District 14 City Council candidate and tenants’ advocate, Adolfo Abreu, picked up his most high-profile endorsement to date when Bronx Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) personally endorsed him during an event held just a few steps from Manhattan’s City Hall on Saturday, June 5. During the event, the congresswoman also announced her much coveted seal of approval of mayoral candidate, Maya Wiley, while District Leader in A.D. 82, Majorie Velázquez, also received a personal endorsement from the congresswoman in the District 13 City Council race.

 

Meanwhile, in the District 11 race, candidate, Mino Lora, founder and executive director of the People’s Theater Project City was confirmed as having received a perfect score in the “Courage to Change” pledge, a questionnaire produced by the congresswoman’s PAC, also called Courage to Change, which works with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party to elect progressive candidates across the country.

 

Ivet Contreras, from the Courage to Change campaign, subsequently informed the Norwood News in an email dated Wednesday, June 9, that this latter process “is not an endorsement… it’s a voters’ guide that shows voters who is behind grassroots policies that prioritize working families.” Contreras wrote, “Mini Lora took the Courage to Change Pledge by scoring a perfect score on the questionnaire produced by the congresswoman’s PAC.” She added that the congresswoman would not be announcing any more personal endorsements.

In the District 14 race, in addition to the personal endorsement of his candidacy by Ocasio-Cortez, Abreu was ranked by the Courage to Change PAC as their “first choice” candidate, while Pierina Sanchez, who is backed by the Bronx Democratic Party, among others, was ranked second. Reacting to the news, Abreu shared a message on his Twitter account shortly after the event, writing, “I’m so grateful to be [Ocasio-Cortez’s] 1st choice for Council District 14. They are growing a movement of leaders that will fight unapologetically for working-class power & racial justice.” Abreu added, “Together, we’re going to transform politics to work for our people.”

Meanwhile, Velázquez, who has also been endorsed by the Bronx Democratic Party and more recently by mayoral candidate, Kathryn Garcia, among others, said she was glad to have Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement in the District 13 race, and she looked forward to working for The Bronx together.

 

The big reveal at the end of Saturday’s event was the congresswoman’s endorsement of Wiley, a civil rights lawyer and former legal counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, for the role of mayor. In the context of the endorsement, Ocasio-Cortez said the time had come to join together as a movement. “We have an option of a candidate who can center people, racial justice, economic justice, and climate justice, a candidate that didn’t just come up to run for mayor, but has experience,” she said.

 

The congresswoman said that candidate was Maya Wiley. “I will be ranking her as my number one choice. Maya Wiley grew up in this movement. She took that formative life experience, and she became a civil rights lawyer, advancing the rights and justice for Black and Brown Americans,” said Ocasio-Cortez.

The next representative of City Council District 13 will have to work hand in hand with our Congressional partners to make sure we receive the aid our families & businesses need. That’s why I’m glad that @AOC has endorsed me & I look forward to working for the Bronx together. pic.twitter.com/UVfbcpM0Qs

— Marjorie Velázquez (@mvelaznyc) June 10, 2021

“The stakes are too high to sit this race out. If we don’t come together as a movement, we will have a city run for billionaires and special interests. We have to make a choice, and Maya Wiley is our number one,” she said, adding that Wiley would be a progressive in Gracie Mansion.

 

Reacting to the news, Wiley said having the support of the congresswoman meant the world to her. “AOC is a fearless champion for our city in Congress. She has fought for working people, taken-on corporate greed, revolutionized the discussion on the urgent need to address climate change, and is an advocate for a more equitable economy,” she said.

 

“Nobody says and means change like her, and with AOC’s help, we are going to win this race and bring the change we need to the city we love. I am honored to have her support behind our movement and am looking forward to working hand-in-hand to deliver a reimagined New York City that works for and protects ALL New Yorkers.”

My bill S4943B to expand cycling and pedestrian access on all MTA bridges and stations just passed the @NYSenate! Now it's off to the @NYSA_Majority and @votejgr!

A huge thank you to @bikenewyork and @StreetsPAC for all of your work + advocacy on behalf of cyclists in NYC!

— Alessandra Biaggi (@SenatorBiaggi) June 10, 2021

 

Meanwhile, in other citywide races, incumbent public advocate, Jumaane Williams, had already received the support of Ocasio-Cortez in the public advocate race, and the congresswoman has also given the nod to Brooklyn city councilman for District 39, Brad Lander, for the position of city comptroller.

 

In the District 11 race, Lora is the lone candidate to have announced a perfect score by the Courage to Change PAC, a factor which has energized her campaign due to the association with its progressive policies. Lora told the Norwood News, “I’m honored to be recognized by Courage to Change, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s progressive PAC. She’s one of the first elected officials who made me not feel invisible in my own home.”

 

The announcements regarding those who got top scores in the Courage to Change pledge, came after a month-long vetting process of progressive candidates by the Courage to Change PAC, by way of the questionnaire. In all, 60 candidates were identified by the PAC as having received a perfect score. Although there are only 51 districts represented in the City Council, the extra nine backed candidates included multi-choice candidates in accordance with ranked choice voting rules, which allow voters to select up to five candidates in each race, in order of preference.

“The Courage to Change pledge is a tool to help New York City voters elect a strong progressive city council in our new ranked-choice system,” Lora said. “It’s clear I’m the only candidate in this race committed to truly progressive values, who will take the bold stands we need to overcome climate and housing injustice, to create green new jobs, a universal healthcare system, criminal justice reform and fully-funded, equitable public schools.”

 

Questions on the questionnaire ranged from national issues like Medicare for All and support for the Green New Deal, to more local issues involving securing “quality broadband internet services for NYCHA residents,” and support for “at least $50 million per year in city funding to expand bike lanes throughout NYC.”

 

While there are supporters in Bedford Park, and beyond, for expanded bike lanes, and the addition of CitiBike stations in the neighborhood, there are others who say the new bikes are too numerous and take up too much space that could be used for much-needed parking. This point was raised again during the June Bronx Community Board 7 Parks’ committee meeting.

In the meantime, State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (S.D. 34) tweeted on Friday, June 11, that the Senate had approved a bill confirming the expansion of cycling and pedestrian access on all MTA bridges and stations.

 

Fellow candidate in the District 11 race, Abigail Martin, had a different perspective on the Courage to Change pledge, however. “Because of the drastic cuts to the NYPD budget [which] candidates were asked to commit to, I did not seek Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement,” Martin told the Norwood News. 

 

She continued, “The candidate in this race who did receive AOC’s endorsement has, on multiple occasions, said the NYPD should be abolished. With climbing crime rates, and hate crimes against Asian and Jewish communities continuing to increase, no responsible City Council candidate should be willing to consider such drastic cuts to the NYPD.”

 

Martin was referring to tweets by Lora from last summer in which Lora called for the abolition of the police. Lora later provided clarification to the Norwood News, on June 18, of her position on policing.

 

“I was angry last summer. I was hurt,” she said. “We were seeing the injustices over and over and videos of people being killed in front of our eyes, of children being handcuffed to hot pavement, and I was angry. So what I tweeted was me lashing out in that anger, but my [stance] as a candidate has been the same. I don’t want to abolish the police, and I’ve been very clear in the campaign and as a candidate.”

 

Lora added, “One of the things that I did with that pain that summer, the productive things that I did was I organized the children’s march, and I decided to run for office because I know that that’s where we can create systemic change.”

 

She said her stance on the police since the beginning of her campaign has been to make sure that they can focus on preventing, and solving violent crime. “And right now, we are giving them too much responsibility, and I believe when it comes to mental health, when it comes to school safety, when it comes to homeless outreach, we need health care workers and social workers and educators to be handling those issues,” Lora said.

 

Norwood News reached out to the other candidates in the District 11 race for their reaction to the news of Lora’s top score on the Courage to Change pledge, and will update this story upon receipt of their feedback.

 

With less than four days left before Democratic voters choose, in person, their preferred candidates in the June 22 primary, it remains to be seen how progressive policies will influence voter selections.

 

Early voting will take place from June 12 to June 20.  May 28 was the last day to register to vote in the June 22 primary election. There are 22 early voting sites throughout the Bronx and finding out which one is yours is simple. Visit find my poll site to find your early voting and election day poll site, and view a sample ballot. Check the hours and location of your poll site before you participate in early voting.

 

All registered voters can request an absentee ballot be mailed to them if they wish to vote by mail. The deadline to request a mailed ballot online, by email, fax, or by mail is Tuesday, June 15, 2021. You can submit your ballot request online or mail a paper request form to the New York City Board of Elections. Note the application request must be postmarked by June 15.

 

For information about the new voting system (ranked choice voting) see here. For a full list of all candidates running in the Bronx, and in the Citywide races, see here.

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.