Carlos Menchaca Announces City Council Re-Election Run

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — City Councilman Carlos Menchaca on Saturday announced his bid for re-election in a restaurant jam-packed with political heavyweights, local leaders and cheering supporters who braved a nor'easter rain storm to make it out to the event.

Menchaca officially kicked off his bid for re-election to represent the city's 38th district, which includes Sunset Park, Red Hook and part of Windsor Terrace. (See a full district map here.)

He was joined by fellow City Councilman Brad Lander and U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez, who is back from Washington during the Congressional recess.

"This is the time for our communities to show up now in big numbers. We have been the victims of a superstorm that has been active for almost 112 days, and it's not going away," Velazquez said.

"We will fight Donald Trump for what he is: a racist, anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-children. We have to send a message back to Washington that we are not going to allow our values to be compromised."

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Menchaca similarly invoked the president to fire up the raucous crowd.

"This is a campaign for the values of our district. This is an incredibly diverse community, and all of those people need to hear your thunder," Menchaca said. "The Trump administration continues to make it difficult for us, but we are ready and fired up."

A native of El Paso, Texas, Menchaca, 36, was first elected to the city council in 2013, when he was the only candidate to oust an incumbent. He is the first Mexican-American elected to the city council and first openly gay councilmember from Brooklyn.

He's gotten support from labor unions who said he fights tirelessly for workers' rights. In 2015, Menchaca and Lander were arrested protesting worker conditions at a car wash.

"This is a campaign about the values that we all believe in in this community, this incredibly diverse community," Menchaca told Patch after the event. "It's about making sure every voice matters. Right now, it's all about local government, and I have a track record, I've really shown the opportunities that we have when we come together.

"For the last three years we've really broken the bones of government and helped people feel like they're connected. And trust between community is key. I'm going to continue to deliver for my community."

Other candidates who have declared in the race Sara Gonzalez, who Menchaca ousted four years ago, along with Delvis Valdes, Javier Nieves and Carmen Hulbert.

Images via Marc Torrence, Patch