Brian Romero, the current chief of staff for state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, has announced that he will run in Assembly District 34 next year as he bids to succeed the incumbent Assembly Member Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, who is running for the state Senate in 2026.
Romero, a Democratic Socialist who previously served as González-Rojas’s chief of staff before joining Gonzalez in the state Senate, touted his close ties to the district and his experience working in the state legislature over the past five years as reasons for running for the vacant seat next year.
He said it felt like an “appropriate time” to seek election after González-Rojas announced earlier in the year that she would run against State Sen. Jessica Ramos in Senate District 13.
“I’m proud to be throwing my hat in the ring, and I feel that I have the experience and the ties to the district,” Romero told QNS.
Romero was born in the East Elmhurst in Assembly District 34 before moving to nearby Assembly District 36. He later moved back to his home district, which boasts a significant Latino population.
Romero said he has witnessed firsthand the “major issues” facing the district through his work as a social worker and his time in the state legislature and believes that the Democratic Party is not currently prioritizing affordability for all New Yorkers.
If elected, his “No. 1 priority” is to help pass a package of revenue-raising legislation – what he calls a “tax the rich package of bills” – that would raise New York’s corporate rate to match that of New Jersey’s as well as introducing a new city income tax for the wealthiest 1% of New York residents.
Revenue raised from the legislation would help keep working-class New Yorkers in New York state, Romero said, as well as mitigating against federal funding cuts implemented by the Trump Administration.
Cuts introduced by President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” could have an overall fiscal impact of $13 billion per year on New York State, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office. Hochul forecasted that cuts could see over 1.5 million people lose their healthcare coverage and jeopardize more than three million SNAP beneficiaries in New York State.
Romero believes revenue-raising legislation is crucial to combat the impact of federal cuts and further believes that such legislation would allow the state legislature to increase current SNAP benefits.
Romero is also a strong advocate for the New York for All Act, which would prevent state and local law enforcement from enforcing federal immigration law or sharing sensitive information with federal immigration authorities.
He accused the federal government of “not just detaining undocumented neighbors” but also going after everyday civilians, pointing to the arrests of elected officials at Manhattan’s Federal Plaza Immigration Court as well as attacks on journalists at the same location. Dean Moses of amNewYork, QNS’ sister publication, was assaulted by ICE agents at the location last month.
“This is super, deeply concerning,” Romero said. “We have to pass New York for All to protect, of course, our undocumented neighbors and to fight against the deportation machine, but in general, to protect all New Yorkers from what is a fascist takeover and overreach from the federal government.”
He further believes that all public servants should be “doing their work in the light of day” and touted the importance of the MELT Act, which would ban federal immigration officials from wearing masks or hiding their identification.
“It should be transparent, and we should know who is doing what functions of our government. ICE agents are no different,” Romero said.
Romero also supports more controversial legislation that would decriminalize sex work in New York State. Romero, who described himself as a domestic violence survivor, said decriminalizing sex work will empower victims of abuse and trafficking to come forward to the authorities.
“We know that when sex work amongst consenting adults is criminalized, that those individuals are less likely to come forward to the police and report when there are instances of trafficking, because they are afraid that they’re going to be arrested and penalized,” Romero said.
“And we know that when somebody is charged with prostitution and other things, it impacts their ability to access employment, public benefits, education support.”
He believes that criminalizing sex work “runs counter” to ensuring that sex workers can “take care of themselves” by finding employment and housing.
Romero, a long-time member of the New York City-Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA), is now applying for the group’s endorsement in the race, but it is not a formality.
City & State, which first broke the news of Romero’s candidacy, reports that at least one other candidate is seeking NYC-DSA’s endorsement in AD34, with the organization’s Electoral Working Group set to hold a forum next month to decide whether or not to endorse anyone in the district.
Both Gonzalez and González-Rojas are members of NYC-DSA, while Gonzalez is also a member of the organization’s nine Socialists in Office, referring to a group of state lawmakers endorsed by NYC-DSA who meet regularly with DSA representatives.
Romero hopes to join the group if he is elected and said it is “really important” to him that he receives the support of NYC-DSA.
“They are an accountability mechanism to ensure that democratic socialists in office are coordinating in co-governance structure with the organization and with its members,” Romero said. “When it gets difficult – because it does get difficult – whether in budget fights or in the state legislative session, they are supporting socialists in office, reminding us of our values.”
Romero will continue to work with Gonzalez until after ballot petitioning ends next March, although he will be moving to a deputy chief of staff position. City & State reports that Gonzalez is bringing on Katie Loeb — the chief of staff to former City Council Member Carlina Rivera — as her new chief of staff.
Gonzalez stopped short of endorsing Romero in Assembly District 34 in line with NYC-DSA’s endorsement process but told City & State she would be “proud” to endorse Romero should he pick up the DSA endorsement.
Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner in the ongoing mayoral election in New York City, is one of the nine state lawmakers that make up the NYC-DSA group in Albany and Romero believes that Mamdani’s success in the mayoral election is a testament to the organization’s stance on a variety of issues.
Romero said the organization has grown significantly on the back of Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential bid in 2016 followed by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s upset victory against the incumbent Joe Crowley in 2018.
He believes the organization will continue to grow in New York State as the electorate continues to understand what NYC-DSA represents.
“When we send even one more socialist to these legislatures, that that is one more elected official that is going to go to bat for our working families,” Romero said.
