Meet the Candidate: Amanda Farías for CD18

By Eden Gordon

Born and raised in Soundview, Amanda Farias is a seasoned community organizer and a beloved community member who is running to represent the Bronx’s 18th district on the New York City Council.

Farias has long been committed to serving her community and sparking real change, and she is also intimately familiar with the struggles and triumphs of her future constituents. A second-generation Afro-Latina of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent, Farias was raised by a single mother and still lives close by where she grew up.

“There are so many communities that don’t have people, representatives, that come from the same background and same neighborhoods,” she told City and State. “I feel there’s a disconnect when you have incumbents, officials, even if they’re doing great work, that don’t understand the struggles of the people, that aren’t late to work every day because of the MTA.”

From early in her life, Farias has been fighting for her community. After graduating from St. John’s University with a degree in political science, she began her political career rallying Black and Latinx communities for President Obama’s reelection campaign. Farias is also deeply knowledgeable about the nuances of the New York City Council, having spent five years working as a director of special projects and managing its women’s caucus. Throughout her career, she has fought long and hard for representation for women and women of color in politics. She was the New York State Coordinator for New American Leaders and the Co-Founder and Former President of Women of Color for Progress.

Her political experience highlighted the disconnect between New York’s representatives and its people and inspired her to take on a larger role as a community activist. She ran for City Council in 2018, coming close to beating Rubén Díaz Sr., whose homophobic remarks inspired her to pose a tremendous challenge to the incumbent councilmember.

When elected, she plans on centering her community in every one of her actions on City Council. She will prioritize criminal justice reform, affordable housing, immigrants’ rights and much more. In the end, her purpose always comes back to her people. “When I decided to run, I decided to run for my community,” she said. “I decided to run on me being born and raised there, my family, our whole lives and not seeing dramatic changes and seeing people being pushed out or priced out and no resources being there.”

A fierce progressive, Amanda accepts no corporate PAC money or money from the fossil fuel industry and will be a fierce advocate for a Green New Deal. Her climate justice-focused plans include a focus on waterfront resiliency, equitable transit, retrofitted buildings, expansion of green spaces, and unionized green jobs. Her historic campaign promises to usher in a new era for her district. Learn more at amandafarias.nyc