Jackson Heights Activist To Challenge DenDekker For NY Assembly

JACKSON HEIGHTS, QUEENS — Jackson Heights resident Nuala O'Doherty will launch a bid Tuesday to unseat New York Assemblyman Michael DenDekker in next year's primary election.

A 17-year Jackson Heights resident, O'Doherty leads the non-profit Jackson Heights Beautification Group and serves on the community education council for District 30, the school district that encompasses much of western Queens.

O'Doherty said she experienced a sort of political awakening last year as a campaign volunteer for what she called the "trifecta" — U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, State Sen. Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Catalina Cruz.

Then the neck-and-neck primary race between Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and public defender Tiffany Cabán for district attorney drew her attention to laws she thought needed to change.

(Keep up with news in Jackson Heights by subscribing to Jackson Heights-Elmhurst Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

"There's only so much as an activist that you can do," O'Doherty said in an interview.

O'Doherty joins a growing list of insurgent candidates launching primary challenges against elected officials seen as part of the so-called Queens Democratic party machine — including the party boss himself, U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks.

"For 10 years, no one has known who this man is," O'Doherty said of DenDekker, who represents Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst and Woodside. "He's never around."

DenDekker could not be reached for comment Friday. But in an interview with POLITICO about rumors he might face a primary challenger, DenDekker rejected the characterization of him as part of the Queens machine.

"It's funny people call me the establishment — I don't know how you got that," he told the news outlet earlier this month.

DenDekker ran unopposed in 2016 and 2018 for his seat.

O'Doherty, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney's office for over two decades, will campaign on a platform prioritizing education, criminal justice reform and health care.

If elected, she said she'll fight for Queens schools to get the full funding they're owed by the state under a landmark court ruling, fight to repeal mandatory sentencing laws for persistent violent felony offenders and make health care more affordable for middle class families.

O'Doherty said she once thought, "Nothing happens in Albany, who cares."

"But the reality is, with the right people up in Albany fighting, we can actually make change," she added.