State Senator Jessica Ramos recently slammed Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez for being ‘absent’ in the district.
The debacle started on Monday after a British medical student tweeted that AOC’s staff dismissed NHS experts, telling them that “they were doing healthcare right now.” AOC tried to address the issue saying that it was antithetical to her values. (A representative for AOC told The New York Post that they werent able to identify the meeting referenced in the tweet.)
“Maybe if you spent more time in your office and with your team you’d know what goes on,” Ramos, the left-leaning local politician who represents overlapping Queens neighborhoods tweeted.
“She’s barely ever present in the community. It’s an indisputable fact,” Ramos, who shares an office building with the congresswoman added in a follow-up tweet.
DSA-affiliated pols like Brooklyn State Senator Julia Salazar, Brooklyn State Senator Jabari Brisport, and Queens Assemblyman Zohran Kwame Mamdani came to AOC’s defense on Monday night.
“Respectfully… I don’t think New York State Senators, who are only expected to be in Albany for like 70 days/year (or less), can expect a member of congress (who also rep districts like 3X larger than our districts) to be in one neighborhood in their district as often as we are,” Salazar tweeted.
“Respectfully, she ran on breathing our air,” Ramos replied. In AOC’s original 2018 campaign, she released an ad stating that someone who “doesn’t drink our water or breathe our air cannot possibly represent us,” critiquing the then-long-time incumbent as out of touch with the district.
Ramos added that she has gotten better facetime and support from local officials like Congresswoman Grace Meng than she has out of her Astoria counterpart.
Brooklyn State Senator Jabari Brisport hit back against Senator Ramos, tweeting a photo of Ramos and AOC from March, with Ramos’ own words: “I have not spoken to my congressperson in months. Maybe more than a year?”
Ramos called Brisport’s tweet disingenuous, as it was an event and not the same as a conversation or meeting.
