Ardila remains in office but faces uphill battle to re-election one year after sexual misconduct allegations were made against him

Assemblymember Juan Ardila is running for re-election a year after resignation calls came in after he was accused of sexual assault by two women. Assemblymember Juan Ardila/Twitter

By Ryan Schwach and Jacob Kaye

Despite a rash of calls for his resignation in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations made against him a year ago this week, freshman Queens Assemblymember Juan Ardila has remained in office – and is hoping to continue to do so for at least another two years.

But over the past year, constituents and government colleagues from his local community board to the governor’s office have called for Ardila to resign, he had his control over his office’s discretionary funding revoked and he’s generally seen his status in Albany diminish, sources say. Nonetheless, Ardila has mostly ignored those demanding he step down, and has kept a relatively low profile during his first full year as a public official.

The strategy has allowed him to stay in office – but he now faces an uphill battle to re-election with two challengers, both of whom are racking up campaign cash and endorsements, running against him, as well as the cloud left by the pair of sexual misconduct allegations against him lingering in the background.

In the past year, four candidates – all of whom are women – have explored bids to unseat Ardila in the 37th Assembly District. After two dropped out, two remain. Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidate Claire Valdez leads the fundraising race and attorney Johanna Carmona has received support from the Queens County Democratic Party.

Both Carmona and Valdez have raised more money than Ardila. And both have touted support from local and citywide elected officials, unions and organizations, while Ardila, who enjoyed endorsements from a number of progressive electeds during his first campaign for Assembly in 2022, has yet to announce a major endorsement of his 2024 campaign.

Valdez launched her campaign back in August, highlighting Ardila’s scandal-laden year in her campaign announcement.

“I’m running to represent Assembly District 37 because our community deserves an experienced representative who isn't too busy dealing with personal scandals to get to work,” Valdez said while announcing her run.

Financially, Ardila has struggled to raise funds for his re-election campaign. As of Tuesday, his campaign filed $8,910 in total contributions and has around $11,500 in the bank.

By contrast, Carmona, who lost to Ardila in the Democratic primary for the seat in 2022, has $25,812 in the bank, and Valdez, a first-time candidate, has $62,303 remaining after raising $73,374 in total contributions.

Valdez and Carmona’s entrance into the fray was prompted by the sexual assault allegations levied by two women in March of last year.

One of the two women, whose identity is known to the Eagle but whose name is being withheld from publication, alleged that while she was intoxicated at a 2015 party, Ardila made several non-consensual advances on her and attempted to pull her into a bathroom before a friend of hers intervened.

The first victim also shared a communication from a second victim who claimed that Ardila pulled her into the bathroom and forcibly kissed her and removed his pants.

Shortly after the allegations were first reported by the Queens Chronicle and the Eagle, Ardila apologized for his actions.

“I fully take responsibility for my actions and I am committed to a process of accountability,” he said. “I want the public to know that I am deeply apologetic for my past behavior and acknowledge that my actions have caused harm. I recognize that this harm was not only to the individuals who came forward, but extends beyond these victims, and impacts survivors everywhere.”

Within three days of the allegations, Ardila faced a slew of calls for his resignation, including from from State Senator and Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, State Senators Kristen Gonzalez and Julia Salazar, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, City Councilmembers Julie Won and Tiffany Cabán, his former employer Comptroller Brad Lander and Governor Kathy Hochul, among others.

Ardila then went mostly quiet about the allegations and refused to step down. However, in June, Ardila released a self-funded report defending his actions and denying the allegations.

The 34-page report, produced by lawyers Ardila hired, laid out Ardila’s own version of the events that transpired at the 2015 party, saying that the interactions with two women were consensual in nature, that the attacks against him were levied by political rivals and that his initial statements, which included apologies for his behavior, were the result of bad advice.

Despite the report, Ardila still lost his control over his office’s discretionary funds, he was mostly removed from budget talks and received a vote of no confidence from his local community board.

At the time, sources told the Eagle that constituents and colleagues had lost faith in Ardila, and had begun questioning his ability to do his job.

“His colleagues don't respect him,” Won, who’s district overlaps with Ardila’s, said in April. “He's going to be a one-term member. He's not able to get anything done.”

For the most part, that’s been true.

Since the allegations came out, Ardila has proposed nine pieces of legislation in the State Assembly. Among them was a bill to establish a "New York seawall study commission", one that would establish a tax on carbon-based fuels and several housing-related bills. However, none of the bills, even ones proposed as little as 10 days after the allegations broke, have gotten out of committee – and none of them have had any co-sponsors.

Three of the bills have equivalent legislations in the State Senate, but the Senate equivalences were proposed before the allegations surfaced.

Like an open seat

With just over three months until the primary and with ballot petitioning well underway, Ardila has received little public support for his re-election campaign.

Valdez has already garnered endorsements from the progressive sect of Queens politics, including from Mamdani, Gonzalez, Cabán and the Working Families Party – notably, the WFP was a key backer in Ardila’s successful 2022 campaign.

Carmona, who ran against Ardila in that 2022 campaign with the blessing of the Queens Democratic Party, has gained the support of officials including Ardila’s predecessor Catherine Nolan, Assemblymember David Weprin, Senator John Liu and Representative Gregory Meeks.

Valdez’s campaign did not respond to requests for comments on Tuesday.

Carmona said although Ardila wasn’t the main reason she chose to run for a second time, the allegations made against him have had a lasting impact on the district.

“His inability to maneuver in Albany has left the district bereft of funding that had to be secured from other members,” she said. “As someone who grew up here and had to depend on those community organizations when my family fell on hard times, I find that unacceptable. He hasn’t gotten into the fight in the legislature around the kind of bold legislation we need.”

“The truth is that when I am out in the district, people don’t talk about him like he’s an active representative,” she added. “He’s just there, off to the side of the pictures, hoping for a chance to speak.”

Democratic campaign strategist Trip Yang believes that Ardila is in a rare spot for an incumbent to be – the third-place candidate.

“Most organizations and political leaders are treating this as an open seat despite the fact that Ardila plans to be on the ballot and run for re-election,” Yang said.

With Valdez and Carmona both receiving major institutional support, all that’s left for Ardila to do is to play spoiler, Yang said.

“He’s a wildcard here,” Yang said.

Ardila did not respond to numerous requests for comment for this story.