Marjorie Velázquez

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Marjorie Velázquez

Democratic Party

Prior offices

New York City Council District 13

Successor: Kristy Marmorato

Predecessor: Mark Gjonaj

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Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 7, 2023

Education

High school

St. Catharine Academy

Bachelor's

New York University

Personal

Profession

Accountant

Contact

Personal LinkedIn

Marjorie Velázquez (Democratic Party) was a member of the New York City Council, representing District 13. She assumed office on January 1, 2022. She left office on January 1, 2024.

Velázquez (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the New York City Council to represent District 13. She lost in the general election on November 7, 2023.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Velázquez was born and raised in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents who moved to the United States in the 1970s.

Velázquez earned a degree in finance and accounting from New York University's Stern School of Business.

Velázquez's experience prior to her 2021 election to the city council includes work as a senior accountant in the Corporate Finance Group at DIRECTV Latin America and service as a co-founder of the political and civic engagement group Bronx Women United, the treasurer for the city council campaign of District 15 Councilman Ritchie Torres (D), an executive board member and treasurer for Bronx Community Board 10, an executive board member and Democratic district leader for the Chippewa Democratic Club, and the treasurer for the Liberty Democratic Association.

As a member of the New York City Council, she serves as chair of the Consumer and Workers Protection Committee.

Elections

2023

See also: City elections in New York, New York (2023)

General election

General election for New York City Council District 13

Kristy Marmorato defeated incumbent Marjorie Velázquez in the general election for New York City Council District 13 on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kristy Marmorato (R / Conservative Party)	51.5	6,566
		Marjorie Velázquez (D)	47.9	6,103
		Other/Write-in votes	0.7	83

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 12,752
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• George Havranek (We the People Party)
• Samantha Zherka (Save The Bronx Party)
• Grace Marrero (Grace 4 New York Party)
• Irene Estrada (Parent Party)

Democratic primary election

Democratic Primary for New York City Council District 13

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Marjorie Velázquez in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Marjorie Velázquez	65.5	2,795	0	Advanced (1)
		Bernadette Ferrara	19.3	822	0	1
		Irene Estrada	7.3	313	0	1
	Submit photo	John Perez	5.6	238	0	1
		Undeclared Write-insUndeclared write-in candidates may advance past the first round in some ranked-choice elections. If the official source reports write-in votes by candidate name, Ballotpedia displays them alongside the ballot-qualified candidates. However, if write-in votes are reported without a name, they will instead be included in the total write-in votes figure in Round 1. Please consult the official elections source for more details about unnamed write-in candidate vote totals past Round 1.	2.4	102	0

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,270
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Republican primary election

Republican Primary for New York City Council District 13

Select round: Round 3 Round 2 Round 1

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Kristy Marmorato in round 3 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Kristy Marmorato	51.5	957	47	Advanced (3)
	Submit photo	George Havranek	48.5	902	61	3
		Samantha Zherka	0.0	0	-163	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Kristy Marmorato	47.5	910	1	Advanced (3)
	Submit photo	George Havranek	43.9	841	5	3
		Samantha Zherka	8.5	163	3	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Kristy Marmorato	47.5	909	0	Advanced (3)
	Submit photo	George Havranek	43.7	836	0	3
		Samantha Zherka	8.4	160	0	2
		Undeclared Write-insUndeclared write-in candidates may advance past the first round in some ranked-choice elections. If the official source reports write-in votes by candidate name, Ballotpedia displays them alongside the ballot-qualified candidates. However, if write-in votes are reported without a name, they will instead be included in the total write-in votes figure in Round 1. Please consult the official elections source for more details about unnamed write-in candidate vote totals past Round 1.	0.5	10	0

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,915
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Phyllis Nastasio (R)
• Grace Marrero (R)

Conservative Party primary election

Conservative Primary for New York City Council District 13

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Kristy Marmorato in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Kristy Marmorato	54.5	61	0	Advanced (1)
	Submit photo	George Havranek	31.3	35	0	1
		Samantha Zherka	14.3	16	0	1

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 112
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Phyllis Nastasio (Conservative Party)
• Grace Marrero (Conservative Party)

Endorsements

Velázquez received the following endorsements.

• Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club

2021

See also: City elections in New York, New York (2021)

General election

General election for New York City Council District 13

Marjorie Velázquez defeated Alex Mici in the general election for New York City Council District 13 on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marjorie Velázquez (D)	56.3	10,201
		Alex Mici (R)	43.5	7,893
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	41

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 18,135
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic Primary for New York City Council District 13

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Marjorie Velázquez in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Marjorie Velázquez	56.3	5,608	0	Advanced (1)
	Submit photo	Monique Johnson	25.9	2,575	0	1
		Irene Estrada	6.0	600	0	1
	Submit photo	Marilyn Soto	5.9	585	0	1
	Submit photo	John Perez	5.5	545	0	1
		Undeclared Write-insUndeclared write-in candidates may advance past the first round in some ranked-choice elections. If the official source reports write-in votes by candidate name, Ballotpedia displays them alongside the ballot-qualified candidates. However, if write-in votes are reported without a name, they will instead be included in the total write-in votes figure in Round 1. Please consult the official elections source for more details about unnamed write-in candidate vote totals past Round 1.	0.5	47	0

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,960
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Alex Mici advanced from the Republican primary for New York City Council District 13.

2017

See also: Mayoral election in New York, New York (2017) and Municipal elections in New York, New York (2017)

New York City held elections for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, and all 51 seats on the city council in 2017. New Yorkers also voted for offices in their boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island.

Primary elections were scheduled for September 12, 2017, and the general election was on November 7, 2017. Under New York law, candidates who run unopposed in a primary or general election win the nomination or election automatically, and their names do not appear on the ballot. Mark Gjonaj (D) defeated John Cerini (R), Marjorie Velazquez (Working Families), John Doyle (Liberal), and Alex Gomez (New Bronx) in the general election for the District 13 seat on the New York City Council.

New York City Council, District 13 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Mark Gjonaj	48.62%	10,602
	Republican	John Cerini	35.73%	7,791
	Working Families	Marjorie Velazquez	12.97%	2,829
	Liberal	John Doyle	2.03%	442
	New Bronx	Alex Gomez	0.55%	121
		Write-in votes	0.1%	21
Total Votes				21,806
Source: New York City Board of Elections, "General Election - November 7, 2017," accessed January 2, 2018

Mark Gjonaj defeated Marjorie Velazquez, John Doyle, Victor Ortiz, and Egidio Sementilli in the Democratic primary for the District 13 seat on the New York City Council.

New York City Council, District 13 Democratic Primary Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Mark Gjonaj	38.46%	3,503
Marjorie Velazquez	34.17%	3,113
John Doyle	18.97%	1,728
Victor Ortiz	5.28%	481
Egidio Sementilli	2.96%	270
Write-in votes	0.15%	14
Total Votes		9,109
Source: New York City Board of Elections, "2017 Primary: Certified Results," accessed September 28, 2017

Endorsements

Velázquez received endorsements from the following in 2017:

• 504 Democratic Club
• Associated Musicians of New York Local 802
• Communications Workers of America District 1
• DC37
• Doctors Council SEIU
• Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club
• Make the Road
• New York League of Conservation Voters
• Planned Parenthood NYC Votes
• PSC CUNY
• Run for Something
• Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC
• StreetsPAC
• Teamsters Joint Council 16
• TenantsPAC
• Vote Pro-Choice
• Working Families Party
• Women's Equality Party
• Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer
• New York City Councilwoman Margaret Chin
• New York City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley
• New York City Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo
• New York City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland
• New York City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz
• New York City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito
• New York City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez
• New York City Councilwoman Deborah Rose
• New York City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal
• New York City Councilman Ritchie Torres
• New York City Councilman Jimmy Vacca

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Marjorie Velázquez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2021

Marjorie Velázquez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

2017

Velázquez's campaign website highlighted the following issues. Click "show" on the boxes below for more information about her positions.

BUDGETING FOR THE FUTURE

"The city and its most vulnerable families face difficult financial times in the years ahead as the federal government appears less likely to help support public health care and housing. As our next Council Member, Marjorie will bring her real world business experience to the job of ensuring families are not overburdened by property taxes, water bills and long delays and cost overruns on major infrastructure construction projects. Marjorie has spent her professional life managing the finances of multi-billion dollar businesses, and she will bring these same skills to rooting out waste and protecting families’ hard-earned tax dollars while protecting services for our most vulnerable residents."

A SOUND EDUCATION

"Children are our greatest resource as a community and we need to give them the tools they need to succeed. A strong public school education is the key to ensuring our children can compete in this 21st century economy. Marjorie understands this as well as anyone. Without the strong public school education she received at P.S. 106 and M.S. 127 in Castle Hill, Marjorie would not have been able to build a successful career or find her voice as a dedicated community advocate. As our Council Member, Marjorie will fight to increase funding for public schools and meet the needs of students, parents and educators. At the same time, she will push for a moratorium on school closures. Marjorie firmly believes in addressing the issue of struggling schools, but doing so in ways that get at the root causes without sending the message that we’re turning our backs on important neighborhood institutions. Marjorie will also work to address local school overcrowding by building new classroom space, where needed in the district. Additionally, she will advocate for more gifted and talented programs in our community at all grade levels, so our children have access to the highest quality public education to help them achieve success."

DEFENDING WOMEN'S RIGHTS

"Women across the country continue to face many barriers to achieving their fullest potential. This divisive presidential election season makes facing these challenges all the more urgent, especially for the millions of women of color who risk being pushed even farther to the sidelines under a Trump Administration. That’s why having strong women in local leadership will be key to protecting and strengthening women’s rights in the years ahead. Marjorie is ready to take up this fight. Marjorie will work in the Council to strengthen paid family leave laws, so that women and all workers won’t have to choose between their careers and their families. She will also help ensure women receive equal pay for equal work. For Marjorie, protecting women’s rights also includes ensuring a woman can make her own healthcare choices. The government has no place getting between a woman and her physician. With Marjorie in the Council, that will remain the law of the land."

EXPANDING TRANSIT

"It’s no secret that we live in a transit desert in the East Bronx. While the State spends billions of dollars on the long-delayed 2nd Avenue Subway line for wealthy Manhattan residents, Bronx commuters continue to suffer long commutes, limited transportation options, and poor service. Marjorie will work to put an end to this by increasing capital funding and expanding transit options. The MTA needs to expedite the construction of the new Metro-North stations in Morris Park and Parkchester/Van Nest, so residents don’t have to wait years to benefit from this new service. She will also demand that these projects include Park and Ride facilities to provide access for residents farther from these stations. Marjorie proposes to expand the city’s five-borough ferry plan to include more stops in transit-starved Bronx communities, including at Ferry Point, Throggs Neck, and City Island. Ferry service from the East Bronx could cut commute times by half for many local residents, giving them hours back each week to spend with their families. She will also work with city agencies to improve traffic flow along congested corridors, and ensure safer streets for everyone."

See also

2023 Elections

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Mark Gjonaj (D)	New York City Council District 13 2022-2024	Succeeded by Kristy Marmorato (R)