NYC Public Advocate Rallies for State Senate Candidate a Week Before Primary Election

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS-INWOOD, NY — Elected officials and community organizers rallied in Inwood on Tuesday night to support Marisol Alcantara's bid for the open state senate seat in the body's 31st District — which spans parts of Midtown, the Upper West Side, Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood.

Public Advocate Letitia James has thrown her support behind Alcantara heading into the final week of campaigning before the Sept. 13 primary election. James was joined by Adriano Espaillat, the Democratic nominee for the 13th Congressional District of New York and the former state senator for the 31st District.

"When it comes to expanding affordable housing and supporting our working families, Marisol Alcantara has the vision for the job," James said Tuesday. "Frankly, it's appalling that there are no Latinas in the State Senate. Marisol will remedy this imbalance, while fighting hard for economic empowerment for working New Yorkers."

If elected, Alcantara will be the only Latina in the state senate, a body that has 63 members and only 11 women representatives.

Throughout the primary election Alcantara has emphasized big-picture issues such as womens rights, economic inequality and neighborhood issues such as affordable housing and education.

In July, Espaillat formally endorsed Alcantara as his successor after winning his congressional primary election. Like Espaillat, Alcantara immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic when she was a child.

When she was 3 years old, Alcantara's mother moved to a suburb of Washington, D.C., and it wasn't until a decade later that Alcantara was able to move and reunite with her mother. Alcantara has pledged to fight for immigrants rights throughout the election, drawing on her own life experiences.

Several community organizers representing tenant's groups, labor unions and other causes were at Tuesday night's rally.

"Marisol is the senator we need to ensure equal pay for equal work for women, and to make sure women are represented in the state legislature. I support Marisol for State Senate and urge my neighbors to do the same," said community activist Wanda Salaman.

Alcantara is running in a crowded Democratic field for the 31st State Senate District. There are currently four candidates vying for the vacant seat — Alcantara, Robert Jackson, Micah Lasher and Luis Tejada.

Both Jackson and Tejada challenged Espaillat for the seat in 2014. That year Jackson won 43 percent of the vote and Tejada won 7 percent.

Jackson served on the New York City Council from 2002 to 2013. He is being endorsed by several members of Harlem's political establishment, such as Congressman Charlie Rangel and former Mayor David Dinkins. Jackson also has the backing of groups such as the United Federation of Teachers.

Lasher has worked as a political operative for high profile politicians such as Congressman Jerrold Nadler, former Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Currently he serves at the Chief of Staff for Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. He has received endorsements from several politicians on the city and state level.

Whichever candidate wins the Democratic primary is likely to win the general election in November. The candidates from other parties — Melinda Crimp (Republican), John Toro (Conservative) and Julia Willebrand (Green) — are all running unopposed in their primaries.

Photo courtesy of Alcantara campaign