Ardila announces bid for Nolan’s Assembly seat
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Juan Ardila, a former City Council candidate, announced his campaign to replace Cathy Nolan in the State Assembly Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. Photo courtesy of Ardila
By Jacob Kaye
A young progressive who ran for City Council last year announced his bid to replace Cathy Nolan in the State Assembly Thursday.
Juan Ardila, who challenged Robert Holden in City Council District 30 in 2021, launched his campaign for State Assembly District 37 this week. The district has been represented for nearly four decades by Nolan, who announced her intention to retire at the end of the year last week.
“Growing up in an immigrant family, I have experienced how important it is to have representation that understands how government can impact our lives,” Ardila said. “In Albany, I will be a champion for our seniors, our workers, and our tenants. I am excited to fight for a better future for all New Yorkers.”
Ardila isn’t the first to announce a campaign for the seat but it is currently the only person running – Huge Ma, the creator of TurboVax, and Mary Jobaida, who ran for the seat in 2020, both announced challenges to Nolan but dropped out of the race prior to her retirement announcement.
Ardila, a staffer at The Legal Aid Society, said his legislative priorities for the district that covers parts of Long Island City, Maspeth, Ridgewood and Sunnyside include affordable housing, improved public transit and the climate crisis.
In 2021, Ardila unsuccessfully challenged Holden in the Democratic primary race for City Council District 30, covering parts of Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Woodhaven and Woodside. In the two person race, he received 45 percent of the vote to Holden’s nearly 55 percent – the approximately 10 percentage point difference accounted for a little less than 1,000 votes.
Ardila has already received a number of endorsements from a number of elected officials and local leaders.
State Senator Jessica Ramos, Assemblymember Catalina Cruz and City Councilmember Jennifer Gutierrez announced their support of Ardila’s campaign Thursday, as did Theo Oshiro, the co-executive director of Make the Road Action.
“I know [Ardila] will be a strong voice for a fair and just post-pandemic recovery,” Ramos said in a statement. “Juan draws on his experience in providing legal representation for all New Yorkers and will bring his unwavering dedication to listen to working families and to organize his community around key priorities such as housing infrastructure, increased access to public transportation and a more inclusive public education system.”
State Senator Jessica Ramos endorsed Juan Ardila in his run for State Assembly on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. Photo courtesy of Ramos
Ardila is a lifelong Queens resident. He previously worked as a staffer for then-City Councilmember Brad Lander, who now serves as the city’s comptroller. Following his gig in the City Council, Ardila worked at the International Rescue Committee, a nonprofit that aims to aid people affected by humanitarian crises.
Nolan, who began her career in the Assembly in 1985, told Newsday last week that she wouldn’t seek reelection this year. The longtime lawmaker was diagnosed with cancer a year ago, though she chalked up her retirement to her wish to see someone else represent the district.
Émilia Decaudin, a Queens district leader and Democratic Socialists of America member, considered a run for the seat in the days following Nolan’s announcement but ultimately decided to instead organize the progressive vote in the Western Queens area around Ardila and Kristen Gonzalez, a DSA member running in the overlapping State Senate District 17.
Elizabeth Crowley, a former City Councilmember in District 30 and two-time candidate for Queens borough president, filed paperwork to run for the State Senate seat earlier this week, the Queens Post reported.
The new district, which covers parts of Glendale, Greenpoint, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Maspeth, Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Ridgewood, Woodhaven and Woodside, was created as part of the redistricting maps signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul earlier this month.
It’s certainly possible that a progressive slate takes the two districts this year, according to political analyst Hank Sheinkopf.
“We can't count them out,” Sheinkopf said. “But it’s likely that the election cycle will be one of either we elect very progressive people or we elect anti-crime people who will be more on the side of the Democratic Party.”
Western Queens, as a whole, has become a successful place for progressive and DSA-backed elected officials. The area north of the two districts is home to districts represented by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Assemblymembers Zohran Mamdani, Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas and Cruz, State Senators Michael Gianaris and Ramos and City Councilmember Tiffany Cabán.
