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QUEENS WEEKLY, DECEMBER 29, 2019
DenDekker challenger
gets key endorsement
Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas scored a key endorsement in her effort to unseat incumbent
Assemblyman Michael DenDekker. Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
BY BILL PARRY
The political arm of an influential
immigrant rights organization has endorsed
a challenger to Assemblyman
Michael DenDekker, the six-term incumbent
representing AD 34, which includes
Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst and
parts of Woodside and Corona.
Make the Road Action (MRA), a leading
progressive community organization
announced it would back Jessica
González-Rojas. A nationally-recognized
expert on health care reform, gender and
racial justice who was formerly the Executive
Director of the National Latina
Institute for Reproductive Health.
MRA members expressed support for
González-Rojas because of her commitment
to their top state priorities, including
keeping ICE agents out of courts,
raising taxes on the super-wealth, passing
true fair elections legislation, enacting
the New York Homes Guarantee,
addressing racial disparities in school
discipline, decriminalizing sex work,
and expanding voter protections.
“I am humbled and excited to receive
Make the Road Action’s endorsement
for our campaign. They are a powerful,
grassroots force fighting for Latinx, immigrants,
LGBTQ+ and other marginalized
communities,” González-Rojas said.
“As an advocate and daughter of an immigrant,
I have been fortunate enough
to work alongside Make the Road Action
to move important policy forward. I
proudly stood shoulder-to-shoulder with
their members during key moments in
the struggle to build power for all working
people. I am honored that they have
chosen to put their trust and faith in our
campaign to build a better future.”
DenDekker, who was born and raised
in Jackson Height and resides there with
his wife and four children, has not faced
a primary or general election opponent
since he was first sent to Albany in 2008.
“I acknowledge Make the Road Action’s
advocacy efforts and their work to
help immigrant communities and people
of color, but I am proud of my record of
standing up for immigrants and fighting
for their rights,” DenDekker said. “I am
proud of being one of the original co-sponsors
of the New York DREAM Act and the
Green Light Law this past year. I am also
proud of my work to combat alcohol and
substance abuse and addiction, enacting
marriage equality, and reforming the
criminal justice system. I know we still
have a lot of work to do, and I will continue
to work hard to protect the rights of
my neighbors.”
DenDekker’s district has the largest
Latinx population in Queens, and it is
among the most Latinx district in all of
New York, and the largest to never have
been represented by a Latinx Assemblymember,
according to MRA.
“Jessica is the representative our community
deserves and needs,” MRA member
and AD 34 resident Aracelly Cantos
said. “She has fought for our community
at the local and national level, and we
know she will fight for us in the Assembly,
especially when it comes to defending
the rights and needs of immigrants
and workers and tenants of color. I can’t
wait to knock on doors to make sure she’s
our next Assemblymember.”
Former Manhattan prosecutor
Nuala O’Doherty Naranjo, a Jackson
Heights civic leader is also challenging
DenDekker in next year’s Democratic
primary.
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