In a crowded race seeking to replace Congressman José Serrano, candidates made their pitches on why they’re the best candidate to succeed Serrano at a Tuesday night forum in the South Bronx. The forum, organized by the Bronx’s LGBT Center Destination Tomorrow, presented the candidates with three different questions of special concern to their community in addition to opening and closing remarks.

At a forum largely focusing on the LGBTQ community, Councilman Ritchie Torres, who’s garnered the most donations than any other candidate, reminded the audience of his journey in becoming the first openly gay elected official from the Bronx. In a political climate that is seeking change from the status quo, Torres described his path to city government as firmly rooted in a grassroots philosophy.  “When I first ran for the City Council, I was 24 years old, openly LGBT, which was a frightening experience; had no ties to the Bronx county organizations, no ties to a political dynasty. But I won my first campaign on the strength of door-to-door campaigning,” Torres said. Torres had worked for Councilman Jimmy Vacca before entering public life, which helped propel him to the current seat he holds.

Other candidates joining Torres with experience as an elected official included former Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Manhattan Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, and Assemblyman Michael Blake. Councilman Ruben Diaz, Sr., who identifies as the only social conservative Democrat in the race, was invited to the forum but did not attend.

The other six candidates in attendance have not served in an elected capacity but emphasized their experience as community activists and organizers, putting in focus on political independence. Frangell Basora, turns 28 in a few weeks and worked as an intern in Serrano’s office; and Samelys Lopez, a former Community Board 7 member, worked on Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign in 2018.

“I’m a daughter of this community.  I grew up in the South Bronx,” Lopez said, who up until recently was living in Bedford Park before moving back to the South Bronx.  “We need people that are able to listen. That are able to lead with love and compassion and center that empathy.”

Lopez also hopes to reframe how the 15th Congressional District is viewed. Instead of the usual description as the nation’s poorest district, she proposes a new identity.  “I think that this district is the embodiment of the American dream because this is a resilient community,” said Lopez.

Other candidates on hand included community activists Tomas Ramos and Chivona Newsome, and retired police officer David Philip Franks Jr.

Jonathan Ortiz, a financial counselor with Phipps Neighborhood Financial Empowerment Center, describes himself as a coalition-builder that can build bridges between the LGBT community and the general population. He told the audience that the current crop of Washington, D.C. politicians has failed them when it comes to affordable housing, eliminating student loan debt, and producing good-paying jobs.  “We do not need career politicians.  I believe in term limits,” Ortiz said.  “They had their turn, and nothing has changed.”

Like Lopez, Ortiz also wants to reframe how people see the Bronx.  “I want to make it so that ‘making it’ doesn’t mean you have to leave the Bronx,” Ortiz added.

As a founding member of Black Lives Matter Greater New York, Bronx-born Chivona Newsome touts her experience in fighting for social justice and economic opportunities.  She sees no solution in electing the same politicians to office.  “The politicians that we have elected they have left us out to dry,” Newsome said.

Blake is serving his third term in Albany and tried to disassociate himself from the criticism that politicians are not doing anything. “It matters who we send to Washington,” said Blake, who doubles as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Unlike most general elections, where a Republican and a Democrat eventually compete against each other, a primary victory in June is considered a guaranteed win in November because the district is heavily Democratic. Serrano won his last election in 2018, securing 96 percent of the vote.

Although it was difficult to distinguish the campaign workers in the audience from the local attendees, there was an enthusiastic reaction to the forum by many. The event emphasized how the problems traditionally associated with the South Bronx—poverty, poor health outcomes, domestic violence—is experienced more intensely by the LGBTQ community.

For some, the forum was a hopeful sign that marginalized communities will be heard from, especially during the 2020 election cycle.

Sayief Leshaw, 25, lives in Morrisania and was encouraged by what he heard at the event.  “Growing up in the Bronx I was in the closet,” Leshaw said.  “It’s great to see candidates paying attention to LGBTQ issues in a way that I think has long gone unseen.”

The candidates’ attendance came a day after Marlene Cintron, president of the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, withdrew from the race citing her current work as a prime motivator toward improving the Bronx.

“As a resident of this [congressional district], I assure you that I will provide a voice and a vote for its residents as they look to choose a new representative. It has to be someone who will insist on additional economic, social justice, and reproductive rights for the residents of the poorest congressional district in the nation,” Cintron wrote on Facebook.