Rest In Peace, Tom

Queens lost one of its good guys on Friday.

Public servant, mentor and long-time Councilman Tom White Jr. passed away after a long battle with cancer.

He left behind a legislative and charitable legacy that reverberates within the 28th district, which encompasses chunks of Jamaica, Richmond Hill, Rochdale Village and South Ozone Park.

White’s combined 15-year tenure revealed a steady eye on the issues of his constituents; he focused most often on the need for job placement programs and the concerns of minority and women-owned businesses.

But it was his founding and leadership of J-CAP, a substance abuse program, which most use to define him Tom was a pioneer in therapeutic communities dating back to the late 1960s. His innovative work with teenagers captured our attention long before he entered politics.

But around the present day Queens Tribune, we remember White showing up to one of our Holiday parties, mingling amongst the dapperly-dressed politicos in an Adidas jumpsuit.

That was Tom – always casual and undeniably a man of the people.

Some are already looking ahead, crunching the numbers and merely guessing – at this point – who will succeed him. We are no less guilty.

But we hope the candidates running to fill his seat, whoever they may be, give page 18 a careful read, and understand White set a foundation that could help revive a struggling part of our borough.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to those White left behind, both his immediate family and the many others whose lives he touched.

Rest in peace, Tom.