New York Post

Gerrymande­r may cost anti-cop pol

- Carl Campanile and Bernadette Hogan

Liberal Bronx Democratic state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi — a champion of “defunding” the police, who once called cops “soulless” — is running for Congress in a new gerrymande­red 3rd Congressio­nal District that takes in the leafy suburbs of Long Island, Queens, Westcheste­r and parts of The Bronx.

Biaggi’s anti-police funding tweets — many of which were scrubbed from her Twitter account but were captured in screen grabs — could haunt her in a district where many moderate Democrats support law enforcemen­t.

“Today #TeamBiaggi dropped off 550 meals with Rethink Food NYC to New Yorkers at Occupy CityHall fighting for budget justice and defunding the police. Stay safe, and keep up the good work!#DefundTheN­YPD,” Biaggi said in a June 26, 2020 tweet.

On June 6, 2020, she said, “We must defund the police.”

Biaggi, 35, then posted a comparison of the cost to the city to pay for NYPD misconduct lawsuits to the potential price of providing free bus service.

She also posted a story on Oct. 30, 2020, about police allegedly beating a black woman during a protest, saying, “The police in this country are soulless.”

Biaggi also has boasted of her support for New York’s controvers­ial bailreform law, which eliminated cash bail for many charges.

She makes no mention of her support of defunding police or the bail law on her new congressio­nal campaign Web site. But an archived version does mention her support for the bail law.

Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat who is giving up the congressio­nal seat to run for governor, suggested that Biaggi won’t be a good fit for the district.

“The people of my district want a common-sense Democrat who will not pander to the left or back down to the right,” Suozzi told The Post.

Biaggi said, “I am committed to strengthen­ing public safety, and every policy stance I take related to policing and criminal-justice reform is rooted in supporting our communitie­s.”

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