In one of the strangest moments of the debate, Curtis Sliwa falsely said that Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, a Democrat from Washington Heights who is originally from the Dominican Republic, was not an American citizen.
Mr. Sliwa, the Republican mayoral nominee, was answering a question about whether he supported a City Council bill that would give immigrants who are authorized to work or live in New York the power to vote in municipal elections. He brought up Mr. Rodriguez, the sponsor of the bill and a supporter of Eric Adams, the Democratic mayoral nominee.
“The councilman of Washington Heights,” Mr. Sliwa said, “he has a green card, which means he has been able to bring his family here, he is able to tap into all the benefits available to citizens. The only thing you cannot do with a green card is vote.”
He added, “You have to ask yourself, why after all this time would Rodriguez not want to be a citizen of the United States?”
Mr. Sliwa’s comments prompted immediate backlash from Democrats, including Mr. Rodriguez himself, who became a U.S. citizen in 2000 and has served in the City Council for over a decade.
“This was completely offensive to all immigrant New Yorkers who live in NYC but were born and raised in another country,” Mr. Rodriguez wrote on Twitter. “Curtis should not assume that just because I have a strong accent, Dominican roots, and I’m fighting to restore the right for our immigrant brothers and sisters to vote in municipal elections that I am not a citizen.”
Mr. Rodriguez’s bill could give hundreds of thousands of foreign-born residents in New York City who have green cards and work permits the right to vote in local elections.
Mr. Adams expressed his support for the bill Tuesday night, saying it was important that green card holders “have the right to participate in local elections.”
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
