Velázquez wins City Council primary
BY JASON COHEN
When Marjorie Velázquez lost her bid
for City Council in 2017, she was confi dent
it wasn’t the end of her yet-to-be political
career.
Four years later, Velazquez is now hoping
to become the fi rst woman of color and
Latina to represent the 13th Council District
after winning — in what many view
as the de facto election — the June 22 Democratic
primary handily defeating her
four opponents by collecting 56.5% of the
total votes cast, according to results from
the New York City Board of Elections.
Velazquez will now face off against Republican
Aleksander Mici in the general
election in November.
“This campaign started in 2016 because
as a daughter of the Bronx to parents
who came from Puerto Rico to
give their family a better opportunity,
I wanted to bring the much-needed resources
back to my community and the
Bronx,” Velazquez said. “This will be the
fi rst of many monumental achievements
I hope to succeed at with the help of the
people of the Bronx, and I thank all of my
many supporters who helped me accomplish
this historic achievement.”
Velazquez, 39, grew up in Parkchester
and was one of fi ve kids. She comes
from a large family and spent many
summers visiting grandparents, aunts,
uncles and cousins in Puerto Rico.She
came from farmers who cut sugarcane,
which she often saw when she visited the
island.“Knowing my history has always
been important to my family,” she said.
As a child of the Bronx, a big part
of her life was church. Every Saturday
her family went to a congregation in
the South Bronx and fed the homeless.
Velazquez went to St. Catharine’s high
school, on Williamsbridge Road,attended
NYU Stern and obtained a degree in accounting
and fi nance. Velazquez was
young, working for Direct TV and had
moved to Throggs Neck. Life was great,
she said.
Then in 2012 everything changed.
Velasquez suffered life-changing injuries
from a workplace accident and a
subsequent serious car crash that left
her temporarily disabled. She struggled
through several surgeries, but found a
path to recovery through giving back to
her community.
“I think for the most part no one understood
the gravity of the situation because
I was able to hide it,” she explained.
“When you are injured that bad there’s
also that mental health component that
you just want to be normal. I was in constant
pain for so long.”
In fact, after seeing many doctors, she
fi nally discovered that her thumb was detached
from her wrist. Making matters
worse, these accidents occurred shortly
after she married her husband Jeff. It was
the most challenging time of her life.
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“We had our plan and our lives
changed,” she said.
But while in recovery, U.S. Rep.
Ritchie Torres, a fellow Democrat who
was running for City Council at the time,
asked Velasquez if she would be the treasurer
of his campaign. She gladly accepted
the role.
“It was inspiring to know that someone
like him could see something in my
darkest moment,” she recalled. “It was
my fi rst shot at seeing what a campaign
looks like.”
Then in 2015, she worked on the campaign
to elect District Attorney Darcel
Clark. All of this, in addition to her values
instilled by her family, infl uenced her
to run for City Council in 2017 — she lost
in a primary to Mark Gjonaj by a few hundred
votes.
According to Velazquez, losing four
years ago did not deter her from running
again. In fact, it made her want the seat
even more.
“We came so close,” she said. “It was a
whole system against us.”
In 2018, when Democrats state Sen.
Alessandra Biaggi, of District 34, and
U.S Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were
elected Velasquez knew the landscape of
NYC politics was changing.
She campaigned hard during COVID
19, but also recognized that the
pandemic exposed the inequities in her
district. Too many families face food insecurities,
work two to three jobs to make
ends meet, face a lack of transportation
options and many schools face a digital
divide, she said. Velazquez added that
there needs to be more select bus and
ferry service and all train stops must be
ADA accessible.
“Our district is transit starved,” she
said.
During the pandemic she encountered
distraught parents whose children did
not receive laptops or took several weeks
to receive them. What angered Velazquez
was the revelation that Bronx children
got Ipads, while some in Manhattan were
given Macbook Pros.
Another glaring issue for Velazquez is
affordable housing or lack of it as it has
become increasingly diffi cult for Bronxites
to afford to live in District 13 in such
places as Throggs Neck and Pelham Bay.
On top of that, the Average Median Income
incorporates homes in Westchester
County, which makes that number
higher.
“Are we providing opportunities for
families to have their fi rst home in the
district?” she asked. “The answer is usually
‘no.’”
As she looks ahead to serving the community,
if elected, Velazquezhas not gotten
to celebrate her primary victory yet.
In June, her husband was in the hospital
and her best friend passed away. “I think
it’s fair to say I was numb the last week of
the election,” she said. “My best friend
was my biggest fan. In her honor it was
possible.”
But, come Jan. 1, 2022, Velazquez
hopes she has the opportunity to hit the
ground running and make an impact for
her constituents.
“I’m excitedto ensure that they are
stakeholders in every decision that is
made for our neighborhoods; that’s how I
hope to represent my district,” Velazquez
said. “From fi ghting for COVID-19 relief
for our small businesses, tenants, homeowners
and children, to free access to
quality healthcare and transportation
access, everyone will have a seat at my
table.”
Marjorie Velazquez could become the fi rst
woman of color to represent the 13th District.
Photo courtesy Richard Rosario
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