FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MARCH 29, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 21
This Bronx resident is Congressman Crowley’s fi rst primary challenger in 14 years
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @amatua
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is
running to unseat 19-year incumbent
Congressman Joseph Crowley, compares
her race to the story of David and Goliath.
Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old Bronx resident,
said she hadn’t ever considered running
for offi ce since she was disenchanted
with electoral politics. But now, she’ll be
the fi rst candidate to challenge Crowley in
14 years for his district, which spans northwest
Queens and part of the Bronx.
She interned for the late Massachusetts
Senator Ted Kennedy in college and
during that time, the Supreme Court ruled
that corporations and unions could spend
unlimited sums of money to infl uence
elections.
“Th at was around the time Citizens
United had passed and I had just really
felt like electoral politics was out of the
question, especially in New York with how
dynastic it is, how machine-oriented New
York politics was,” she said. “I never really
thought of running.”
Instead, Ocasio-Cortez focused on
working with children and served as educational
director for the National Hispanic
Institute. She stayed involved in politics,
campaigning for Bernie Sanders, and when
he didn’t win the primary, Ocasio-Cortez
traveled to Standing Rock in North Dakota
with community organizers to protest
the construction of the Dakota Access
Pipeline.
“It was really my experience at Standing
Rock that was pretty pivotal for me
because I saw how corporations
were literally militarizing themselves
against American citizens
so that they could kind of maximize
their profi t margins on fossil
fuels,” she said.
One day aft er her trip to
Standing Rock, Brand
New Congress, a political
action committee
(PAC) started by former
Sanders staff ers
that aims to elect progressives
to Congress,
called Ocasio-
Cortez and asked if
she wanted to run
against Crowley
in Congressional
District 14.
“I was taken aback
but aft er really kind
of examining our
community, what’s
been going on here and the potential that
this seat could bring to Congress, I felt
like it was a worthy fi ght to get into, so we
decided to run,” she said.
Th e district includes Jackson Heights,
Astoria, East Elmhurst, College Point,
Woodsideand parts of the Bronx like
Morris Park, Parkchester and Pelham Bay.
It is also safely Democratic with 133,541
registered Democrats and 19,505 registered
Republicans living in the district,
according to the Board of Elections.
Ocasio-Cortez, who has pledged not
to take any money from lobbyists or
super PACS, said that the community
never “truly got to know” Crowley
because of the method in which
he was elected. When former
Congressman Th omas Manton
retired in 1999, he withdrew on
the last possible day so that he
could choose Crowley to replace
him on the ballot.
“We have basically,
on one side, a
multimillion-dollar
machine candidate
that was never
elected, who does
not live in the district
— he lives in
Virginia, his children
go to public
school in
Virginia,” she
said. “It’s really
kind of the pinnacle
of someone
who is a little out
of touch but very infl uential.”
Crowley is also the chair of the
Democratic Caucus and the chair of the
Queens County Democratic Party. He is
also rumored to possibly take over Nancy
Pelosi’s position as Speaker of the House.
“But our campaign is very emblematic of
the change that Americans are really trying
to seek in the country, which is a non-corporate
backed candidate that is fi ghting
for really ambitious new ideas that should
be introduced to our national conversation,”
she said. “I think this is happening
all over the country.”
Ocasio-Cortez said she knows that she’s
going “up against the old boys club” but
argues that her campaign has already started
to make a diff erence.
“I’m proud to say that aft er we launched
our race he has been pressured to the left in
really big ways,” she said. “We’ve pressured
him to cosponsor Medicare-For-All.”
In addition to Medicare-For-All, Ocasio-
Cortez is campaigning to overturn Citizens
United, establish free public college, create
a renewable energy economy and address
climate change. Th e Bronx resident recently
came out in support of defunding
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) aft er hearing concerns from constituents
in the district.
“People are scared to open the door
and this goes irrespective of status,” she
said. “Even for documented individuals
we’re seeing the administration phase out
legal status that so many Queens residents
depend on, like DACA and TPS. We’re
coming out in support of defunding ICE
until we have a structure for immigration
enforcement that is just and in alignment
with our values.”
As of December 2017, Ocasio-Cortez
raised $59,767, according to opensecrets.
org. Crowley raised $2,137,582 as
of December 2017. Th e top industries
that donated to his campaign include the
real estate, and securities and investment
industries.
“I don’t take money from lobbyists, I
don’t take money from corporate PACs
and I’m not fi nanced by the industries that
are straining Queens residents,” she said.
“I think that that at its core draws the differences
all the way down the line.”
Photo by Angela Matua/THE COURIER
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is running against
Congressman Joseph Crowley.
Van Bramer is second Queens pol to endorse Ramos over incumbent Senator Peralta
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer has
become the second Queens councilman in
as many weeks to endorse Jessica Ramos, a
candidate for state Senate, over incumbent
Jose Peralta.
On a visit to the Woodside Houses on
March 26, Van Bramer announced his
decision to throw his support behind the
Jackson Heights resident and former City
Hall staff er. She is running against Peralta
to represent District 13, which includes
Corona, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights
and Woodside.
“Every day I champion progressive
causes and #QueensValues in the City
Council. And I need a partner in the state
Senate who I know will do the same,” Van
Bramer said. “Jessica Ramos is that partner.
Together we will fi ght for justice for
NYCHA residents, mass transit that works
and real reform that matters. It’s not just
about electing Democrats; it’s about electing
the right Democrats. Jessica Ramos is
the right Democrat for this district and this
moment.”
Peralta, who has held the seat since 2010,
announced last year that he would join
the Independent Democratic Conference
(IDC). Peralta is the eighth member of the
IDC, which was formed in 2011 and is led
by Bronx state Senator Jeff rey Klein. Th e
conference has formed a coalition, of sorts,
with Senate Republicans, who control 31 of
the 63 state Senate seats.
Ramos announced her candidacy on Jan.
25, exactly one year aft er Peralta joined the
IDC and has made his membership a core
part of her campaign, referring to him as
a “turncoat Democrat.” His move drew
the ire of some of his constituents. Th ey
held a town hall titled “Where is Peralta?”
aft er the senator declined to hold an additional
meeting explaining his membership.
Approximately 200 people showed up to
learn about the eight-member coalition
last June.
Th e IDC continues to irk many rankand
fi le Democrats who want control of
the state Senate chamber to themselves;
the Assembly and governor’s mansion
are already controlled by Democrats.
Counting the IDC members and Brooklyn
state Senator Simcha Felder, a Democrat
who has been caucusing with Republicans
since his election, there were a total of
32 Democrats in the state Senate (before
two Democrats recently resigned), which
would be enough for a majority if they all
caucused together.
Special elections in April are expected to
bring the number of Democrats in the state
Senate up to 32 from 30 again.
Ramos has continued to rack up endorsements
and last week Councilman Costa
Constantinides, who represents Astoria
and parts of Jackson Heights, Woodside
and East Elmhurst, announced his support.
He previously endorsed Peralta in 2016.
Ramos said she was honored to receive
Van Bramer’s support and looks forward
to “campaigning alongside him.”
“Jimmy has worked tirelessly to make
our streets safer and our schools less
crowded — and he has been a fi erce advocate
for working subways to help our borough’s
struggling straphangers,” she said.
“I’m running for state Senate because
we need a REAL Democrat representing
Queens — not a Trump Democrat who
empowers the Republicans and blocks the
DREAM Act, the Reproductive Health
Act and more. As a state Senator, I will
fi ght for increased public school funding,
real rent reform and a subway system that
actually works.”
Photo courtesy of Jessica Ramos
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer announced his support for state Senate candidate Jessica Ramos.
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