Brooklyn, NY. — Dr. Dexter McKenzie told a Brooklyn dinner audience on Thursday, August 13, 2009, that their perception of city government will change if he is given an opportunity to serve at City Hall later this year.

Speaking at a community empowerment awards dinner at the Tropical Paradise Hall on Utica Avenue, Brooklyn, Dr. McKenzie, a candidate for the 45th Council District, said that he was committed to doing more by tackling the real issues affecting the lives of real people.

The dinner/fundraiser, organized by the Friends of Rodrick ‘Ruddie’ Daley Committee, recognized six individuals and their organizations for their continued commitment to community empowerment in their different fields of endeavour.

“I want to use this opportunity to pledge my support to ‘Ruddie’, someone who is a great friend of mine, so that together we can achieve that common vision for our community through these types of events. This is the first awards dinner and we do recognize that great events started out small at first,” Dr. Mckenzie said.

Dr. McKenzie noted that the community was better off with persons with the kind of vision demonstrated by Rodrick Daley, an educator at Meyer Levine School (IS 285), Brooklyn.

Daley, whose petition did not make the ballot for the coveted 45th District, praised the honourees, “for their dedication and commitment to making our community stronger”.

With five candidates including Dr. McKenzie, he said the race for the Democratic ticket in the (Tuesday) September 15 Primary, will be a tough one and urged the audience to go out and vote and to put the issues at the forefront of the campaign.

Awards were resented by Dr. McKenzie and Mr. Daley to; Dr. Steven Liverpool (Healthcare), an Internist at Downstate Medical Center; Denise Wright-Scott (Visionary), President of the Erasmus Neighbourhood Foundation (ENF) and Assistant Controller/Educational Housing Services; Anthony James Dandridge (Community Service), chair of the Community Board 18 Education Council; Janella Hinds (Labour Leadership), United Federation of Teachers; Terrence LaPierre (Entrepreneurship), President of the Avenue D Merchant’s Association and Shawn ‘Trini’ Hickson (Community Activism), President/Founder of New York’s Most Wanted.

The awards dinner and fundraiser was staged under the theme, ‘changing lives through education’.