Candidates for District 13 in the East Bronx squared off in an Oct. 21 debate focused on local development, health care, the New York City mayor’s race and federal actions under President Donald Trump.
The debate, hosted by Gary Axelbank of BronxNet and co-sponsored by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters, remained civil between Republican incumbent Kristy Marmorato, Democratic nominee Shirley Aldebol and Unity Party candidate Joel R. Rivera, while highlighting stark differences in how each would operate in the current political climate.
In 2023, Marmorato defeated Democratic incumbent Marjorie Velázquez to become one of only six current Republican City Council members, ending a decades-long drought in GOP Bronx representation.
Trump also gained support in the East Bronx between his first and second terms. For instance, he narrowly won the Throggs Neck-Schuylerville neighborhood in 2024 after losing by nearly 17 percentage points to President Joe Biden in 2020.
Whether Marmorato and her fellow minority party members win re-election will be, at least in part, a referendum on President Trump and his agenda to drastically cut government spending and crack down on illegal immigration.
National politics having local effects
During the forum at the Lehman College BronxNet studio, Axelbank asked the candidates how they would respond to the threat of National Guard troops being deployed to New York City, as Trump has ordered in other Democratic-led cities, such as Chicago and Los Angeles.
Rivera, founder of the nonprofit Servicing Our Youth (SOY), said he does not support sending troops into New York City and that President Trump is clearly targeting cities for political reasons.
The current state of national politics has intensified division within District 13, Rivera said. “We’re losing focus on what’s important,” such as improving education and cost of living, he said.
Marmorato — who reportedly has close ties to people in Trump’s orbit, including FBI Director Kash Patel, and in February met with Trump’s “Border Czar” Tom Homan — said said she would likely support troops being deployed in the city if current mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani is elected.
“As far as public safety is concerned, if Zohran Mamdani does defund the police, I think we’re going to need troops sent into our district,” Marmorato said. She endorsed Republican Curtis Sliwa for mayor, whom she called a “law and order candidate.”
Even though Mamdani has walked back his past calls to defund the NYPD and apologized for calling it a “racist” institution, the view that he would reduce officer count or funding has persisted throughout his campaign.
Aldebol said she opposed troops on the city streets and said Mamdani as mayor would not have unilateral power to defund the NYPD, nor would she support it if it happened.
“Saying the new mayor is gonna defund the police and the world is gonna go to hell is not the way to deal with politics in this city,” she said.
Several points of disagreement among the candidates hit closer to home — particularly around Marmorato’s handling of the Bally’s Bronx casino bid and the Just Home proposal to provide supportive housing on the Jacobi Hospital campus for seriously ill people exiting incarceration.
Marmorato strongly opposed both projects but was ultimately overruled by the respective voting bodies, allowing the proposals to proceed.
Throughout the debate, Aldebol emphasized her 36-year career as a 32BJ union executive and cast Marmorato as a weak negotiator, particularly on Bally’s.
Aldebol said District 13 may not reap maximum benefit from the deal because Marmorato “removed herself” from the dealmaking. “When you start from a place of no, the developer or whoever you’re dealing with is gonna lowball you,” Aldebol said.
Marmorato said her opponent’s criticism amounted to “Monday morning quarterbacking.”
“Bally’s never came to the table,” she said. “It was just a bad deal.”
Marmorato said she was overruled by her fellow Bronx council members because they would not feel its direct impact.
“They’re not going to bear the brunt of the burden” of increased traffic and quality of life concerns, she said. “They’re not dealing with the actual issues. They only stand to financially benefit from the project.”
Marmorato also said that Mayor Eric Adams promised to move the Just Home project to Brooklyn instead of the planned Jacobi site, and his commitment will be “fulfilled very soon,” according to Marmorato’s campaign manager, Chapin Fay, in response to the Bronx Times’ inquiry.
Rivera said he represents the voice of District 13 residents, not corporate or party interests and repeatedly decried the divisiveness within the district and the country. His candidacy represents “the high road,” he added.
On Bally’s, Rivera said he does not support the project because residents “overwhelmingly” oppose it, though the company has said its outreach found “north of 80%” local support.
Comparing Bally’s to the construction of the current Yankee Stadium, Rivera said “The people’s voice just doesn’t get heard” over developers’ interests.
Health care cuts affecting New Yorkers
Axelbank asked the candidates to respond to proposed federal spending cuts that could result in 1.5 million New Yorkers losing health coverage, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office.
Marmorato, who worked in health care for more than 20 years prior to her election, called for an investigation into Medicaid, saying the program is “grossly misused” by people “going to the hospital because they have a cough or cold.”
Aldebol disputed the notion that many New Yorkers are abusing Medicaid. “These are not lazy people sitting at home on the dole,” she said. “These are hardworking people who need to have health care.”
Rivera said “Big Pharma” was the “elephant in the room,” driving up medical costs for residents of the U.S. compared to other countries. He also said there isn’t much a council member can do in the face of the “national crisis” of federal government shutdown and overwhelming corporate interests.
With the election less than two weeks away, East Bronx residents will soon decide whether the District 13 seat will remain red.
As of Oct. 22, Aldebol has raised $352,714 in private and public funds but spent more than Marmorato, who has raised $249,462. Rivera has raised $151,653.
But unlike Rivera and Marmorato, Aldebol has won support from major unions and union-affiliated independent expenditure groups have spent well over $500,000 on her behalf.
The District 13 debate will air Monday, Oct. 27 at 9:00 p.m. on Optimum channel 67, FIOS channel 2133 and online at bronxnet.tv.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
