Alton Waldon, New York City’s first Black congressman from Queens and who served as a judge on the New York State Claims Court before marrying a longtime photo editor at the Daily News, has died after a long illness.
He was 86, and died on June 9, his family said.
Waldon had a long list of professional achievements including stints as a city Housing police officer and sports agent, but his most notable one might have been his shortest.
After U.S. Rep Joseph Addabbo, a Democrat, died in office in April, 1986, Waldon defeated Floyd Flake, a prominent Queens minister, in the election to finish Addabbo’s unexpired term.
Waldon was sworn into Congress two months later, and was seated on the Committee of Education and Labor and the Committee on Small Business.
While in Congress, Waldon worked for sanctions against the South African government and opposed Republican efforts to provide covert aid to Angolan rebels who supported the South African government.
Waldon also introduced a resolution calling on President Ronald Reagan to participate in a summit with leaders of countries bordering South Africa. Waldon supported anti-drug abuse legislation and sponsored resolutions that urged the formation of a national task force on the problem of functional illiteracy.
Six months later, Waldon was out of office, defeated in the rematch with Flake, who served more than a decade in the post.
But Waldon didn’t wallow in defeat.
“Just because he lost the race didn’t make him lose the desire to help people,” said Waldon’s daughter, Dana Waldon Carbuccia. “You can’t sit and wallow and serve people. He had to get up.”
Waldon went on to serve nearly a decade in the state Senate and became a judge on the Court of Claims of New York, from which he retired in 2006. In retirement, the widower married Carole Lee-Waldon, who has since retired from a photo editing post at The News.
Waldon, who was born in Florida and raised in Brooklyn, served in the Army before marrying his first…
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