Claire Valdez

Claire Valdez represents the 37th Assembly District in Queens, which includes Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside, Maspeth, and Ridgewood. She was elected in 2024. She ran for State Assembly because she recognized that Queens workers are fed up with poverty wages, skyrocketing rent, and ConEd rate hikes, all while the real estate industry devastates our neighborhoods and the rich get richer. She knows what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck, pay too much in rent, and be exploited and taken advantage of at work. She also knows that when people come together, we can win a better life for ourselves and our community. Claire came to politics through work in her union, UAW Local 2110 at Columbia University. She served on her unit’s bargaining committee and was elected Unit Chair of her shop in 2022 to represent 500 of her coworkers. She was also part of the organizing effort to democratize the UAW and elect reform candidates to union leadership – a campaign which transformed the UAW, led to the historic Stand Up strike, and helped inaugurate a new era of labor militancy across this country. In addition to her work in her union, she has participated and led campaigns to tax the rich in New York State and win just cause protections for New York City workers. As she assumes office, she looks forward to continuing the fight for housing for all, free universal healthcare, publicly owned renewable energy, and the good life for working class New Yorkers. Claire is proud to call Ridgewood, Queens her home.