BY ALFONSO ABREU
While New York City is in the midst of a mayoral election, Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado is already campaigning for next year’s Democratic nomination for governor.
On September, 17th, Delgado made his way to Coney Island for a meet and greet at Surf City Pizzeria. His team invited everyone to enjoy free food and grab pamphlets.
Delgado, who is challenging the current governor, Kathy Hochul, who picked him as her running mate in 2022, leaned on income disparity as a key talking point. “The third largest economy of any state in this country is New York. And if we were an independent nation, we’d be the ninth largest economy in the world. Now here’s my question to everybody. Does anybody feel all that money?” The audience shouted back “No”. Delgado continued to detail the many housing and economic struggles in which the citizens have been facing over the years.
The Lieutenant Governor promised he would be a man of his actions, not afraid to speak out. “Here’s what I can also say that maybe will help you understand my mentality,” he said. He came to the conclusion that President Joseph Biden could not defeat Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. “The entire Democratic party, the leadership, the machinery, a lot of them kept their head in the sand,” Delgado said. “They were scared to say something that would put them out of step with the leadership of the party.” But, Delgado said, “I said that he should step down publicly. My wife, before I said that, pulled me aside and she said ‘Are you prepared to be out of politics? Because if you say this you’re going to upset a lot of people.’ And I said yes.”
Then Delgado shifted his attention to Mayor Eric Adams. “When Mayor Adams became compromised, as you may recall, a lot of folks out here said ‘sit down, resign.’ Not a lot of elected officials, Democrats said, ‘sit down, resign.’ You know why? Because they’re protecting themselves and they’re protecting the party. You know who did say, ‘step down?’ Me.”
“Why do we accept this?” asked Delgado, as an anonymous speaker spoke out to give an impromptu answer. “We don’t accept it. We just don’t know how to fight it.”
Delgado promised he would restore glory and integrity to New York State. “New York is a special place, but we’re not leading right now,” he said. “No one’s looking to New York right now. In fact, we’re kind of a laughing stock, to be honest with you. Our leaders are falling over themselves, trying to figure out how to negotiate with Trump.”
Delgado continued, “But what are we fighting for? Now you can’t just be fighting against, what are we fighting for? I’m fighting for us. I’m fighting for a future, I’m fighting to show that people can actually believe in Democracy again.”
Lawrence Stewart, a Coney Island native, challenged the Lieutenant Governor to show that he knew something about the neighborhood. “I care about Brooklyn and I live in Brooklyn but I’m particularly passionate about Coney island because that’s who I am,,” Steward said. When he was a boy people sometimes laughed at him when he said where he was from because they didn’t think people lived in Coney Island. “They didn’t know that there was people, families, that lived in Coney Island. So my question is, what do you know about Coney Island?”
Delgado responded, “My connection is always rooted in relationships and people. People are how I get to know a place and get invested in a community.” He conceded, “I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be able to name every street, know all the history. But what I can tell you is I know Coney Island is healthy,” he said, and in partnership with the community he will be able to figure out how to invest in it, “be it in housing, be it education, be it workforce development. That’s what I know.”