaching. In 2024, Singh received a master of public administration from CUNY.

In addition to being a teacher, Singh served as a political organizer for Christine Quinn for mayor in 2013, a mediator at the Office of the Attorney General from 2014 to 2015, deputy field director for Elvin Garcia for City Council in 2017 and campaign manager for Elvis Santana for Assembly. From 2020 to 2022,

Singh was the director of civic engagement for the Caribbean Equality Project, an organization empowering and advocating for Afro and Indo-Caribbean LGBTQ+ immigrants in the city.

Singh ran for district leader in 2022 with a slate consisting of fellow district leader candidate Abigail Martin and state committee candidates Morgan Evers and Aaron Stayman. Singh beat incumbent Bill Weitz, who was not seeking re-election, by 375 votes.

“When I decided to run in 2022 I saw a large portion of the district not participating,” Singh said. “And I wanted to be able to use my skills that worked on campaigns, use the tools and strategies that I’ve learned to be able to increase voter turnout here and increase civic participation.”

Moving forward, Singh’s priorities are to get Biden re-elected and continue to educate people in the district about the importance of being civically engaged, whether through voting or serving their local community board.

One challenge he sees in the presidential election, he said, is how the Israel-Gaza conflict has divided Democrats at a time where they need to be united. Another is the scrutiny of Biden’s age. One thing he said is important to do going into the election is hammer home Biden’s accomplishments.

“From a policy standpoint, people aren’t seeing the things that he’s accomplished,” said Singh, a member of Community Board 8’s parks and aging committees. “They’re just looking at his age, which is going to be a challenge trying to mobilize voters to re-elect him. But we’ll stay on the message of things he’s done. He’s been great on climate, working on student loan forgiveness and other infrastructure and domestic policies.”

Singh said American democracy is “on the line” in the 2024 presidential election.

“We need to go back to that sense of educating that politics impact quality of life and to make that connection,” Singh said. “I think that’s where a lot of people are likely tuned off by politics because they don’t see the connection of how it relates to their quality of life.”

Singh is funding his campaign both separately and together with district leader candidate and incumbent Martin, state committee member and incumbent Evers and candidate Aaron Stayman.

Singh faces attorney Ben Jackson in the June 25 primary.