Rep. Nydia Velázquez just felt it was time — and she hopes other longtime officials will take her cue.
The 72-year-old Democrat was first elected to Congress in 1992. She’s seen the character of the neighborhoods she represents in Northern Brooklyn and Western Queens change dramatically as gentrification brought waves of newcomers and increased pressure on longtime immigrant enclaves.
But she took heart that some of the younger officials she mentored in her progressive mold are established and rising. Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso is 42. State Sen. Julia Salazar is 34. Both have been immediately mentioned by Democratic strategists and in the press as possible successors.
Velázquez isn’t endorsing anyone for her seat in the 7th District yet, but says she’s certain a good candidate will emerge. That’s driving her part in a changing of the guard in the city’s congressional delegation that also includes the retirement of Manhattan U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler and, increasingly, pressure for other longtime incumbents, including U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, to make space for newcomers.
“We have done our job and that now is, you know, it's a call for the next generation of leaders,” Velázquez told Gothamist. “ And, and to have the certainty in your heart that we are in a good place when it comes to the amount of young people that are ready.”
“No one is indispensable,” she continued. “The thing is, what do you do not only to address the issues of our country, but to prepare the next generation of leaders?”
Velázquez declined to comment on the future of the state’s senior senator, saying only that it is a “very personal decision.” Schumer’s term runs through 2028. He would be 78 at the start of another term.
Political consultant Luis Miranda has known Velázquez since they both came to New York from Puerto Rico in the 1970s. He said she remained a principled advocate for the island territory and its diaspora in the mainland United States.
He applauded Velázquez’s timing.
”I think the greatness of this country and democracy is that we could pass the baton … and continue to aspire and continue to fight,” he said. “Nydia is part of that tradition of making sure that you hope you did enough to inspire a new generation of people who are going to continue to fight for the progressive values that she stood for.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul said she befriended Velázquez after winning a special election to the U.S. House in 2011. She said she would support whoever won the next Democratic primary.
And the Buffalo-born governor, 67, said she didn’t see the need for a generational refresh. One of the most popular figures among Democrats is U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was born just before the Pearl Harbor attacks.
“We have a party that embraces many viewpoints, but also many ages,” Hochul said after a meeting of the Democratic State Committee in Albany. “And so everybody makes their own decision.”
Velázquez said she wants her successor to have a good sense for the pulse of the district.
“People are suffering, and we need to have someone who will step up, who will fight, who is willing to come up with new ideas, a new approach that is ready to meet this moment,” she said. “And not to look for excuses that, oh, we cannot do this because of this or that.”
