Brooklyn Democrats choose Socialist on New Senate candidate for New York Senate



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BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Julia Salazar, a 27-year-old Socialist Democrat, was the victim of negative reporting in the final weeks of her insurgency campaign against outgoing Senator, New York State Senator Martin Dilan.

But voters in Brooklyn, in the north of the country, thought it preferable to Dilan's close ties with the real estate lobby, while Salazar triumphed in the Democratic primary of the 18th district of the New York State Senate. . Voters may have also sent a message of disgust at the corruption scandals that rocked the state Senate.

"Julia Salazar's victory reflects the resonance of her political agenda with the people of Brooklyn, some of New York's fastest growing communities," said Susan Kang, a leader of the Democratic Socialists of New York. America, which endorsed Salazar, who is an active member of the organization. "Her bold platform for the rights of tenants, immigrants, and transit users is more important than this expensive smear campaign, and it shows how important the issues are.

Salazar was called for hinting that she was an immigrant (she was born in the United States) who grew up in a Catholic and Jewish denomination (none of her parents practiced Judaism) and graduated from Columbia University does not have a degree). The Union of Citizens, a government watchdog group, canceled its approval during the month, claiming that it had misled the organization about its degrees.

While these headlines made the headlines, Salazar's political platform earned her the enthusiastic support of the Democratic Socialists of America, New York Congress candidate and progressive heroine – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Primary Democratic Governor.

Salazar, who was born in Florida, has adopted a not-surprising progressive platform that supports single-payer health care, public universities with no tuition fees, better access to public transportation and universal rent control.

Meanwhile, Salazar's supporters have criticized Dilan's warm relationship with the real estate lobby. About 15% of donations from his campaign come from property developers or homeowners, nearly twice as many as any other senator, according to Gothamist.

Although describing himself as "a champion" of tenants' rights, Dilan, 67, voted for tax breaks for his campaign contributors and did not pass any significant legislation for tenants.

Dilan often says he has a perfect track record of tenant-friendly legislation. … but it's just wrong, "said Salazar Teen Vogue. "I pledged never to withdraw money from the real estate lobby or for-profit real estate developers, in sharp contrast to the incumbent operator.

Dilan, originally from his district and whose parents are from Puerto Rico, attempted in 2008 to overturn New York City's contribution laws to limit the influence of people or companies doing business with the city or city. seek to do it. A lawsuit filed by Dilan and a Republican councilor was funded by real estate entities. And arguing for them was represented by James Bopp, the lawyer behind Citizens United – the landmark Supreme Court ruling that allowed corporations and unions to donate and spend unlimited amounts of money for an activity independent policy.

Almost everyone who spoke to HuffPost in front of a polling station in the Bushwick district of North Brooklyn voted for Salazar.

Voters had not heard of controversies over the alleged misrepresentation of his personal background, or dismissed them as political distortions.

Benjamin Perez, a long-time resident of Bushwick, voted to re-elect Governor Andrew Cuomo (D), who he says does a good job for the state. He also voted for Salazar, who has been a strong advocate for tenants.

"The rent is soaring," said Perez, who has become very busy discussing people who can not afford to rent their homes. "There is no rent control – it's crazy."

Elaine Tomlinson, another Bushwick Democrat who voted for Cuomo, did not learn much about the race and ended up voting for Salazar because she is a woman.

Left-wing voters in the news were more aware of the details of the charges. But precisely because of their ideological tendencies, they tended to be more skeptical of accusations.

"Salazar's alleged misrepresentations have themselves been misrepresented," said Matthew Weiss, a writer who volunteered for Salazar's campaign. His campaign was decentralized, he explained. It was therefore easier for a volunteer to err on the way to characterize his immigration history on the website.

Adriana Lemus, who works for an entrepreneur, said that she had finally chosen Salazar over Dilan because she considered Dilan too indebted to the companies. Late in the race, she was disconcerted to learn about Salazar's past opposition to abortion rights and his recent arrival in the neighborhood. But her boyfriend, a journalist, told her that the articles on Salazar were "just kind of a story. And I trust him.

Clare Farris said the vagueness of Salazar's truth bothered him. "But I would never vote for a machine candidate or a business democrat," he said.

Christopher Grande, a real estate agent, said he was simply more concerned about issues such as criminal justice reform than Salazar's personal life.

"You look at what the president does with – any mistake that she made, it's done once an hour," said Grande.

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