New York Assemblywoman Inez Dickens is up in arms after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) endorsed several far-left candidates running for the New York State Assembly.
According to The New York Post, Dickens, who is running for re-election, said that AOC is out of step with what Harlem residents need.
The incumbent said, “AOC supports defunding the police. My community opposes defunding the police, and any “defund the police” plan will be thrown out.”
According to Yahoo, AOC has endorsed nine progressive candidates selected by New York’s Working Families Party, an organization dedicated to “social, racial, and economic justice. Each candidate aims to unseat moderate Democratic incumbents and reform the Assembly.
Ocasio-Cortez said she believes New York should “be a place where everyone can live with dignity.”
“We can’t wait for guaranteed healthcare. We can’t wait for affordable housing. We can’t wait for climate justice. That’s why I’m proud to endorse and support the ‘We Can’t Wait’ Assembly candidates,” she said.
“Defund the police” is a slogan that was first chanted during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 as a solution to police brutality following the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, CNN reported.
According to CBS News, many that have pushed to “defund the police” have done so in hopes that financial resources would be reallocated from police departments to local organizations to better serve Black communities.