Your poll site may have changed. Check your voting card before you go to vote.

 

A U.S. army veteran, single father, and Democratic candidate for Senate District 34, which covers parts of The Bronx and Westchester counties, John Perez has run unsuccessfully for elected office in the past. He is one of three candidates in the race to succeed State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi who is running for Congress in District 17. Having lived a long and experienced life, Perez said he is eager to serve his district and the rest of the State.

 

His motivation to begin another campaign stems from how he was raised and in particular, his father’s influence. “My family, that’s what we did,” he said. “We were always public servants in a big capacity. I mean, they renamed a street after my dad…He did not want me to go to the army. He said, ‘No, I got to get you ready. You’re going to be in public service.’”

 

But in 1989, Perez’s father was shot and killed in front of him, following an argument between the two about Perez wanting to join the army. “I was upset with my dad,” the candidate said. “I wasn’t talking with him for like three days. He was upset with me, I was upset with him, I didn’t want to talk to him; I wanted to join the army.”

 

He said one of his father’s drivers [from the family business] was sent to go get Perez from across the street and bring him home. “That’s when the guy came in and shot him in his face,” Perez said. “My dad actually died on my lap. His last words were…with a smile on his face, he said, ‘You can go’.”

 

Perez said his father was allegedly responsible for institutionalizing the liberty cab private car service in New York City. Perez alleges that his father’s idea to unionize the Hispanic taxi drivers was the reason he was killed. Now, unionizing the liberty cab drivers, or the non-medallion taxi drivers, has become one of Perez’s missions.

 

As well as that change, he also is writing his own piece of legislation. “I’m writing a piece of legislation that I would like to introduce which would require the senate and assembly to conduct and publish a risk assessment associated with any law enacted in New York State,” Perez said.

 

He said this was especially in response to the bail reform law [which went into effect 2020]. “Because the most reckless law ever passed that is going to go down in history is this bail reform law,” he said. “There was no type of accountability taken into consideration, no risk assessment taken into consideration, they just went off and started appeasing the masses.”

 

Perez continued, “Of course, the criminals are going to march and rally, and their family members or whatever, because in their mind they think that their people are innocent. Yet, I got a dead father in 1989, you got a three-year-old child that was hit by a shot coming outside of her daycare, you got another kid that was shot in a car seat, you got police officers that were shot. So, what is the risk assessment?”

 

The other most important changes he wants to bring to The Bronx are trade schools and a military academy. “I just don’t want a building. I want a campus,” he said. “I want this campus to be free, and we have a location, but I want this campus to be open until 9 o’clock at night. I’m even exploring the possibility of possibly having dorms for students that have issues at home.”

 

Perez said he wants the location to be a place where discipline is taught, attention to detail, teamwork, and physical fitness.

 

Regarding climate change and climate resilience within the borough, Perez said the issues affecting the district were obvious. “It’s a waste of money,” he said. “If they’re going to do a survey on City Island, you know what they’re going to find? Brown fields, contaminated water and I’ll tell you why. That mountain that is right before City Island used to be a dump site for many years.”

 

He said in the boating and coastal areas, the boats leak antifreeze, gas, and oil. “You’re going to get a high contamination rate, but that survey was already done and it’s still active,” he said. “So why are you going to spend money and do it again? Yeah. You got the police firing range right across the bay there, and you got depleted uranium into the water.”

 

Perez ran in Assembly District 87 in 2018, winning 21.3 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary but losing to incumbent, Assembly Member Karines Reyes. In 2020, he ran in Senate District 32, winning 11.5 percent of the vote in the Democratic Party and losing to incumbent, State Sen. Luis Sepúlveda. In 2021, he ran for City Council in District 13, winning just 5.4 percent of the vote and ultimately losing to now councilmember for District 13, Marjorie Velázquez, whose district encompasses City Island.

 

Perez said he believes his opponent, Assembly Member Nathalia Fernandez, (A.D. 80) is not a viable candidate in the senate race. “Nathalia Fernandez did not collect any signatures. Nathalia Fernandez got her signatures from a candidate that was running in the 34th prior to the redistricting. She’s an illegitimate candidate. She didn’t collect signatures. Her signatures were passed down from a candidate who dropped out of the race and gave them to her,” he said. Norwood News contacted both the Board of Elections and the assemblywoman for comment.

 

A spokesperson for the Board of Elections replied, saying, “All candidates whom appear on the ballot do so in compliance with the New York State Election Law.” We received no comment from the assemblywoman’s campaign.

 

As for his campaign, his team is small, but Perez admitted to preferring it that way. In fact, his petition team consists of only three people, but he also contributes to that effort as well. “I have other people that do other things, but my petition collectors, it’s just us three,” he said.

 

“It’s usually four, but one of them was not feeling so well this year so we left them out, but we hit our target all the time! We hit our target! Challenge me, go right ahead,” he said.

Watching the @BronxnetTV debate? You will see I call out John Perez for violating DOD Directives.

John speaks of accountability, but refuses to be accountable to the rules. His campaign materials violate Section 4.3.1.2.

Hope this clears thing up: https://t.co/QDLefyYLEi pic.twitter.com/W5H6wFPusu

— Christian Amato (@amatoforny) August 9, 2022

In terms of other priorities, the U.S. army veteran said the biggest issue he would like to confront in the senate, if elected, is crime, as well as issues with the family court system which he said have personally affected him in terms of custody of his daughter. He is also for more funding of public schools, free bus transportation and using wisely the funding of transportation in general. “Where is that money going?” is the question he asked regarding these issues.

 

Perez was criticized by fellow candidate, Christian Amato, during a BronxNet debate between the candidates in S.D. 34 race, which aired on Monday, Aug. 8, for using photos of himself apparently in military attire in his campaign materials. Amato alleged this was a breach of U.S. Department of Defense rules. Perez refuted the claims, insisting he was in compliance and referenced the use of military attire in films.

 

Amato, whose brother and father served the country, later shared a copy of the regulation on Twitter with an accompanying photo of Perez, seemingly in military attire. Fernandez also has at least one family member who serves in the military.

 

During the same debate, Perez said he was in favor of abortion in some limited cases but essentially said he felt it was currently being used as a form of birth control and highlighted that he was the only parent running in the race and could not imagine life without his children.

 

He received pushback from both his opponents, with Fernandez saying whether someone was a parent or not was irrelevant and pushed back on the idea put forth by Perez that women who make a choice to have an abortion do so lightly.

 

As to whether he is ready to take on the challenge of the upcoming election, Perez did not share any concerns. All who are eligible to vote can do so on Aug. 23, with early voting commencing on Aug. 13.

 

Election Day is Aug. 23 and early voting starts Aug. 13. Voters are reminded to check their polling site prior to heading to the polls as it may have changed. For more information, click here.

 

Your poll site may have changed. Check your voting card before you go to vote.

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.