In this special feature, Norwood News provides an overview of the Democratic and Republican candidates in the 80th Assembly race. 

 

Following an August announcement by Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernández that she was running for the Bronx borough presidency in 2021, political wheels started to turn very quickly in the Northwest Bronx. A win by Fernández in the borough presidency race would mean her 80th district assembly seat would need to be filled prior to the end of her second term.

 

Some members of local political organization, the Northwest Bronx Democrats (NWBx Dems), founded in 2003, were so concerned at the prospect of such a special election in 2021, they convened a meeting to discuss the matter. On Aug. 23, the organization’s founder, Anthony Rivieccio, issued a press release on behalf of the organization, confirming the group’s intention to form an exploratory committee to put together a slate of potential candidates to run for various, local, political positions “from top to bottom,” including the 80th district assembly seat.

 

The people named on NWBx Dem’s exploratory committee numbered about 20. When contacted by Norwood News in relation to the press release, Rivieccio acknowledged that 15 to 20 percent of the people on the committee did not live in the 80th assembly district. “The committee’s purpose is to help formulate candidates that live in the 80th AD,” he said.

 

The upshot of this committee was that the NWBx Dems endorsed Republican candidate, Gene DeFrancis, leader of the Allerton Merchants Association, to run against Fernández. DeFrancis decided to throw his hat in the ring once more, having lost to Fernández when they both ran for the same seat in 2018. DeFrancis has also received the endorsement of The Committee of 100 Democrats in the race.

 

NWBx Dem’s Facebook page, which is public, lists 1,600 members. Yet, there doesn’t appear to be any cohesive political philosophy binding these members together. Indeed, the page includes posts by residents with, seemingly, very different political perspectives. It even includes some campaign posts by Trump supporters. Rivieccio told the Norwood News that the group believes in free speech, and that some of their conservative “Blue-Dog” Democratic members are Trump supporters while other members are Republicans.

 

“We have ten staunch Republicans,” he said. “Now, conservative Democrats, I would say that 20 percent of our membership are conservative Democrats.” This makes sense given that online spats between what appear to be Trump supporters and staunch Democrats are common on the group’s Facebook page. In fact, such was the level of disagreement between members at one point, a warning was issued by the page administrator banning political memes from the page.

 

Rivieccio explained that when members sign up, there are three affirmations they must agree to, to ensure debate is kept respectful and courteous. No cursing is allowed on the page, for example. Meanwhile, when it comes to candidate selection and endorsement, the group’s Facebook page does not appear to provide any public information on how the selection is carried out, nor anything about the organization’s underlying political philosophy, values or its procedures.

 

Rivieccio said that such procedures exist, and that each member is aware of them, saying Survey Monkey is one tool, for example, which is used to gauge feedback from members on candidates.

 

On Oct. 12, The Bronx Chronicle reported on a lunch meeting which took place between Rivieccio and DeFrancis during which the 80th Assembly race was discussed. Later, on Oct. 19, at least one member of the NWBx Dems asked that the organization, via its Facebook page, to rescind its endorsement of DeFrancis in the 80th AD race, suggesting that not everyone accepted the final outcome of the organization’s decision.

 

It should be noted that the NWBx Dems are separate and distinct from another local, political organization with a similar name, the Northwest Bronx Democrats for Change. The latter group has also endorsed candidates in other races, such as City Council candidate for the 15th district, Oswald Feliz, a tenant lawyer, environmentalist, and community activist.

 

Norwood News recently conducted an interview with DeFrancis on his candidacy. He has long held the view that Bronxites are fed up with establishment politicians, be they Democrat or Republican, suggesting that they dictate to regular folks about what’s best for them, rather than focusing on “liberty” and bottom-up politics.

 

Asked why he believes he’s a better candidate than Fernández, he cited the structure of how his campaign plans to operate. “For one, it opens up the channels for more opportunity,” he said. “I’m not a dictator. I’m not working for the party. I work for the community, so, when you have a community structure, and we have all the support from most of the community associations and the district, and when you let the communities run themselves, and not have Albany come back down and use our politicians as sales people for their ideas, you see a lot more growth.”

 

DeFrancis added, “A lot of people – they sit out [elections] because they don’t feel like their voice is heard,” he said. “And that’s the cause of the lower voter turnout, so we feel we’re better because we’re going to empower people to get out to be involved, to be engaged in the community, and that’s how you bridge the quality of life, and you preach safer streets, better education. It’s not just a few people in a room dictating to everybody else. It’s an entire community coming together. That’s what we did in Allerton. We’re tried and tested with that.”

 

DeFrancis’s platform sounds similar to President Donald Trump’s “drain the swamp” mantra. As an outsider, he seems to suggest that he has better ideas about how best to run matters in the community. For example, he has criticized Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), community-based organizations that work to ensure clean, safe and vibrant neighborhoods for residents, merchants, visitors and property owners.

 

Aside from their regular work, the BIDs have been central to the COVID-19 recovery effort at a local level, pushing for legislation like the Open Streets / Open Restaurants / Open Storefronts initiatives to help businesses operate despite the pandemic. Other initiatives include assistance with grant and loan applications for small businesses, providing free masks and PPE to allow businesses to re-open safely, educating merchants on prevailing laws, connecting them with free legal and financial assistance, and helping them negotiate rent agreements with landlords.

 

Upending existing structures, be they at local or federal level, as the president has done by eliminating a key department responsible for the planning and control of infectious diseases, is a costly gamble. Had this department been intact before the pandemic hit the U.S., it may have prevented, mitigated or lessened the impact of COVID-19.

 

A report issued on Oct. 26 by the City’s Comptroller showed that, as of September, New York City private employment was still down 14.5 percent from February highs, and it highlighted that unemployment among women was persistently higher than among men.

 

Now, with 3,401 coronavirus-related deaths in the Bronx alone, and a depleted economy under a president who continues to try to dismantle people’s health coverage during a global pandemic, it remains to be seen if similar messaging from DeFrancis will resonate with 80th assembly district voters.

 

In terms of his background, DeFrancis was born in the Allerton section of the Bronx. According to his campaign website, he graduated from Columbus High School and served in the U.S. Navy during Operation Enduring Freedom as a cryptologic technician and morse op specialist. He later graduated from Chaminade University with a degree in psychology and from New School University with a Master’s in Fine Arts.

In 2013, he founded the Allerton International Merchants Association. He said he led a team of volunteers, and built it into a reputable organization, which under his leadership, regularly organizes local clean-ups and graffiti removal, promotes local events, helps small businesses grow, and has restored the rich history of Allerton to the neighborhood. 

 

Norwood News reached out to about 20 local businesses in Allerton to get their view on the effectiveness of DeFrancis’s leadership at the helm of the association. While many asked us to come back to see the owner, few knew of DeFrancis or the merchants’ association. An employee from Boost Mobile on Allerton Avenue in Olinville did say DeFrancis was helpful to their business, though he also said that they didn’t really have that much contact with him.

 

The employee made reference to the rioting of businesses which occurred across the City in June, and said they had planned to close at their usual time but after speaking with DeFrancis, who gave them safety tips and encouraged them to close early, they did so. Asked directly if DeFrancis helped the business generally, the employee said, “He does.”

 

De Francis said he is a staunch advocate for veterans, supports animal rights, and encourages small business growth and development. Additionally, he said he has built his campaign platform on bringing about much needed, education and healthcare reform.

 

He supports the borough’s K-8 school system, the hiring of more school counselors to keep students on the right path, and the  nurturing of after-school programs and vocational schools to ensure students have the tools they need to succeed and thrive. He said he plans to explore alternative methods to steer people away from dangerous painkillers, and will build coalitions that seek to contain and, ultimately, end the opioid epidemic. He also says he aims to find innovative ways to create jobs within the local community and to continue to support Bronx entrepreneurs. 

 

We asked DeFrancis why he thinks he lost to Fernández in 2018. “I think there was a lot of hesitation because we came short of 1,300 votes,” he said. “On average, about 3,000 or more Republicans consistently vote for the Republican candidate, whether they be Republican or Democrat, so I think in the special election, you know, given two months to run that as well, we didn’t get the information out in time, and people weren’t accustomed to voting for the Republican. Republicans stayed at home because they weren’t energized.”

 

He added, “I think a combination of that led to an extremely low voter turnout, but we had the right platform. If you’ve seen the debate, you know, it shows that we were more qualified and really more prepared.” (BronxNet ran a debate in 2018 between the two candidates, which can be viewed further below.)

 

 

We asked DeFrancis for his thoughts on systematic racism driving economic inequality, citing a recent announcement by JPMorgan where the group announced an investment of $30 billion towards “fixing systemic racism,” as it pertains to the mortgage application process in the U.S. We asked DeFrancis if such an investment by such a high profile company proves, once and for all, that systemic racism exists.

 

“Does it not prove that systemic racism exists? No,” he said. “I think it’s good for them to invest. I don’t know that really solves the problem, because a lot of it has to do too with once someone has a home. You can’t just give them a home. You have to teach them how to maintain the home, all the extra cost that’s involved in a home, and when the State comes down… Right now, there’s an image that because we have new homeowners, and they are minority homeowners, there’s this image that they have no right to have a private home in the Bronx, that they have to make room for development.”

 

He continued, “This narrative has been going around that now we need to wait for progress, and progress is more taller buildings because we have a housing crisis, which is also non-existent. So, we can give people homes, but how do we keep them in the homes? I’m all for home ownership. I believe everybody has a right to home ownership. I’m also sensitive to the fact that we have Black communities, Yemeni communities, and Guyanese communities, so we have to find a great way to balance on how to be diverse, how to maintain these cultural differences and pockets that make New York special, but, at the same time, not discriminate, and it’s a very tricky balance.”

 

DeFrancis added that he thinks racism is important to identify and talk about as a major issue. He also said he thinks welfare is a part of systemic racism. “If a young man / woman gets into the [social security] system, the system has a hard time letting them go,” he said. “They’re paying single females more money, to not have a spouse in the house….things like that, I think, are more part of the systemic racism than…. as far as the overall structure around it, but we need to start having honest conversations about everything and coming together. You know, we’re more common than we’re not alike.”

 

On the subject of police brutality, he said, “I’m an executive officer on the 49 precinct council. We know that policing is a very difficult job. We would like to see more support for the police officers.” He continued, “At the same time, we identified early on, at least in the 49 precinct, the issues of having police officers that are from our community, that can relate to our community, and not from Long Island, upstate New York, and so on.”

 

DeFrancis said that the 49th precinct council addressed those concerns. “We haven’t had a major issue of anyone dying in the hands of our police officers because they’re very well trained,” he said, referring to the 49th precinct, specifically. “So, we took offense when organizers came into our community to rally and protest, and counter protest when we supported our 49 precinct. [If] the other counties and towns and states want to learn how proper policing is done, all you have to do really is come to the 49th precinct where we are extremely diverse, probably the most diverse precinct in all of the Bronx, and and see how we operate, you know, how we live together, how we grow.”

 

DeFrancis said he has started programs like “story time” with the 49th precinct as well as the safe haven program, so that people get to know their local police officers, work with them, and eliminate fear of them.

 

We asked DeFrancis, given the millions of dollars that have been paid out by the City as a result of lawsuits against the NYPD over the years, would it not have been better to have trained the police better, and wouldn’t that money not have been better spent on education and social services. He replied, “Without a doubt, without a doubt,” adding he was very big into after school programs and education. “I want to cut the problem at the root, get our kids on the right track from K through eight, and put a heavy emphasis and focus on those developmental years,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, for her part, Fernández has already received the endorsement of U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate, Elizabeth Warren, among twenty other grassroots organizations, including a number of labor unions such as the Alliance of South Asian American Labor, 32BJ SEIU, New York State Nurses Association, UFT, the Transport Workers Union, a local carpenters’ union and others.

 

Fernández says, this time, she is running her campaign on her record of delivering for her community, as well as on a platform of COVID-19 recovery. In terms of her record of accomplishments to date, according to her campaign, she was central to the passing of the nation-leading, criminal justice legislation known as the Andrew Kearse Act.

 

The Green Light Law allows all New Yorkers aged 16 and older to apply for a standard, not for federal purposes, non-commercial driver’s license or learner permit, regardless of citizenship or lawful status in the United States. The New York Child Victims Act gives survivors of child sexual abuse in New York the opportunity to file a claim against the individual who hurt them, and the institution that hid or covered up their crimes, no matter how long ago the abuse occurred. The banning of the so-called pink tax refers to reforms prohibiting businesses from charging a tax or different prices for “substantially similar” consumer goods or services that are marketed to different genders.

 

A daughter of immigrant parents, Fernández said she was raised to understand the benefit of a strong work ethic. Upon graduating from Hofstra University, she worked as a volunteer for change in the Bronx. She previously served as chief of staff to former Assemblyman, and now councilman in the 13th city council district, Mark Gjonaj. During her time in the 80th Assembly District, Fernández worked to provide internships and numerous volunteer opportunities to high school and college students, and organized community events and health care services for seniors.

 

In early 2017, she joined the executive chamber at the highest level of state government as the Bronx regional representative for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, working with all sectors of government and community stakeholders to advance projects and services that benefit constituents.

 

She educated the borough on the availability of the excelsior scholarship and the paid family leave program, and was active in awarding $10 million to the Bronx Civic Center under the governor’s Downstate Revitalization Initiative. In partnership with the Bronx borough president’s office, the project allowed her to work closely with community stakeholders and small businesses to create a uniform plan of execution on how best to utilize the grant.

 

Norwood News asked Fernández for her views on arguments put forward by some critics who say that the recent State police reform laws were passed too quickly over the summer, and without sufficient input from the NYPD. “The bills that were passed have been in existence for a number of years, so each bill had its own forum, had its explanation,” she said. “There were hearings on it, so it wasn’t brand new that was something that was sprung upon the community or the police unions. They knew about all these bills, so this is technically a false statement.”

 

We also asked Fernández for her thoughts on bail reform, and the assertion by some that it has allowed potentially dangerous criminals to freely circulate, after their arrest and release on bail, allowing them to potentially harm more victims. “Regarding the potentially dangerous criminals that are allowed [out] on bail rather than holding them in custody until their trial, for those that have admitted heinous crimes, there were rollbacks that were passed… from the bills that were passed in 2018 regarding cash bail,” she said, adding that this had the effect of putting such dangerous criminals who committed any heinous crimes in jail.

 

She added, “But a reminder that the point of bail reform was to not let people sit in jail when you have not been convicted of the crime yet. Whether you did or not, everyone is entitled to due process and to have a fair trial to determine the crime committed, and a sentence placed on them to then go to jail.”

 

Fernández continued, “The problem is that there are many thousands, more so than the one/two criminals that we do have, that commit these petty crimes, and, you know, maybe the terrible ones too, but the problem is that thousands of people and family members, predominantly Black and brown, are arrested and are sitting in jail because they simply cannot afford it [cash bail].” She continued, “Being poor should not be a reason for a jail sentence. That is the reason for cash bail.”

 

Fernández said that such criminal justice reforms go hand in hand with improving the justice system and the courts, and having things move faster. “We proposed more funding to the DAs’ offices to make sure that crimes are tried, and that the criminals that actually commit the crime get the sentence that they deserve, and not, again, people who are accused of crimes like Kalief Browder, sitting in jail cells waiting and trying to make bail just to be released, causing significant trauma and harm to them, because we know that the jails and prisons are dangerous.”

 

As reported by The New York Times, Kalief Browder was 16 years old when he was arrested in 2010 and accused of stealing a backpack. He was detained on Rikers Island for three years, about two of which were spent in solitary confinement, without being tried or convicted of a crime. In 2015, at age 22, he hanged himself at his parents’ home in the Bronx. The City settled a $3 million lawsuit brought by Kalief’s family.

Profiled in City & State in August, Fernández was asked about her former ties to Gjonaj and former State Sen. Jeff Klein. She worked as chief of staff for Gjonaj when he was elected to the State Assembly. Both he and Klein have been known to make headlines – Gjonaj for questions over alleged suspicious use of campaign funds – and Klein for being a former Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) leader in Albany.

 

The Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) was a group of members of the New York State Senate from the Democratic Party who were elected as Democrats, but who formed a coalition to give the Republicans the majority in the chamber. The group eventually disbanded, as reported by Norwood News. State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, known for being a progressive legislator, ultimately replaced Klein in the 34th senatorial district in 2018.

 

In response, Fernández said, “I am my own candidate, I am my own person. I have my own views. I have my own goals. So, to tie me to those past things, I would say, ‘Look at my record. Look at what I stood for, and look at what I fought for. Look at me, and know me as the worker that I am, the collaboration builder that I am, and take that into consideration when we look towards what the future of the Bronx needs, and will be’.”

 

As part of the same interview, the assemblywoman added, “Throughout my time in the assembly, I have pushed legislation that advocates for housing justice, criminal justice reform, and mental health issues.” This time around, the assemblywoman says her focus will be on recovery, and jobs.