City pol takes aim at AOC
CONTROVERSIAL COUNCILMAN RIPS LIBERAL REP.
One of the most controversial pols in the City Council is trying to topple Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
Councilman Mark Gjonaj — who has a record of taking campaign contributions from alleged mob affiliates — is helping Councilman Fernando Cabrera’s primary challenge to AOC.
Gjonaj and Cabrera, both Bronx Democrats, appear to hope they can get enough turnout in conservative-learning parts of her district to defeat the liberal darling.
For years, Gjonaj has railed against the kind of socialism AOC champions.
“When we have elected officials in this country that is the most democratic country in the world [who] use the word ‘socialism,’ it’s an insult to every man and woman that has served this great country,” he seethed at a local Veterans Day celebration in 2015. “And I say that out of anger and frustration.”
Cabrera, a socially conservative pastor who launched his long-shot campaign against Ocasio-Cortez by bashing socialism, is a natural ally for Gjonaj.
Gjonaj recently urged leaders of Bronx outposts of the American Legion to switch parties from Republican to Democrat so they could vote against AOC in the June 23 primary, according to an insider.
He also bashed Ocasio-Cortez at a local political club’s endorsement meeting last month. He accused her and state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (D-Bronx, Westchester) — who ousted Gjonaj ally Jeffrey Klein in 2018 — of failing to show up in the community.
“A lot of people are frustrated from the lack of attention from those two elected officials,” said a member of the Liberty Democrats club who attended the endorsement meeting. Gjonaj is “really good at lasering in on that and saying he’s really good at working for these people when other electeds aren’t.”
The club ended up not making an endorsement in AOC’s race.
Gjonaj denied criticizing her at any Bronx meetings.
“Any suggestion that the councilman has made any endorsement is completely false,” his spokesman Reginald Johnson said in a statement. “His sole focus is serving the residents of District 13.”
Ocasio-Cortez handily beat longtime incumbent Joseph Crowley in the 2018 primary, winning 58.9% of the vote in the Queens part of the district and only slightly less in the Bronx. One of the most famous pols in the country, she has vastly more campaign funds than any of her 10 challengers.
Still, Gjonaj and Cabrera seem to be banking on the maxim “all politics are local,” and have zeroed in on harbor patrols as an issue that could endear Cabrera to voters.
In a December email, Cabrera promised a civic association on Gjonaj’s home turf of City Island a meeting with Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan) to discuss year-round harbor patrols by the NYPD, an asset long coveted by the community. (Johnson said he was familiar with the issue but had no plans to meet the association as of last Tuesday.)
Still, if Cabrera can win over conservative-leaning City Island by helping get year-round harbor patrols, that could land him a few thousand votes in the primary against AOC.
Cabrera, who can’t run for his central Bronx Council seat again due to term limits, said he’s not advocating for the patrols for political reasons.
“I’m glad when I’m campaigning, people bring me issues — that’s what it’s all about,” he told the Daily News. “There’s a lot of party boats that go and City Island can’t seem to get a rest from April all the way to October.”
Asked whether Gjonaj will endorse him, Cabrera said, “We’re not there yet. It’s been strictly about this issue.”
Cabrera has featured in Gjonaj’s social media feeds in recent months, including pictures at Gjonaj’s winter party and an office meeting to discuss the harbor patrols. Gjonaj donor Eliezer Rodriguez is scheduled to host a fund-raiser for Cabrera’s congressional campaign this month.
Gjonaj left the Assembly for the Council in 2018. Along the way, he was exposed for taking campaign cash from alleged mob affiliates including developers tied to the Gambinos. He’s also gotten funds from men indicted for money laundering tied to drug trafficking. His staff lawyer recently resigned amid community outrage over his role helping the Hells Angels relocate their headquarters to Gjonaj’s district.