Marjorie Velázquez (born August 11, 1981) is an

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politician from

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. A

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, Velázquez is currently 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 ...

representing the 13th district, which covers parts of the eastern

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Early life

Velázquez was born in

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 ...

to Puerto Rican parents who had moved to New York City in the 1970s. She graduated from

St. Catharine Academy St. Catharine High School is an American all-girls', private, Roman Catholic high school located in the Pelham Gardens neighborhood of the Bronx, New York. It is located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. History The Sister ...

and received her

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in finance and accounting from the

New York University Stern School of Business The New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business (commonly referred to as NYU Stern, The Stern School of Business, or simply Stern) is the business school of New York University, a private research university based in New York City. I ...

Political career

Pre-Council career

After working for several years in accounting and corporate finance, Velázquez suffered serious injures in a 2012 car accident. She joined

Bronx Community Board 10 Bronx Community Board 10 is a local government unit of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx, encompassing the List of Bronx neighborhoods, neighborhoods of City Island, Bronx, City Island, Co-op City, Bronx, Co-op City, ...

and was elected as a Democratic District Leader for the 82nd Assembly district, a position she still holds.

2017 City Council campaign

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, Velázquez ran to succeed term-limited

James Vacca James Vacca is an American politician who served in the New York City Council from the 13th district from 2006 to 2017. He is a Democrat. The district includes Allerton, Baychester, Bronx Park, City Island, Country Club, Ferry Point Park, ...

in the 13th district of the

. With support from Vacca and ''

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'', among others, Velázquez was seen as one of the race's frontrunners. Velázquez's main opponent in the Democratic primary was Assemblyman

Mark Gjonaj Mark Gjonaj ( ; born December 1968) is an American politician who served in the New York City Council from the 13th district from 2018 to 2021. He previously represented the 80th district of the New York State Assembly from 2013 to 2017. His dis ...

, who ran to Velázquez's right and spent over $700,000, a record for a City Council campaign. Velázquez lost the primary by a 38-34% margin, with three other candidates taking the remainder. Soon after, Velázquez indicated she would be back, saying, "Would I ever run again? Most definitely."

2021 City Council campaign

Velázquez announced in 2020 that she would seek a 2021 rematch with Gjonaj, citing the repeated scandals Gjonaj found himself combating during his first term. In February 2021, however, Gjonaj announced he would not seek re-election, saying that the political climate was "not favorable to a centrist ideology that my constituency, community and I embrace." Now running for an open seat, Velázquez would go on to win the five-way Democratic primary in June 2021. She won the subsequent November 2021 general election with a near-identical 56.3% of the vote and took office in January 2022.

City Council

In 2022, Velázquez protested against turning an unused building on Jacobi Medical Center’s campus into housing for ex-convicts with complex medical needs (such as Stage 4 cancer or congestive heart failure). That same year, she also opposed the construction of 339 housing units (94 of which were income restricted) in the low-density neighborhood of Throggs Neck.

Personal life

Velázquez lives in

Throggs Neck Throggs Neck (also known as Throgs Neck) is a neighborhood and peninsula in the south-eastern portion of the borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by the East River and Long Island Sound to the south and ea ...

with her husband and their three cats.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velázquez, Marjorie Living people 1981 births Politicians from the Bronx New York University Stern School of Business alumni New York (state) Democrats American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Puerto Rican people in New York (state) politics Hispanic and Latino American politicians Hispanic and Latino American women in politics 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians Women New York City Council members New York City Council members