The new mayor vacated his seat on the NY Assembly when he took office on January 1. There is now a special election scheduled for Feb. 3 to replace him. All three of the candidates are DSA members with far-left politics.
The three women lining up for the job are all members of the Democratic Socialists of America and angling to get the party’s endorsement — which has proven a powerful force in delivering a win in the Big Apple.
Meherunnisa “Mary” Jobaida, a first-generation Bangladeshi American, has a criminal justice platform at the extreme end with the DSA’s radical agenda that includes “decriminalizing all forms of poverty.”…
[Diana] Moreno, 38, parroted DSA talking points when explaining her run, saying she threw her hat in the ring to “fight the rising tide of fascism.”…
The Ecuadorian-born candidate, who officially kicked off her run on Nov. 22, has held leadership roles with the DSA that include communications director and co-chair of the Queens branch.
Rana Abdelhamid, a third candidate, is also a Queens-based activist.
AOC and Mamdani have endorsed Diana Morena, making it almost certain that she’ll win. But Politico reports today that Moreno seems to have made a mistake by violating rules that prevent campaign stops at schools in the 60 days prior to an election.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s preferred candidate to fill his former state Assembly seat made a campaign stop in a city school, in an apparent violation of Department of Education policy…
According to city school regulations on political activity, “no candidate for public office, including an elected official seeking reelection, may visit any Department of Education school building during the 60 calendar days prior to a primary and/or election.”
Moreno — who publicized her visit to Gotham Tech High School in Queens on her campaign’s Instagram account — remains a favorite to win the race, buoyed by the strength of the Democratic Party’s ballot line. The post no longer appears on her account after one of its co-authors removed it following POLITICO’s inquiries.
After deleting the Instagram post, her campaign then tried to pretend it wasn’t a campaign stop.
“The school is not in the [legislative] district. We didn’t campaign and we were invited,” Aaron Narraph Fernando, Moreno’s campaign manager, told POLITICO.
The campaign emphasized there was no political purpose to the visit and that Moreno talked to students about what it’s like to run for office.
It’s unfortunate for Morena that other people can read. Again, what the rule says is “no candidate for public office…may visit any Department of Education school building during the 60 calendar days prior to a primary and/or election.” Seeing as the special election is less than three weeks away, she clearly violated that rule. It doesn’t matter if she “campaigned” or was invited because the rule doesn’t say anything about that.
Will it matter? Of course not. These are socialists running for office in New York. They can do anything and no one will hold them accountable. That’s especially true in this case where all three candidates are DSA members. She’s going to win and New York will get more anti-law enforcement extremism like this.
ICE is a threat to public safety, human dignity, and our children. We must defund and abolish ICE before they injure or kill more innocent people.
These lawless, violent thugs and their white nationalist leadership must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. https://t.co/Tj1E0qL4To
— Diana Moreno (@DianaforQueens) January 15, 2026
Her website lists a three-item platform:
- Work with Mayor Mamdani to tax the rich and fund free childcare for every New Yorker aged six weeks to five years.
- Strengthen tenant protections, defend rent stabilization, and create a Social Housing Development Authority to build and preserve affordable housing with union labor.
- Stand up for our immigrant neighbors under attack from Trump’s cruel and racist deportation machine, and pass the New York For All Act to restrict cooperation with ICE.
So, again, it won’t matter that she broke the rules. She’s on the winning team. If anything, people will be outraged that anyone noticed.
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