Ardila challengers split incumbent’s former supporters as election nears
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Once endorsers of Assemblymember Juan Ardila, several Queens elected officials and political groups have backed his two opponents, Johnanna Carmona and Claire Valdez. Photos via campaigns/Juan Ardila’s X
By Ryan Schwach
In 2022, then-Assembly candidate Juan Ardila was an up-and-coming young progressive with a City Council bid under his belt and a real shot of joining a slew of other young progressive lawmakers representing Queens in Albany.
His campaign picked up a number of high profile endorsements from the borough’s progressive wing, as well as from a few members of the Democratic establishment.
But after sexual assault allegations levied against him months after he took office in 2023 left him as persona non grata in both Albany and within his Western Queens district, his former backers pulled their support, throwing it now instead into multiple efforts to unseat the freshman lawmaker.
But the coalition Ardila previously built and rode to victory hasn’t lined up behind only one of Ardila’s two Democratic challengers for his seat; they've split.
Ahead of the June 25 Democratic primary election for Assembly District 37, elected officials, political groups and unions who once endorsed, supported and funded Ardila are now divided between Claire Valdez and Johanna Carmona, the two candidates vying to replace Ardila, who himself has received no major endorsements and significantly less funding than he did just two years ago.
During his first bid for the Assembly in 2022 against Carmona, and candidates Brent O’Leary and Jim Magee, Ardila’s endorsements catapulted him to 43 percent of the vote and an election victory. His coalition of supporters was rather broad, and included the Working Families Party and major municipal union DC37.
His supporters came from both sides of the local Democratic bloc, but they are now split firmly down that line as progressive groups back the Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed Valdez, while more centerest and moderate Democrats back Carmona, who has received the endorsement of the Queens County Democratic Party, just as she did in 2022.
More progressive, left-wing Adrila endorsers in 2022 included Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Councilmembers Tiffany Cabán and Jennifer Guiterrez, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, WFP and Make the Road New York.
All of those electeds and groups have since endorsed Valdez. They’re joined by DSA’s other Queens electeds including Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and Senator Kristen Gonzalez.
Valdez has also been endorsed by State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, Planned Parenthood and City Council Progressive Caucus members like Sandy Nurse and Shahana Hanif.
Other 2022 Ardila endorsers included Borough President Donovan Richards and the large DC37 and AFL-CIO unions.
All three of them now back Carmona, who is also supported by the teacher’s union, the Stonewall Democrats and State Senator John Liu.
Other Carmona endorsers include Assemblymember Andew Hevesi and Ardila’s predecessor Cathy Nolan, both of whom backed her in 2022 when she placed third with just under 20 percent of the vote.
For the most part, Carmona and Valdez have split the endorsements of essentially every major elected and endorsing group in Queens, leaving Ardila in the lurch – notably, several electeds who supported Ardila in 2022, including Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, have yet to publicly back a candidate in the race for the seat this year.
“The politics in this race are very clear cut,” said Democratic strategist Trip Yang. “Valdez clearly has the left, but Carmona has a stronger share of the institutional Queens County Democrats aligned with Democratic Party.”
Although endorsements may seem somewhat mundane, and maybe not fully realized by the general voting public, they come with financial backing and support that could extend past the election. They also help get a relatively unknown candidate’s name out there.
“Endorsements matter in local primaries because they are an important validator that can enhance and endorse candidates’ favorables in a particular race,” said Yang. “Oftentimes, an endorsement from an established, well-liked elected official, or a labor union or an advocacy organization that has a lot of members in a district can make some difference.”
Both Carmona, a Queens lawyer, and Valdez, a union organizer, have touted their endorsements and, in the final weeks of the campaign, both say that their coalitions will help send them to Albany.
“We've had some really great endorsements,” said Valdez in an interview with the Eagle last week. “So, I'm feeling like we're in a really strong position.”
But beyond the endorsements from large unions or elected officials, Valdez has pointed to her “grassroots campaign” as the real driver of any success she may or may not see at the polls.
“The strategy has been door knocking,” she said. “It's been about getting as many volunteers as possible who believe in this campaign and believe in our vision of Queens.”
But while Valdez boasted about the support of everyday Western Queens residents, she also celebrated her coalition of endorsements.
“We're really fortunate to be endorsed by organizations and other electeds who have the same vision for Queens that we do,” she said. “The coalition really reflects, I think, primarily progressive organizations, a few unions and, thankfully, overlapping elected officials.”
Carmona, who said she has learned lessons from her first shot at the seat two years ago, has similar faith in her coalition.
“I think it's wonderful and I think it's reflective of the district,” she said. “I think that people from the community really are seeing that [the campaign] is getting people engaged. I'm trying to make sure people's voices are being heard.”
“It's been so exciting to see and people are really rallying behind me from all different backgrounds,” she added.
Endorsements, as Yang said, are good for building recognition and showing the candidates bona fides as potential elected officials, but the other thing endorsers bring? Cash.
In that regard, Valdez’s supporters have come through more so than they have for Carmona.
According to the most recent campaign finance filings, Valdez reported $204,000 in total contributions. In the same filing, Carmona reported $68,000 in contributions.
While both campaigns have boasted small contributions from locals, both have seen their endorsers add in doses of cash.
UAW, the union Valdez works for, gave her $3,000 and Mamdani’s committee gave her $1,000 January. Both endorsed her campaign.
Carmona recently received $3,000 from the Hotel and Trades Commission and the IBEW union – both of whom endorsed her. She’s also received contributions of over $1,000 from Friends of Gregory Meeks, a committee supporting the leader of the Queens County Democratic Party, and from law firm Sweeney Reich & Bolz, the Queens County Democratic Party’s attorneys.
She has also received large sums of money from a number of venture capital owners like Amanada Elian, Josh Resnick and investor Joel Greenblatt, a major Democratic donor who gave $35,000 in political donations so far this year and gave $50,000 to Governor Kathy Hochul’s last campaign.
Valdez has criticized a number of Carmona’s contributions, alleging some of her biggest donors represent real estate and financial interests.
With virtually no endorsements, Ardila has lagged behind his two opponents when it comes to fundraising in a major way. He most recently brought in $4,000 and has around $17,000 left on hand for the campaign.
Most of the contributions he’s received for the race have been small, with the exception of a contribution from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30 political PAC, which gave Ardila $3,000 in March, one year after the sexual assault allegations against him were first made public.
The IUOE has not formally or publically endorsed Ardila, and has also given money this election cycle to Westbury State Senate candidate Siela Bynoe, Long Island Republican State Senator Mario Mattera, Orangetown town clerk Rosanna Sfraga and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
With just a little over two weeks before the primary, all three candidates are looking for final pushes, endorsements and funding that will help them get over the hill.
However, while money, endorsements and ideologies separate Valdez, Carmona and Ardila, Yang sees it as just a two candidate race.
“This is your classic progressive versus institutional Democratic fight,” he said. “And the third wheel here is Juan Ardila, who almost everybody has really given the cold shoulder to.”
AD37 Democratic voters cast their ballots on June 25. Early voting starts June 15.
Ardila did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
