These are the stories of these four women who aspire to be the future Senators of the Big Apple

A few days before the Democratic primary elections in the United States, which will decide who will occupy a seat in the State Senate of New York, we tell you the story of four women of Colombian origin who aspire to be the future Senators of the Big Apple.

Leer en español: Estas 4 mujeres de origen colombiano buscan llegar al Senado de Nueva York

Julia Salazar

The New York Senate candidate for the 18th district of Brooklyn, Julia Salazar, is the daughter of a stewardess and a Colombian cargo plane pilot, according to the Queens Latino portal. Salazar's web portal points out that she was born in the United States and studied law at Columbia University, a profession she paid for with her nanny job for several years.

At 27, Salazar is the current organizer of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice. She is an important activist within the United Communities Association for the Coalition of Police Reform. Her goal to win is to remove the current state senator, Martin Dilan, who, according to the New York Journal, "has been in the Brooklyn District 18 seat for 16 years."

If elected, her focus will be to push "the laws of rent, which are about to expire, the right to abortion, driving licenses, more free lawyers for immigrants and make New York really a Sanctuary State – State that prevents undocumented migrants are detained or deported-, give more political voice to women, immigrants and young people", adds El Diario de Nueva York.

Jessica Ramos

Born in Queens County and daughter of Colombian parents, the New York Senate candidate for the 13th District of Queens, Jessica Ramos, has a degree in International Business and was working at the end of 2017 at the Mayor's Office of New York, according to a review Queens Latino

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At 32, Ramos seeks to unseat the current senator, José Peralta, who according to Univision, if he were a winner, would reach his fifth consecutive term in office.

According to El Diario de Nueva York, "her fight platform goes from attacking the transport crisis, threatening immigrants to diminishing high rents."

Catalina Cruz

According to Caracol News, Catalina Cruz was briefly born in Medellín and since she was 9 years old she went to live in the United States with her mother, who had to work as a street vendor to survive. Cruz was undocumented until she was 19 years old, when she was finally able to solve her situation and study law, according to her website.

Her goal is to reach District 39 of the Assembly of the State of New York, which is part of the lower house in the State Legislature of the State of New York attached to the Senate of the same city that makes up the upper chamber. In addition, she wants to remove Ari Espinal, "the candidate who was put in that position by the machinery of the Democratic Party," according to Queens Latino.

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Her fight will focus on "providing protection to migrants, workers, women, and small business owners", she said in an interview with Noticias Caracol.

"Catalina will fight with us for the LGBT community, reproductive rights, evictions, harassment, and discrimination against immigrants," said Shawkat Krishnan, president of the New Visions Democratic Club.

Nathalia Fernández

"Her father, William, emigrated to the Bronx with his family from Cuba at an early age and started his own apartment painting business in his teens to help his father support his family. Nathalia's mother, Sonia, came to the United States from Colombia and found her home in the Bedford Park neighborhood", says the candidate's website for the 80th district of the New York State Assembly.

In addition, Fernandez on her page adds that she worked with politician Mark Gjonaj, with whom she led projects that provided "internships and numerous volunteer opportunities for high school and university students". She also "organized events and health care services for seniors, and planned numerous community events." In 2016, Fernández was elected as Woman of the State Committee for the District of the 80th Assembly, which she seeks to reach for the second time.

"I will fight to clean the graffiti, to work to keep drugs out of our streets, and preserve the values ​​that our community appreciates", Fernandez points out on her page as a proposal on quality of life.

As for health, she says she will ensure that her "community receives the best in affordable health care is of the utmost importance." Regarding education, she states that she will work "tirelessly in Albany, her community, to ensure that the highest quality extracurricular programs are more available to children, and that schools have the resources available to improve their learning experience."

LatinAmerican Post l Edwin Guerrero Nova
Translated from “Estas 4 mujeres de origen colombiano buscan llegar al Senado de Nueva York”