Jason,
When Claire Valdez was sworn into the New York State Assembly, she put her hand on a copy of No Shortcuts, by the game-changing union organizer, Jane McAlevey.
That was more than a symbolic gesture — it was a declaration of the kind of leader Claire was pledging to be. And it says everything about who she is, who she answers to, and what kind of member she will be when we elect her to Congress.
Claire is running for New York's 7th Congressional district, and I want to tell you why she's exactly the kind of progressive fighter Leaders We Deserve was built to support.
Claire came to politics through her experience as a worker. From Taco Bell to Trader Joe's, she spent years at low wage jobs, living inside a system rigged to protect the wealthy while squeezing everyone else dry.
It pissed her off — so she decided to fight back.
When she landed a job at Columbia University, she organized her coworkers through UAW Local 2110, served on the bargaining committee, and was elected Unit Chair to represent 500 workers. She helped build the internal movement to democratize the UAW from within — the same effort that put Shawn Fain in power, and led to the historic Stand Up Strike, one of the biggest autoworker strikes in decades.
Claire hasn't just supported the labor movement. She's done the hard, unglamorous work of making it stronger.
When Amazon workers in Woodside went on strike, she didn't tweet about it. She took three trains, a ferry, and a bus to join them on the picket line.
That's who Claire is. Someone who doesn't just talk about what she'll do — she actually shows up, and isn't afraid to stand shoulder to shoulder with her community to get it done.
Since taking office, Claire has been one of the loudest, most uncompromising voices in the New York State Assembly.
She was one of the first elected officials to demand Mahmoud Khalil's release. She's introduced bills to limit workplace surveillance, guarantee workers just cause before termination, and extend paid family leave to workers who've historically been left behind. She penned legislation to cap regulated rents, and co-sponsored legislation with Zohran Mamdani to cut off New York nonprofits from funding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. And when her Queens constituents were getting slammed with ConEd bills that jumped 13% overnight, she helped push forward a law forcing utility companies to give customers 45 days warning before hiking rates.
That's what she's done in one year in Albany. Imagine what she'll do with a seat in Washington.
In Congress, Claire will sponsor Medicare for All on Day 1. She'll fight to build public housing, strengthen unions, abolish ICE, and tax the billionaire class to fund social services that actually make people's lives better. She knows the system isn't broken — it was built this way. That's why she's running to rebuild it from the ground up.
And here's why NY-07 is the moment:
Her district just voted for Zohran Mamdani by 44 points. The same people-powered infrastructure that won NYC's mayoral race is now going all in behind Claire. The energy is there, and if we can get Claire over the finish line, we prove something huge: Working class priorities aren't a liability for the Democratic party. They're the path forward.
And just like us, Claire doesn't take any money from special interests. No AIPAC money, no fossil fuel money, no corporate PACs. Full stop.
But not everyone is playing by those rules. AIPAC and other super PACs have spent millions to take down progressives like Claire before, and this race will be no different.
That's what we're up against. And we need to match that energy.
Thank you,
David Hogg
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