Rosie Méndez (born February 28, 1963) is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who served in the New York City Council from the 2nd district from 2006 to 2017. She 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 ...

. The district includes all or parts of

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, the East Village, the

Flatiron District The Flatiron District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, named after the Flatiron Building at 23rd Street, Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Generally, the Flatiron District is bounded by 14th Street, Union Square and Gre ...

, Gramercy,

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, the Lower East Side, Midtown, Murray Hill,

NoHo NoHo, short for North of Houston Street (as contrasted with SoHo), is a primarily residential neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is bounded by Mercer Street to the west and the Bowery to the east, ...

, and

Stuyvesant Town Stuyvesant may refer to: People * Peter Stuyvesant (1592–1672), the last governor of New Netherland * Peter Gerard Stuyvesant (1778–1847), lawyer, landowner and philanthropist. * Rutherfurd Stuyvesant (1843–1909), socialite and land develope ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Early life and education

Méndez grew up in the

Williamsburg Houses The Williamsburg Houses, originally called the Ten Eyck Houses, (pronounced ) is a public housing complex built and operated by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. It consists of 20 buil ...

, a

New York City Housing Authority The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is a public development corporation which provides public housing in New York City, and is the largest public housing authority in North America. Created in 1934 as the first agency of its kind in the U ...

development. She is the child of Puerto Rican parents, and attended New York City public schools through high school. She graduated 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, th ...

and

Rutgers Law School Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...

. In 2011, Méndez completed

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

's John F. Kennedy School of Government] program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government as a

David Bohnett David C. Bohnett (born April 2, 1956) is an American philanthropist and technology entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of the David Bohnett Foundation, a non-profit, grant-making organization devoted to improving society through social ...

Leadership Fellow.

Career

She began as a tenant organizer in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. As of the 2020 United ...

. She then worked on citywide housing issues as a housing specialist at the Parodneck Foundation. In 1995, Méndez graduated from law school and worked as an IOLA Legal Services Fellow at Brooklyn Legal Services. As a legal staff worker she became a member of the

United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) ...

(UAW). Prior to her election to the Council, Méndez was the Democratic District Leader for her community for four terms. She served for three years as the Chief of Staff and Legislative Aide to her predecessor City Councilwoman Margarita Lopez.

New York City Council

In 2005, Méndez won the heavily contested Democratic primary for

New York City's 2nd City Council district New York City's 2nd City Council district is one of 51 districts in the New York City Council. It has been represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Carlina Rivera since 2018, succeeding term-limited fellow Democrat Rosie Méndez. ...

. In the heavily Democratic district, the primary victory was considered

tantamount to election A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinati ...

. After a landslide victory in the general election in November 2005, Méndez took office as the 2nd district's councilwoman in January 2006. She was re-elected in 2009 and 2013.

Animal rights

In June 2006, Méndez announced legislation to ban the use of wild animals in circuses. The bill received substantial support from other Council Members, including future Mayor Bill de Blasio, future Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, future Public Advocate Leticia James and future Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer. Méndez, at a rally that year organized by the League of Humane Voters of New York City, told the media "We cannot say we’re an enlightened society when we allow animals to be tortured and abused for entertainment purposes." Though the bill had 25 co-sponsors, Council Speaker Christine Quinn strongly opposed the legislation and the bill died at the end of session. Méndez reintroduced the bill again in 2010 and then again in 2016. In June 2017, the bill was voted out of the Health Committee unanimously. On June 21, 2017, the Council passed Méndez's bill by a vote of 43-6. From the floor of the Council, Méndez thanked her "friend and constituent" John Phillips, who led the campaign to pass the bill and who brought the issue to her attention in 2006.

Election history

Personal life

Méndez is openly lesbian and was the Chairperson of the New York City Council's LGBT Caucus.

References

External links

* *
Information on the 2005 primary campaign in District 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendez, Rosie New York City Council members Hispanic and Latino American New York City Council members New York (state) Democrats American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Hispanic and Latino American city council members Puerto Rican people in New York (state) politics Activists from New York City Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Lesbian politicians American LGBT city council members American LGBT rights activists LGBT people from New York (state) 1963 births Living people New York University alumni Rutgers School of Law–Newark alumni Women New York City Council members 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people