Maria Baez is 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 ...

from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

who was a member of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

. She was elected to represent Fordham,

Kingsbridge Kingsbridge is a market town and tourist hub in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of 6,116 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards bear the name of ''Kingsbridge'' (East & North). Their combined population at the abo ...

, Morris Heights, and the

West Bronx The West Bronx is a region in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The region lies west of the Bronx River and roughly corresponds to the western half of the borough. The West Bronx is more densely populated than the East Bronx, and is close ...

, which are all neighborhoods in the 14th district of

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

.New York City Council webpage
/ref>

Personal life and early career

Her first involvement in politics before her election to the City Council was when she was forming the local community organization, 2300 Tenants Block Association, which helped with voter registration and after-school care for local children. She also worked with Jose Rivera, the Assemblyman as his

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

, and later on become the first Hispanic woman to be appointed to head the Bronx Board of Elections.

Political career and failed 2009 re-election bid

Baez was first elected to the

in the first of January 2002 and was reelected later on. Her term expired on December 31, 2009. On October 23, 2009 Baez voted to extend term limits for the mayor and the City Council. Baez had the support of the Speaker of the New York City Council,

Christine Quinn Christine Callaghan Quinn (born July 25, 1966) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she formerly served as the Speaker of the New York City Council. The third person to hold this office, she was the first female and firs ...

, who said of her: "She's been a great friend to her district, a great friend to the Bronx, and a great and loyal friend to me."City Limits website
/ref> The race itself, between Baez, Fernando Cabrera, and Yudelka Tapia has been described by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as a challenge to the power of local Democratic Party boss

Carl Heastie Carl Edward Heastie (; born September 25, 1967) is an American politician from New York (state), New York. Heastie has served in the New York State Assembly since January 2001, and was elected Speaker of the New York State Assembly on February 3 ...

. However Baez was defeated in her re-election bid by 75 votes by Fernando Cabrera, who had only just days before changed his affiliation from

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to Democrat

Committee on Aging

She was the first woman to chair the Committee on State and Federal Legislation and after her service there she became the Chair of the Committee on Aging, which administers the public services for aging people throughout

Allegations of pro-landlordism

She came under criticism in some sources when she was allegedly accused of supposedly sponsoring a bill that was allegedly "pro-landlord" and, according to some critics, over-funding some programs.Alleged pro-landlord stance
/ref>

Poor attendance record

She was also further criticized because of her low attendance record, which according to the records was at 47% attendance rate

Allegations of discretionary fund misuse

Another issue that unfolded was her use of her

discretionary fund In American public finance, discretionary spending is government spending implemented through an appropriations bill. This spending is an optional part of fiscal policy, in contrast to social programs for which funding is mandatory and determine ...

s for groups that the City Council had previously refused to fund. Some of the money that Baez conferred has been frozen pending an inquiry by the

New York City Department of Investigation The New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) is a law enforcement agency of the government of New York City that has been referred to by some observers as New York City's "secret police" because its investigations are confidential and its i ...

.Allegations of misuse of funds
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baez, Maria Living people New York City Council members Hispanic and Latino American New York City Council members New York (state) Democrats Politicians from the Bronx Monroe College alumni Lehman College alumni Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Women New York City Council members Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women