Victor M. Pichardo (born August 27, 1984) is a former Democratic member of 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 Ass ...

representing 86th New York State Assembly District, which includes the university and Morris Heights, Mount Eden, Kingsbridge, Tremont, and Fordham sections 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 ...

Early life and career

He attended the

State University of New York at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications. Pichardo went on to work for U.S. Senator

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, an ...

as a staff assistant and was eventually promoted to Community Outreach Coordinator. During his time with Senator Schumer, Pichardo worked on such important issues such as Comprehensive Immigration Reform, the

DREAM Act The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal to grant temporary conditional residency, with the right to work, to illegal immigrants who entered the United States a ...

and the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...

. After serving for 4 years in Senator Schumer's office, Pichardo became an associate director of Public Relations at Mercy College. In 2012, Pichardo left Mercy to join New York State Senator Gustavo Rivera's staff as Director of Community Affairs.

Political career

Pichardo was elected to the New York State Assembly in a November 2013 special election. In the special election, Pichardo was endorsed by U.S. Senator

, State Senator Gustavo Rivera, and then-Bronx Democratic Party Chairman

Carl Heastie Carl Edward Heastie (; born September 25, 1967) is an American politician from 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, 2015. Early li ...

. In 2014, Pichardo was re-elected to a full term in the

with 95 percent of the vote. He defeated challengers Rene Santos and Jose Marte. In 2016, Pichardo was re-elected to a full term in the New York State Assembly with the highest percentage of the vote. In August 2021, Victor Pichardo announced that he will quit being a member of the New York State Assembly after serving 8 years (4 terms) representing his assembly district in the Bronx before the redistricting process begins. He cited a need to spend more time with his wife and two children.

References

External links

New York Assembly Member WebsiteVictor Pichardo for Assembly Campaign WebsiteHon. Victor Pichardo on FacebookVictor Pichardo on Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pichardo, Victor M American politicians of Dominican Republic descent Living people Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New York (state) University at Buffalo alumni 1984 births Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from the Bronx Working Families Party politicians 21st-century American politicians