Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez through her political action committee Courage to Change has thrown her support behind 60 candidates running for council, including 18 from Queens (Ocasiocortez.com)
June 7, 2021 By Christina Santucci
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez backed more than a dozen Queens candidates for City Council over the weekend – through her political action committee (PAC), Courage to Change.
She announced the PAC’s preferences during a rally Saturday outside City Hall with 60 Democratic Council candidates – including 18 from Queens. All had received a “perfect score” on a questionnaire her PAC created, and each candidate pledged to support objectives like the Green New Deal, Medicare for All and Abolish ICE.
While the Congresswoman did not, technically, endorse those seeking the Council seats, her PAC said that voters “can cast their ballots knowing that these candidates demonstrate an unwavering commitment” to progressive values.
“When voters see that a candidate has taken the Courage to Change Pledge, they know that the candidate has committed to supporting policies that prioritize working-class New Yorkers in the pursuit of social, economic and racial justice,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement.
In some Queens Council races, one candidate got the nod. The PAC backed John Choe in Flushing’s District 20, Jaslin Kaur in northeast Queens’ District 23, Aleda Gagarin in Forest Hills’ District 29 and Felicia Singh in Howard Beach’s District 32.
Ingrid Gomez and Juan Ardila received support in their bids to unseat incumbent Councilmembers Francisco Moya and Bob Holden respectively – as did Moumita Ahmed, who is running to replace Councilman James Gennaro after losing a special election to him earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the PAC listed multiple candidates in several races. Both Shekar Krishnan and Carolyn Tran scored support in the District 25 race for Councilmember Danny Dromm’s position.
Seven candidates – Amit Bagga, Jonathan Bailey, Jesse Laymon, Julia Forman, Julie Won, Brent O’Leary and Hailie Kim – received backing for the District 26 seat, now held by Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer.
In Astoria’s District 22 – previously occupied by Councilmember Costa Constantinides until earlier this year – Tiffany Caban was ranked as the first choice and Evie Hantzopoulos as second. This was the only Queens seat where candidates were ranked in order of preference.
Following the event with the Council candidates, Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Maya Wiley as her pick in the Democratic mayoral primary.
“The time has 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,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement. “That candidate is Maya Wiley and I will be ranking her as my number one choice.”
The Congress member noted that she may announce her preference for additional mayoral ballot rankings in the coming days.
Early voting kicks off Saturday, and the Primary Election is scheduled for Tuesday, June 22.
Queens Council Candidates
District 20: John Choe
District 21: Ingrid Gomez
District 22: Tiffany Caban (first) and Evie Hantzopoulos (second)
District 23: Jaslin Kaur
District 24: Moumita Ahmed
District 25: Carolyn Tran and Shekar Krishnan
District 26: Amit Bagga, Jonathan Bailey, Jesse Laymon, Julia Forman, Julie Won, Brent O’Leary, Hailie Kim
District 29: Aleda Gagarin
District 30: Juan Ardila
District 32: Felicia Singh
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16 Comments
I like how in some districts there is no clear candidate leading in the polls so she mentions more than one to be given some credit in the end by media.
Wiley is de Balsio Part II.
Trump part II.
☝️☝️??
my question to the voters is are these people that she is backing are going to do the same as she wants them to be elected because to the best of my knowledge Ocasio Cortes has done nothing for queens she has to dedicate her time in Congress to promote ideas that are not our concern our problems are the homeless and the quality of life that is why we vote for her and the others electec oficial that is not doing anything
With son many running for D26, this is great to know because I will never vote for anybody supported by AOC.
When you cut though the noise of the glut of candidates, the D26 race is really between Amit Bagga and Denise Keehan Smith. Note that DKS wasn’t supported by AOC. Says it all.
Means that DENISE IS GOOD! Let’s support her. Denise is a normal person unlike the others.
You might not but many others will vote fot the candidates AOC endorsed.
Thanks. This makes it easy to decide who not to vote for.
In other words, who NOT to vote for. Got it.
hah, was going to say the same. thanks for the heads up on who to not vote for.
Its obvious the progressives aka (socialists) have no value on quality of like for law abiding people. Not one of them have mentioned the rise in crime and gun violence because of their bail reform/ defund the police policies . and as predicted it would effect the minority community the most. So i ask all of you who voted for ocasio-cortez do you really really care about minorities or do you just feel about about yourself in pretending that you care?
There’s little to no connection between crime and gun violence and our police department’s astronomical budget. reducing it by 1 billion dollars still leaves it higher than almost anyone. An inability to compare progressives to socialists highlights the inadequacies of our education system. Your post says nothing new and very little that demonstrates a fundamental understanding of our political or social situation. AOC was elected twice to office by a huge majority. She’s a more-than-capable individual with ideas and convictions. She’s also bound by rules and realities, but she will not stop speaking out, no matter how triggered some of her constituents are. You should consider relocating to a place where a right-wing, authoritarian system is in effect. I hear Arizona is nice!
AOC made national headlines when she endorsed Maya Wiley as her pick in the Democratic mayoral primary.
These are the people NOT TO SUPPORT: Miscreants who do not care about rising crime, graffiti and vandalism.
#votecommonsense.
We are going to be Moscow on the Hudson is these frauds are not stopped. By the way: why didn’t Ocasio help her abuela in Puerto Rico after her home destroyed?
Very useful info. Now I know who not to vote for.