Council Member Julie Received was a late entrant to the race to succeed U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez in New York’s seventh Congressional District however believes her “lived experience” as an immigrant and a mom means she is well-placed to succeed the veteran lawmaker in some of the liberal districts within the nation.
Received, in a shock transfer, launched her marketing campaign on Feb. 2, a month after Assemblymember Claire Valdez and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso had launched their very own campaigns for the seat.
In that point, Valdez scooped endorsements from UAW, the New York Metropolis chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whereas Reynoso obtained endorsements from Velázquez, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and plenty of progressive Metropolis Council Members, together with Council Member Shekar Krishnan, whose district borders Received’s.
Received, nonetheless, will not be involved by her late entry into the race, citing her personal victory within the 2020 Democratic major for District 26, when she received in a 15-candidate subject with none main endorsements.
Council Member Julie Received speaks at a press convention celebrating the passage of the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan on the steps of Metropolis Corridor. Picture by Shane O’Brien.
She additionally believes that her platform, which features a “Lifetime of Care” initiative aiming to supply care at each stage of life to individuals throughout america, will communicate on to voters throughout the two-borough district, no matter endorsements.
Received’s Lifetime of Care platform contains plans for common paid maternity depart and free childcare, common healthcare for all, enlargement of Social Safety and housing for all by means of social housing and tenant protections. The platform additionally contains requires the abolition of ICE, local weather motion and the tip of bombing in Gaza
Received pointed to her capability to work with the Metropolis Council’s Republican Caucus as proof that she is going to have the ability to work with a a lot larger quantity of Republicans and average Democrats if she is elected to Congress later within the yr. As a Metropolis Council Member, Received ensured the unanimous passage of the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan final yr, representing the biggest neighborhood-specific rezoning in over 25 years and including as much as 14,700 new properties to LIC.
She additionally stated there are clear variations between her marketing campaign and the equally progressive campaigns of Valdez and Reynoso, noting that she brings a “lived experience” to the race as the one immigrant and mom working for the seat.
QNS spoke to Received a few vary of marketing campaign points in a dialog final week. The interview has been edited for size and readability.
What made you enter the race?
It wasn’t a straightforward determination or one thing that it took tightly. Everybody was shocked when Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez retired. I began to get telephone calls asking for me to run, and I had loads of deliberation, as a result of it’s not a unilateral determination, and there’s loads that goes into working for Congress; you need to have assets like elevating cash, and I needed to ensure that now we have sufficient assist to run a powerful race.
The largest motive that made me soar in was when Renee Good received shot after which shortly after Alex Pretti. As an immigrant and now somebody who has labored to turn into a US citizen, it’s clear to me that no person is protected. You generally is a citizen. You could be white, and even then ICE and homeland safety might shoot you in case you are supporting your neighbors who’re immigrants.
I’m an immigrant. I’m a mother… I ended up working for workplace after I made certain that we had sufficient assist in funds in addition to assist and infrastructure to run a profitable race.
You entered the race later than your opponents. They’ve already began to construct endorsements and momentum. Antonio Reynoso, particularly, has already obtained endorsements from Metropolis Council Members and the Queens Borough President. Was {that a} concern?
No, by no means, as a result of I been receiving endorsements since I introduced on Feb. 2, and we had endorsements earlier than we introduced. On the finish of the day, elected officers are superb and nice, however they’re not your voters. Once I ran my first time in 2020, I didn’t have any endorsements both, however I nonetheless received.
Most individuals, particularly institution of us on the county organizations and longtime elected officers, they go together with a protected alternative. It’s the means of politics in loads of methods, but it surely doesn’t cease voters from voting for who they really feel is most resonating with their values and beliefs and the universe.
You’re working towards two progressive candidates. How do you differentiate your marketing campaign when you’re ideologically aligned on many points?
It’s one factor to say that you just assist immigrants, and it’s one other to truly be an immigrant. I’m an immigrant, and there’s no higher time than to elect an immigrant to characterize you when immigration goes to be one of many hardest fights that now we have within the nation for the foreseeable future.
Along with that, I’m the one mother working proper now… That’s why I imagine that it’s not solely vital to ideologically align with these beliefs as a progressive, but it surely’s one other to have lived by means of it and to have a observe file.
I’ve put in essentially the most sum of money in my council district’s historical past for meals pantries and sizzling meals distribution, as a result of I perceive what it’s prefer to be hungry. I additionally made certain that each resident in my district received free web and cable TV inside the first six months of being elected, as a result of I perceive how embarrassing it’s for a kid to sit down exterior of a Hyperlink NYC sales space to go to highschool as a result of their mother and father can’t afford $75 monthly for web.
Now I see a possibility that’s extremely uncommon. It’s not simple to run towards an incumbent, and most sane individuals don’t, as a result of it’s a particularly uphill battle. However with an open seat, I imagine in a free democracy, and everybody deserves to have a alternative. Nobody needs to be afraid of pleasant competitors.
This district straddles two boroughs. You’re well-known to Council District 26 in Queens. How do you propose to bridge that hole to Brooklyn voters?
One of many greatest frequent denominators for this district is that over 50% of us, are immigrants. I’m certain if I attempt to disaggregate the info to know how many people are kids of immigrants, it will be even larger.
I’ll be working carefully with my workforce in addition to my supporters to proceed to attach with of us everywhere in the congressional district on points that matter essentially the most.
The town will not be that huge… It’s not that arduous to attach the dots of the 2 neighborhoods inside our space. I plan to have fundraisers in Brooklyn, to have meet and greets in Brooklyn, to satisfy with different mother and father and mothers in Brooklyn. I’m already going to birthday events in Brooklyn, simply as I’ve been for a really very long time. There’s no invisible partitions right here.
In your interview with The New York Occasions on the day you launched, you described the DSA as “the Democratic Socialist Club or whatever.” You endorsed Rana Abdelhamid in District 36 and Brian Romero in District 34 once they have been working towards DSA candidates. Do you assume there’s a break up coming between conventional progressive Democrats like your self and DSA candidates throughout western queens?
I don’t agree with that assertion, as a result of each race is totally different. I endorsed Rana Abdelhamid and Brian Romero, however they’re dues paying members of the DSA.
It’s not about what your label is. It’s actually about their group ties. Brian Romero, I’ve recognized eternally. I do know his twin brother, I do know his mother. And the identical factor with Rana. She’s been organizing on this neighborhood since she was a toddler. Individuals know and love her.
The entire individuals who run in western Queens are progressive, as a result of you possibly can’t win should you aren’t. However what I do know is that there are those that are parachuting in from God is aware of the place, and there are those that are homegrown and who’ve lengthy group ties. That doesn’t imply that they’d be born and raised right here. I’m not born and raised right here. I’m an immigrant. I moved to this nation, however I’ve served alongside loads of my neighbors to do what’s finest for my group the place I name house and I feel it’s high-quality. You possibly can have lived right here for 2 years. You possibly can have lived right here for 5 years, 20 years. Who cares so long as I can see that you just care concerning the group deeply.
I’m open to many issues to pay for every little thing. I feel it’s an oversimplification to simply say, “Oh, we’re in a $12 billion budget deficit and we should tax the rich.”
I feel companies and rich people ought to at all times pay their fair proportion. However now we have to have a look at a large number of issues. We have now to look macroeconomics and job stagnation. Why are we not seeing job progress in high-paying jobs and even open entry degree jobs for contemporary faculty grads? The one space that we’ve seen job progress is for service business, and but we’re seeing a scarcity of service business workers due to immigration points. We’re additionally seeing not as quick as income progress…
However I’m not towards it (taxing the wealthy) in any respect. There are lots of other ways to fund totally different applications.
You’re in favor of abolishing ICE, however in a deep blue state like New York, there have been points with passing New York for All. How do you propose to work with extra Republicans and average Democrats in Congress to work towards abolishing ICE?
The identical means I work with them now tight now, I used to be the one council member to get all 51 council members to signal on to a WiFi for All letter to Senator Schumer. I’m at the moment the Black, Latino, Asian caucus chair, the biggest caucus within the Metropolis Council, the place I’ve proven that I can work throughout the aisle with Republicans and socialists and moderates and progressives to ensure that they’re doing proper by the town of New York.
I might carry that on as our Congress member to ensure that we’re doing proper by the nation for america of America. The whole lot about laws is coalition constructing and ensuring that you’ve a brilliant majority of the votes. When you don’t have the votes it’s not potential to cross any laws or invoice. I imagine even Republicans don’t need to see kids by themselves dying in our shelter system or in our deportation system. In order that’s what I’ll proceed to do, discover frequent pursuits that unite us, rooted in humanity.
The place do you see the federal authorities’s function within the housing disaster and in protecting New Yorkers the place they’re?
I imagine in preservation. I’ve been a powerful proponent of constructing inexpensive housing the final 4 years, and I’ll proceed to do this, however what’s actually vital can be preservation. I simply received over $200 million in preserving and modernizing our public housing items in NYCHA. However that’s not sufficient. It’s a drop within the bucket.
If elected to Congress, I might give attention to ensuring that each one of our NYCHA get funding from HUD to be modernized and maintained correctly so that individuals may proceed to stay in them. I might additionally give attention to ensuring that now we have upkeep funding for our Mitchell Lamas. It requires funding to ensure that they’re updated and livable.
I might additionally ensure that we’re revisiting the Space Median Earnings, of how we calculate affordability for our housing. You hear it on a regular basis the place individuals say, Julie, that’s not inexpensive. And then you definitely hear me responding, effectively, the affordability is pegged by AMI, which is set by Congress.
What’s the inspitation in your Lifetime of Care platform?
My very own life experiences, being a mom to 2 youngsters costing me $4,200 to simply have two kids in class from 9 to 5. It’s simply unlivable. It’s unattainable.
After which there are my growing older mother and father, my dad is 70 years outdated. I even have growing older family, who’re I take care of on my household’s behalf, and I noticed it made me competing, Nevertheless it was completely vital was impressed by my very own life experiences.
Individuals deserve care at each stage of life, from the second you’re born till the day that you just retire, so you possibly can retire with dignity.
Is there anything you’d like to focus on?
On the lifetime of care, now we have to be ensuring that individuals have paid maternity depart. We will try this by means of company rebates. If you’re prepared to permit individuals to be on maternity depart for 3 months, then you definitely get to deduct their wage out of your taxes. That’s honest… That’s why I say taxing individuals will not be the one reply.
