In less than a year, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) went from being an obscure bartender to an internationally known political celebrity.
While she soaks up media attention and stumps for the Green New Deal, though, some of AOC’s constituents complain she’s forgotten them, according to reports from the New York Post and Washington Times.
AOC drives headlines like few politicians, but her preoccupation with national politics is being felt back home. “Her district is everywhere else in the U.S. Her heart is not in the Bronx,” a constituent said.
Constituents feel neglected
Ocasio-Cortez shot to instant fame when she unseated long-time former Rep. Joe Crowley (D) in June. Since then, her notoriety has only grown as she has become a fixture in media and one of the most well-known, ubiquitous figures in politics. She has more name recognition than most of her colleagues, and 2020 Democratic candidates covet her endorsement.
Before she was a big shot, Ocasio-Cortez was elected to serve the constituents of New York’s 14th congressional district. Did AOC forget all the people she left behind? Some of her constituents say yes.
Roxane Delgado said she has tried unsuccessfully for “months” to get in touch with AOC about an animal shelter and cleaning up parks in the district. Delgado told the Post that she has “made numerous calls to Ocasio-Cortez’s offices in Washington and Queens and sent a barrage of tweets after the freshman lawmaker encouraged residents during a recent visit to a Bronx public library to hit her up on social media.”
“I thought AOC would be our savior, but that’s not the case,” Roxanne Delgado told the Post.
Another constituent, Anthony Vitaliano, has been trying to contact AOC’s office about cleaning up graffiti on an Amtrak property and a mail delivery problem. Vitaliano said that Crowley was more responsive to constituents’ issues. Vitaliano said he “appreciate[s] what she’s doing, but she has to represent us.”
“She has to address these local issues. Her district is everywhere else in the US. Her heart is not in The Bronx,” he said.
“Tommy cared about us,” he said, referring to Thomas Messina, Crowley’s Bronx district representative.
Country souring on AOC?
AOC rose to renown with a radical left-wing platform which she describes as challenging powerful interests, but the congresswoman has since attracted scrutiny for moving into a luxury apartment complex in Washington, D.C., as well as campaign finance complaints and questions about her office salary cap.
“I see her on TV a lot but not in the neighborhood,” waitress Barbara Nosel told the Washington Times. “You are supposed to come to the people without the media. You are one of us. You worked in a bar. You are not a princess.”
AOC has attracted plenty of criticism for her Trump-like flair and cavalier attitude toward facts, and some of her constituents seem to agree with these points. While some constituents said they will give her a chance to prove herself, others were skeptical of her socialist policies and the brash manner with which she advocates for them. Democrat Manuel Fabian said AOC is inexperienced and her agenda lacks “substance,” while Iris Acosta advised her to slow down.
“I admire her oomph. She’s Puerto Rican. She’s fighting for Middle America,” Acosta said. “I just don’t like her being too fast, in your face. Go a little slower, and you could do a lot.”
Her constituents aren’t the only ones to be disappointed. A recent Gallup poll found that, as AOC has become a household name, her national approval ratings have gone down. More Americans now view the congresswoman unfavorably than favorably.
Another poll found that her constituents actually wanted Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to build the now-scrapped headquarters in Queens. Critics including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) have faulted AOC’s loud criticism of the project for driving Amazon away.
AOC went to Washington — but have her constituents become an afterthought?
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