A spokeswoman for Claire Valdez, an anti-Israel candidate who is running in New York’s 7th Congressional District, told JNS that a New York Post report about her and Darializa Avila Chevalier, who is running in New York’s 13th Congressional District, is inaccurate.
Valdez, who is a New York state representative, and Chevalier have accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza, and both have drawn support from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whose rhetoric is making Jews unsafe according to major American Jewish organizations.
The two candidates, who are aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, have been working with sitting members of Congress, part of the “squad,” to plan ways to block federal anti-terror funding from reaching the Empire State, the Post reported, citing an anonymous source. Both candidates are expected to win in November.
Ritti Singh, communications director for Valdez’s campaign, told JNS that the report “is wholly inaccurate, and any anonymous source describing Claire’s plans for Congress is misinformed, lying or both.” (JNS sought comment from Chevalier’s campaign.)
The report refers to $215 million allocated to the state in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security budget for next year. The monies are for anti-terrorism training and preparation and are part of the Urban Areas Security Initiative, which was created in 2003 in response to 9/11.
Hank Sheinkopf, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton and president of an eponymous public relations and crisis communications firm, told JNS, of Valdez and Chevalier, that “if the two of them have decided to vote against that funding, it’s consistent with who they are.”
“It would be difficult for them to get enough progressive Democrats to block it,” he told JNS.
