Helen Sears is a New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 Democrat who formerly represented the 25th District of Queens

Queens

Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....

 in the New York City Council

New York City Council

The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...

.

Personal career and Early life

Before becoming involved in politics, Sears was a health-care professional. She worked as a Director of Government and Community Affairs for the Health and Hospitals Corporation at Elmhurst Medical Center. She went on to serve as a board member of the NYC Health Systems Agency.

She further worked as a government employee, working as a Senior Specialist for the NYC Department for the Aging. She then founded the Catherine Sheridan Senior Center and the Marjorie Riley Center.

Sears has two sons, a daughter and six grandchildren.

Political career

Her political career started when she was elected to serve as the Queens County Budget Negotiator. Later on, she was actually elected to the New York City Council, reprsenting the 25th district which encompasses parts of Jackson Heights

Jackson Heights, Queens

Jackson Heights is a neighborhood in the Northwestern portion of the borough of Queens in New York, New York, United States. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 3...

, Elmhurst

Elmhurst, Queens

Elmhurst is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north; Corona to the northeast; Junction Boulevard on the east; Rego Park to the southeast; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Middle Village to the south and southwest; and Maspeth...

, East Elmhurst, Rego Park, Woodside

Woodside, Queens

Woodside is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered on the south by Maspeth, on the north by Astoria, on the west by Sunnyside and on the east by Elmhurst and Jackson Heights. Some areas are widely residential and very quiet, while others are...

 and Corona

Corona, Queens

Corona is a densely-populated neighborhood in the former Township of Newtown in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States...

. The party bosses in the Democractic Party backed her against district leader Danny Dromm. The election contained a vigorous undercurrent of challenge against New York City term limits imposed against incumbents seeking reelection.

Her main committee assignments include Finance, Health, Juvenile Justice, Land Use, Standards & Ethics, and Zoning & Franchises. She is further as the first chairwoman of the Women's Issues committee, as well as the standing committee on Standards and Ethics.

She has been praised for her work in securing $600,000 in federal funds that go towards preventing congestion.

On September 15, 2009, in her bid for election to a third term, Councilwoman Sears was defeated 49% to 39% by Daniel Dromm

Daniel Dromm

Daniel Dromm, commonly known as Danny Dromm, is an American teacher and politician from Queens, New York who is a member of the New York City Council. A Democrat, he was elected to the city council in 2009, representing the 25th district in Queens...

, a Community Organizer and Democratic District Leader.

Vendor's Controversy

Mrs. Sears was sharply criticized for sponsoring a bill that would ban vending from the borough's streets. One concerned resident said: "This would ruin my business," said Maria Piedad, 65, of Jackson Heights, through a translator. "I would lose most of my clients." Councilwoman Sears's position was stated by her as: "I called for a vendor-free zone because the area has become overly dense with vending carts that impeded traffic and threaten public safety," Sears said. "Many of the carts are operated illegally, and residents and small businesses have long taken issue with them." The businesses claim that it is small business concern but some vendors have alleged that the bill mighty unfairly impact immigrants inadvertently.