The New York Working Families Party is endorsing Brian Romero for a hotly-contested State Assembly seat in Queens, putting the progressive group at odds with the Democratic Socialists of America and Mayor Mamdani, who are backing another candidate in the race.
Romero, a DSA member and ex-chief of staff to outgoing Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas, was initially seen as a shoo-in for the Jackson Heights-based seat, having secured his old boss’ endorsement.
That equation was scrambled a bit when an adviser to Mamdani, days after the mayor’s November election victory, informed DSA members at a closed-door meeting that the soon-to-be mayor would support Aber Kawas, a Palestinian-American activist, in this summer’s Democratic primary for González-Rojas’s seat.
Though the democratic socialist mayor hasn’t since officially thrown his weight behind Kawas, the DSA endorsed her after that meeting, giving her a boost from a group whose influence has grown significantly since Mamdani’s election.
Breaking with Mamdani and his DSA comrades, Working Families Party officers voted Thursday morning to endorse Romero, WFP co-director Jasmine Gripper confirmed exclusively to the Daily News.
“[Kawas] is new to moving into this distrct. Brian grew up in this district and has so many deep ties and for us it was about being grounded and rooted in community,” Gripper said, noting the district’s large Hispanic population faces “unique challenges” amid the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdowns.
In a statement, Gripper and her co-director, Ana María Archila, noted Kawas also sought their party’s endorsement. Despite endorsing against her, they lauded Kawas’ “powerful record” on “standing up for justice.”
“We applaud her leadership and look forward to working alongside her in the future,” they said.
A rep for Kawas didn’t immediately return a request for comment. A spokeswoman for Mamdani declined to comment.
The WFP’s Romero endorsement is part of a broader rift unfolding in local leftist circles pitting progressives against socialists.
Outgoing Brooklyn and Queens Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, a veteran of the city’s progressive movement whose constituency overlaps with the 34th Assembly District, also endorsed Romero’s campaign this week.
Her endorsement comes as an intra-left battle has started unfolding in the race to replace her in Congress.
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, a progressive, is running in this summer’s Democratic primary for Velazquez’s seat with an expectation that he’ll get her endorsement. Running against him is Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, a democratic socialist who was recently endorsed for the seat by both Mamdani and the DSA.
Speaking to the wider trend, Gripper said it’s “healthy” for the left to undergo “a little tension.”
“We are huge fans of Zohran and excited about his mayoralty, but that doesn’t mean we negate our democratic processes for any given person,” she said of the WFP’s endorsement process. “It’s not a dictatorship, it’s a process rooted in our people and our movement.”
The WFP doesn’t have its own ballot line in primary elections. But it does have a ballot line in general elections that it typically awards to whoever wins the Democratic primary.
As it relates to the 34th Assembly District, Gripper did not immediately want to commit to giving the WFP’s general election line to Kawas if she beats Romero. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” she said.