Eastwood resident Byron A. Gaspard has thrown his hat into the ring for the First Vice Presidency of the Residents Association.

"I want to unify RIRA's leadership and members by recognizing the organization's goals and mandates rather than the pursuit of individual agendas. I would like to work hard with the community to resolve issues that threaten to destroy our community, such as criminality, development, and the Governor's monarchy-style rule in the form of RIOC."

As an Eastwood representative, Gaspard has been RIRA's Vice President for Cultural, Education, and Social Services, and a member of the 114th Precinct District Committee.

"I believe RIRA cannot represent this community if personal ambition takes precedence over the community's welfare," Gaspard said Wednesday in a statement. "With me, the community's welfare will always be first."

Westview delegate Kenneth Diebner has also announced he will run for one of that building's three Common Council seats. He is running, Diebner said, "in the hope that the next session will be more productive than the last one." Diebner ran in 1998, and served as a delegate after another delegate resigned.