After an unsuccessful push to oust state Sen. Gustavo Rivera from his seat in the August primaries, Miguelina Camilo has found another path to the state Capitol — as a lawyer.
Camilo, 36, is joining the office of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie as his counsel.
Camilo is the president of the Bronx chapter of the 100 Hispanic Women, a nonprofit that seeks to lift up Latinas. She is the former president of the Bronx Women’s Bar Association and Dominican Bar Association, and after working in private law practices, she worked as associate counsel to the New York City Board of Elections.
Though the Riverdale Democrat is continuing her career as an attorney, Camilo attempted to launch a career making laws instead of advising on them, challenging Rivera in August’s Democratic primaries as a moderate candidate for Senate District 33. But despite having the backing of the Bronx Democratic Party and local establishment Democrats, Rivera survived the high-profile race winning by roughly 4%.
Before the new districts were shuffled around, Camilo vied to represent District 36 in an open race to replace state Sen. Alessandria Biaggi, who unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the more northern Congressional District 17.
“I know the district very well and feel confident,” Camilo told the Bronx Times in May after the finalized districts were announced.
Heastie, whose district encompasses Williambridge, Edenwald, Eastchester, the Valley and part of Wakefield, announced Camilo’s new post this week among three other senior staff appointments.
“I am pleased to announce the appointment of new staff members to my leadership team,” he said in a statement. “As we head into a new session, it is critical that we continue to provide high quality services to the members of the Assembly Majority. This talented group of professionals have a demonstrated commitment to improving the quality of life for all New Yorkers, and I am excited to work with them in the coming session.”
Wendy Gallegos was appointed as Heastie’s senior advisor. Gallegos, who before recently working as director of government and community affairs at real estate development firm Maddd Equities, also worked as Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson’s chief of staff while the pol was a member of the City Council.
Josiel Estrella, who worked for the last three New York City comptrollers, was appointed secretary for intergovernmental and external relations. Jennifer Best, the speaker’s former deputy secretary for policy and legislative affairs, was promoted to secretary for policy and legislative affairs.
The Bronx Times reached out to Camilo for comment and is awaiting a response.
Reach Aliya Schneider at aschneider@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4597. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
