Democratic state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, who is running to succeed U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) in the 3rd Congressional District, said she wants to deliver “progressive change” to Washington.
Biaggi, who represents the 34th state Senate District in the Bronx and Westchester County, announced her candidacy earlier this year and touted the “series of progressive wins” she helped pass since being elected in 2019. Biaggi said she is prepared to continue finding ways to help the middle class, protect abortion rights, ensure a fair legal system and more if elected.
“Hard-working families of Westchester, Long Island, the Bronx, and Queens deserve an experienced, strong, and fearless leader in Washington. And that’s exactly what they can expect from me,” Biaggi said in a statement.
According to newly drawn lines, the 3rd Congressional District will include several areas in Westchester County and the Bronx along with Manhasset, Roslyn, Port Washington, Great Neck, Floral Park, and Whitestone, Queens, among other areas, and stretches to Kings Park in Suffolk County.
Biaggi joins a Democratic field that includes former North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman, Nassau County Legislator Joshua Lafazan, longtime Democratic National Committee member Robert Zimmerman, Oyster Bay’s Reema Rasool and Melanie D’Arrigo of Port Washington.
She is the granddaughter of Mario Biaggi, a former congressman who served for nearly two decades. Mario Biaggi was also a former police officer who was ultimately convicted in a pair of corruption scandals.
In 2020, Alessandra Biaggi called for defunding the police and posted a graphic on her Facebook page that compared the costs of personal protective equipment for health care workers with the cost of a year’s worth of NYPD misconduct lawsuits.
State and Nassau County Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs previously told the New York Post that he would not endorse Biaggi for Congress.
“Your anti-police, pro-criminal record is the complete opposite of what the residents of Nassau County expect and deserve from their elected leaders,” Jacobs told the Post. “We need someone in Congress who will keep our interests at heart and work with us not against us – to keep our communities as safe as possible just as we do every day.”
Efforts to reach Jacobs for further comment were unavailing.
