New York City
Five Candidates Face Off for Newly-Open Council Seat in East Bronx’s District 13
Monique Johnson, Irene Estrada, Marjorie Velazquez, John Perez and Marilyn Soto are in the running for the soon-to-be open seat held by Councilmember Mark Gjonaj, who announced in February that he won’t be seeking reelection.
The district 13 candidates that will appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary: Marlyn Soto, Monique Johnson, Marjorie Velazquez, John Perez and Irene Estrada. Courtesy of the candidates’ campaigns
In February, Councilmember Mark Gjonaj announced that he won’t be seeking reelection this year for his Council seat in district 13, which stretches across the east Bronx from Ferry Point and Throgs Neck in the south to Pelham Bay Park and Orchard Beach in the north, encompassing neighborhoods like Morris Park, Schuylerville and seaside City Island.
Gjonaj, who worked in real estate before being elected to the State Assembly in 2012, was the first Albanian-American to join the City Council when he won that office in 2017. He told City & State earlier this year that he decided not to run for reelection because New York City’s increasingly progressive political scene was “not favorable” to his more moderate views. “I have [to] re-evaluate my ability to continue delivering tangible progress for the people I serve,” he told the outlet at the time. “The current political climate is not favorable to a centrist ideology that my constituency, community and I embrace.”
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