New York City Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr., who truly is a Democrat in name only, now says he's considering a bid for New York's open 15th Congressional District to (and you'll like this) represent "conservative Democrats ... a kind of population that's not too much to the left." That's Diaz for you: In February, he was stripped of his committee chairmanship after declaring the council was "controlled by the homosexual community" in a radio interview but has ignored widespread demands that he resign.
Diaz has an entire career's worth of comments like this. As Ross Barkan recently recounted for Gothamist, Diaz "once equated being gay to 'having sex with animals' and attacked the 1994 Gay Games in New York because he said the participants were 'likely infected with AIDS.'" It's not just words with him, though, it's deeds, too: He once sued to block the expansion of a public school serving at-risk gay teens, and in 2016, he even campaigned in the Bronx with Ted Cruz (a total of a dozen people showed up).
But while Diaz is unusually nettlesome, he's not entirely the outlier you might think. Barkan observes that there's a "typical pattern" with the councilman: "he says something inflammatory, politicians grumble and move on." That's because, Barkan notes, "Social conservatism has never been a disqualifier for politicians who want to rise to power in the Bronx" before rattling off a long list of local politicos with a history of hostility to gay rights. Much like Trump, Diaz stands apart because of the volume of his invective rather than the content of his opinions.
Some of those in this bucket have, fortunately, evolved in the right direction, including Diaz’s own son, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., who once opposed same-sex marriage but has since become a supporter. He’s publicly said his father should apologize but hasn’t called on him to resign. (Barkan says the two men, who share the same name but not the same politics, are “close.”)
But should a crowded Democratic primary field emerge, it's by no means impossible to imagine Diaz winning: In 2017, after a 15-year sojourn in Albany as a state senator, Diaz returned to the city council by comfortably winning a five-way primary with 42% of the vote, more than 20 points ahead of his nearest rival. The cowboy hat-wearing Diaz is a big talker, though, and at 75 years old, he may not actually have much interest in a congressional campaign, especially since he reportedly gave up on the state legislature because he hated the commute. But progressives need to stay alert, particularly since this is the bluest district in the country when judging by presidential results.
Indeed, a number of other contenders are already gathering. Assemblyman Michael Blake, who'd previously been mentioned as a possible candidate, has now confirmed to Gothamist's Brigid Bergin that he's considering a bid. So has Amanda Septimo, who used to be the district director for retiring Rep. José Serrano and lost a primary challenge to Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo by a 63-37 margin last year. Bergin also flags City Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson and activist Samelys Lopez as potential entrants.
