Get Out! GAY Magazine – Issue 402 January 23, 2018

My role in government has always been,
how do we ensure protection and send a
message out with our policies and our laws
that demonstrate that New York belongs
to all of us. We are not going to tolerate
abuse or any political discrimination or bias
or hatred towards our brothers and sisters,
whatever your religion, whatever you are.
I just want people to get to know me as
a person and know that this is a part of
my essence and my core values, and that
having an elected official in any position
that possesses these values is in the best
interest of any New Yorker, because I’m
going to fight for everybody in the same
way. I’ve demonstrated that with my
immigration reform, I’ve showed that to my
LGBT allies and everybody else, whether
they are Muslim or Jewish or whatever. I
am unapologetic, I speak out and make
sure that our city government continues to
uphold those values as well. That’s why I’ve
decided to run, and I think my trajectory
is very clear about what my position is.
That’s why I work so much with the LGBT
community, despite the fact that I’m not
gay—the fact that I believe in these issues
at my core, people know that I’m going to
be a fighter. That’s someone you need to
see in a position like this; you need a fighter
and someone progressive.
What made you so aware of human rights
and so willing to stand up for them?
It really does stem from my upbringing.
My mother was a young mother. I was
raised in the early ‘70s during the feminist
movement in Puerto Rico. I was raised in
an environment of strong women, very
vocal women, women that would fight for
their rights as women. Within that struggle
there were lesbian women that would fight
for that movement, for gay rights during
that time. For Puerto Rico, that was a very
difficult and challenging time. So I was
always raised in an environment of inclusion
and acceptance. My mother had values
that we loved everybody regardless of who
they are or what they looked like. So that
was probably the beginning, the way I was
raised. That always stuck with me. I am
also a survivor of sexual abuse. I don’t see
myself as a victim, but the idea of being
a fighter and demanding respect, and to
have my voice heard, is something that I’ve
gotten from my personal experiences. It’s
part of who I am. I’ve been very hopeful,
very outspoken, and I carried it over when I
came to New York. What I want for myself,
I want for everybody else. I can’t demand
respect for me as a woman if I’m not going
to give that respect back. That carries on to
everything that I do.
PHOTO CREDIT: WILLIAM ALATRISTE