The freshman lawmaker from the Bronx says he’s his own man, even when it comes to supporters who helped him defeat the embattled Pedro Espada, once the highest ranking Hispanic in New York State government.
Francisco Moya routed Hiram Monserrate in the Democratic primary for a Queens seat in the New York State Assembly, and in the Bronx Gustavo Rivera ousted Pedro Espada the State Senate Majority Leader.
It may be one of the most closely watched races in Tuesday’s New York Primary, but voters in the northwest Bronx seem largely uninterested in the contest between the powerful state Senator Pedro Espada Jr. and his challenger Gustavo Rivera.
New York’s biggest Spanish language paper is hoping for fresh blood in the New York State legislature.
In this year of political firsts, Malcolm Smith has secured his chance to become the first-ever African American politician to preside over the New York State Senate (he’s also the first Democrat in four decades).
But for this Smith had to earn the support of two Latino senators from The Bronx who seem to have strong-armed fellow Democrats into granting one of them, Pedro Espada Jr., the position of majority leader, before they would support Smith. (This is an unprecedented split, since tradition holds that the Senate president also serves as majority leader.)
The New York Times, which reported on the new power distribution, said the deal makes Espada, who has just returned to the State Senate, “arguably the most influential Hispanic elected official in New York.”
“It’s a moment of great pride for our community,” Espada told El Diario/La Prensa newspaper. “It’s the first time in this state that we celebrate a power sharing agreement. Smith will occupy the first position and I, the second, in legislative and state affairs.”