Daria Liza Avila Chevalier

You know, I actually never thought that I would run for office.

I was recruited to run.

And for me, it really isn't so much about age.

It's about the lack of presence that we felt as a community from our representative.

And I'm somebody who's been organizing in the city for over 14 years around various issues around mass incarceration, around immigration, justice around Palestine.

And not once had I heard from my representative, despite the numerous times that I'd reached out.

You know, I think what was so incredible about the mayor's race last year was that he presented a vision.

He was no longer giving us just the politics of cynicism and why we should be afraid of the other guy.

It was a vision for us to hold on to, to be able to fight for.

And, you know, that is a vision I share, a vision of government that is actually responsive to the people of the city.

And that's why I started canvassing for him and leading canvases when he was still pulling at 1%.

Yeah.

And, you know, early on, I was knocking doors in Harlem and Washington Heights, and folks were like, well, we love the vision, but can he win?

And now, six months into his role as mayor, right, people are starting to believe again that government can actually work for working people.

And that is the type of government that we have presented in our vision in this run for Congress.

Well, you know, again, in the last 10 years that he has been in office, my neighbors and I look around and we wonder what has gotten better.

Because I'm somebody who has had to think about whether I can afford to stay in the city that I love, despite doing everything that society has told me was the right thing to do.

I went to college.

I went to grad school.

I was working on my PhD to become a professor.