The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America announced Tuesday its endorsement of Darializa Avila Chevalier, a community organizer from Harlem who is looking to unseat Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-The Bronx) in New York’s 13th Congressional district.
The endorsement is a boost for the 32-year-old Avila Chevalier, a political newcomer who last year launched her campaign against the five-term incumbent and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Rep. Espaillat is considered the dean of Dominican elected officials in the Upper Manhattan and Bronx communities he’s represented in Washington and in the state legislature for decades.
Flanked by DSA leaders and about two dozen supporters at the announcement in Morningside Park, Avila Chevalier invoked the memory of her late maternal grandfather, who was a member of the resistance movement against Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo and his successor Joaquín Balaguer.
“I recently asked my grandmother to tell me a little bit about him, and she said, ‘They used to call him a communist, but the reality is that that man could not tolerate seeing people suffer,’” Avila Chevalier said. “I joined DSA because like my grandfather, I cannot tolerate seeing people suffer.”
The endorsement is a major test for DSA, which last year helped propel Mayor Zohran Mamdani to victory on the strength of its 13,500-member army of volunteers. The group is attempting to seize on its success by endorsing two Congressional candidates and seven candidates in the state legislature — prompting weeks of fierce internal debates over the group’s capacity and resources.
As Avila Chevalier’s campaign prepares to launch its first canvass early next month, it’s an open question whether the mayor and NYC DSA’s most prominent member will choose to endorse her. Mamdani grew up in Morningside Heights, a large chunk of which sits in the 13th district. A spokesperson for the mayor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In order to secure the group’s endorsement, all elected officials backed by NYC DSA must pledge to support the organization’s slate of chosen candidates, and Mamdani is no exception.
Álvaro López, NYC DSA’s electoral coordinator, said the group has been in conversations with Mamdani and other DSA-backed elected officials about the group’s entire slate of candidates.
López said the conversations with the mayor about the midterm elections are ongoing and have been “very productive.” Mamdani earlier this month endorsed another NYC DSA-backed candidate, Queens Assembly member Claire Valdez, to succeed Rep. Nydia Velázquez in New York’s 7th congressional district.
“There is absolutely an expectation,” that the elected officials within the group’s ranks will back their slate, he said. “We’re building this movement together, and part of that is making sure that we are in alignment on the key issues of the day.”
Focus on Affordability
Progressives have long had their eyes on the 13th district, which spans all of Upper Manhattan and a pocket of the northwest Bronx.
The district, with its high density of low-income rent-stabilized tenants, went overwhelmingly for Mamdani in the June primary despite Espaillat’s backing of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo; he eventually endorsed Mamdani in the general election.
Though DSA has a mixed record electing leaders in The Bronx, this cycle marks the first time that the group has gotten involved in Upper Manhattan electoral politics. The group endorsed Avila Chevalier as part of a slate that includes union organizer Conrad Blackburn, who is looking to unseat Jordan Wright in Harlem’s 70th Assembly district.
“In his nine years in Congress, Espaillat never saw fit to treat ICE like the racist, rogue agency that it is,” Brandon Tizol, a Harlem-based DSA member, said in prepared remarks on Tuesday. “Now is the time for bold leadership — a new generation that isn’t going to be just another face of the same old politics. I’m thrilled to be here on this cold morning with Darializa to chart a new path forward.”
Avila Chevalier was recruited by Justice Democrats, the national organization that launched Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s longshot bid in 2018 and also backed former Bronx Rep. Jamaal Bowman in 2020.
Her remarks on Tuesday stood in contrast with her campaign launch video in November, where she wore a keffiyeh and spoke at length about what she described as Espaillat’s failure to address NY-13 constituent and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil’s unlawful detention. Avila Chevalier is herself a prominent pro-Palestine activist and figure in the 2024 Columbia University encampments.
Though she invoked Khalil and the conflict in Gaza on Tuesday, Avila Chevalier kept her remarks squarely focused on the same affordability issues that Mamdani and other DSA-backed elected officials relentlessly pushed to their respective victories.
She emphasized the plight of NYCHA tenants “living with lead paint, without heat or hot water and conditions that lack dignity,” the stubborn child homelessness rate in New York City public schools, and renewed calls to abolish ICE.
As she finished her remarks, her supporters erupted in chants of “DSA with DAC!”
“As a socialist in office, I won’t take a dime from the real estate corporations that are pricing us out,” she said. “I will represent working people’s values and I will fight to make sure we all live with dignity to make sure profits go to workers, not billionaires.”
