Epicenter NYC and TBN24 invited several incumbents and challengers in key primary races across New York City to participate in the Candidate Conversations series. Interviews with other candidates will be scheduled and published ahead of the June primary. Are you running? Drop us a line at hello@epicenter-nyc.com.
The early voting period runs from Friday, June 13 through Sunday, June 22, with the primary election taking place on Tuesday, June 24. To view your ballot and polling location, visit findmypollsite.vote.nyc.
The daughter of a Paraguayan immigrant father and a Puerto Rican mother, Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas says her family background and work in reproductive justice and public policy drove her to run for office in 2020. Now she hopes to represent New York State Senate District 13 with the same immigrant and social justice values that have shaped her career for decades.
Representing neighborhoods including Jackson Heights, Corona, East Elmhurst and parts of Astoria, González-Rojas points to her championing legislation on the state school meals program as one of her biggest legacies. The law, approved this year, guarantees free school meals statewide regardless of income, ZIP code or immigration status.
Beyond food security, González-Rojas sees the youth mental health crisis as one of the biggest public health challenges facing families — and one that’s inseparable from public safety. She pointed to what she described as a growing crisis and highlighted her efforts to increase access to school counselors, psychologists and social workers. “It’s the political courage and political will that’s necessary to make those investments to prevent those crises from happening,” she said.
The same applies to expanding health care coverage, legal services and protections for undocumented immigrants, she said, even as federal law limits what state and local officials can do.
“This election is about trust,” she said. “This is who is going to be the leader that’s going to show up, that’s going to listen, that’s going to build coalitions and that’s going to deliver.”
