Jessica González-Rojas (born May 19, 1976) is an American activist, politician, and academic. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, she is the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

member for the 34th District, having been elected in 2020 after defeating incumbent

Michael DenDekker Michael G. DenDekker (born July 11, 1961) is an American politician and former assemblyman for the state of New York's 34th district, which included the neighborhoods of Woodside, Jackson Heights, and East Elmhurst, all in the Borough and C ...

in the primary. González-Rojas previously served as the executive director of the

National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (Latina Institute) is a health and reproductive rights organization representing the Latina community living in the United States. Previously the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Heal ...

, an organization that advocates for access to affordable health and reproductive care for Latino and immigrant communities. González-Rojas has additionally served as an adjunct professor of Latin American Studies at the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

's City College. Jessica identifies as queer in regards to her sexual orientation and gender identity. González-Rojas is a member of the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing Democratic Socialists of America#Tendencies within the DSA, multi-tendency Socialism, socialist and Labour movement, labor-oriented political organization. Its roots ...

(DSA), the largest socialist organization in the United States.

Early life and education

González-Rojas earned a bachelor's degree in international relations from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

and a Master's in Public Administration ( M.P.A.) from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service The Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service is the public policy school of New York University in New York City, New York. The school is named after New York City former mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. in 1989. History In 1938, NYU off ...

. González-Rojas is of

Paraguayan Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

and Puerto Rican descent.

Career

In 2019, González-Rojas announced she is running in the 2020 Democratic primary for the 34th district of the

, held by

, and covering parts of Jackson Heights, Woodside,

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...

and

East Elmhurst East Elmhurst is a residential neighborhood in the northwest section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded to the south by Jackson Heights and Corona, to the north and east by Bowery Bay, and to the west by Woodside and Ditmars ...

, all within

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

. She won the June primary and the November election.

New York State Assembly

González-Rojas is a member of the Committee on Children and Families, the Committee on Cities, the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, the Committee on Environmental Conservation, and the Committee on Social Services. She is also a member of the Asian Pacific American Task Force, the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus, the Legislative Women's Caucus, the Task Force on New Americans, the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force, and the Task Force on Women's Issues.

Political views

González-Rojas is a member of the

(DSA). In her 2020 run, she was endorsed by

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

. In the

2021 New York City mayoral election The 2021 New York City mayoral election was held on November 2, 2021. Incumbent Mayor Bill de Blasio was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election. On June 22, 2021, the primary elections for the Democratic and Republican primaries ...

, she was the first elected official to endorse

Dianne Morales Dianne Morales is an American nonprofit executive and politician. She was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2021 New York City mayoral election. Early life and education Morales is Afro-Latina; her parents are from Puerto Rico. She was born a ...

, a progressive nonprofit executive.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:González-Rojas, Jessica Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from New York (state) Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New York (state) Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service alumni City College of New York faculty Living people 1976 births 21st-century American women 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians