Pol Position: A Mess For Ardila in Ridgewood/LIC Assembly Race

In another race in Western Queens, Juan Ardila, an Assembly member representing Ridgewood, Maspeth, Sunnyside and LIC, was accused, a year ago, of inappropriate behavior in an alleged sexual assault at a party six-years earlier. A woman who moved into the district realized that this guy was her Assemblyman and put her concerns on a social media post. Although he told us he was not guilty of the actions he apologized in a statement, which basically sealed opinions that he actually did it. Although non-profits in his district still got Assembly appropriations, the money technically went through Assembly member Jeff Aubrey, as ‘cancel-culture’ reared its ugly head and the Assembly did not want his office to give the money out in his name.  A bogus debate was set up last week, run by two local newspapers, who Ardila says never cleared the date with him. The bogus debate still went on, leaving attendees with two choices; Johanna Carmona, a Cathy Nolan protégé and Claire Valdez, the democratic socialist candidate. Ardila was the progressive choice last time. After a sexual assault accusation, our guess is he’s not considered progressive enough. Ardila was basically radioactive this past year in the district and in Albany and he rarely stuck his head up.