Bronx Council race heats up with GOP hopefuls backed by Jan. 6 insurrectionist and Proud Boy supporter

One Republican campaign for a Bronx City Council seat is managed by a man facing federal obstruction charges for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Another GOP candidate got an endorsement from a supporter of the Proud Boys.

And the incumbent in the City Council District 13 race, Democrat Marjorie Velázquez, is under fire for approving a controversial rezoning that opponents argued would ruin the character of Throggs Neck.

Velázquez’s handling of that delicate issue and concerns over crime and housing make for what’s shaping up to be a crowded — and already heated — race for the seat.

So far at least nine candidates, including Velázquez, have registered with the city’s Campaign Finance Board to signal their intention to mount campaigns, and the April 6 deadline to submit petitions to get a place on the ballot is fast approaching.

The field is taking shape months after New York Republicans made significant inroads in last year’s Congressional election and weeks after Velázquez and several other Council members left the body’s Progressive Caucus after refusing to sign a pledge to reduce the NYPD’s fiscal footprint in the city.

The pledge was a non-starter for Council members like Velázquez who represent more moderate districts where crime is a top concern.

“I am fighting for more money for the NYPD. So me signing something that says I’m actively going to work against funding NYPD is hypocritical, and I’m not a hypocritical person,” she said. “I’m not going to lie. I’m going to do what I’ve got to do for my community.”

Still, opponents from both parties smell blood in the water, and the seat represents one of a handful that could flip from Democratic to GOP control in November’s general election.

Velázquez is facing primary challenges from two Dems — Bernadette Ferarra, a Community Board 11 member, and Irene Estrada, a Democratic district leader who’s received the endorsement of Curtis Sliwa, the GOP’s 2021 mayoral candidate.

If Velázquez gets by those opponents, she’ll face one of six Republicans planning to run in the June 27 primary — Kristy Marmorato, Hasime Samantha Zherka, Ariel Rivera Diaz, Phyllis Nastasio, Grace Marrero and George Havranek.

Some in the district have faulted Velázquez for caving to the so-called Bruckner rezoning, which she has defended, saying it will help seniors in need of housing and provide jobs for locals. Residents point to that move when expressing concerns about a plan that could bring former Rikers Island inmates to a building at the Jacobi Hospital campus in Morris Park — something Velázquez says she opposes.

But those worries may be mitigated by some of the baggage her opponents bring to the race.

Zherka, who ran a losing campaign for state Senate last year, is once again using Philip Grillo as her campaign manager, this time on a volunteer basis, according to Grillo. That connection could prove problematic for Zherka, given that Grillo was brought up on federal charges of violent entry and disorderly conduct on U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as obstruction of justice.

“Allegedly, I went in,” he told the Daily News when asked about his role in the insurrection that left scores injured and five dead. “I was giving some friends a ride to the Capitol. It’s a complete mess. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

The criminal complaint offers a more detailed account of what happened on Jan. 6 and alleges Grillo stormed the Capitol building along with hundreds of other Trump supporters. A search warrant, first reported in the Daily Beast, notes Grillo told authorities he “was drunk at the time … and did not realize he was trespassing” and that video taken from Grillo’s cell phone showed him smoking a joint inside the Capitol.

While Grillo’s long-term future on the campaign is uncertain — his federal trial is expected to start in a couple of weeks — he’s optimistic Zherka will win, given her tough-on-crime approach and Albanian background.

Marmorato, the sister of Bronx GOP Chairman Michael Rendino, is the party pick for the job and will almost certainly benefit from that. Aside from her familial connection to Rendino, she’s also married to Gino Marmorato, the Bronx GOP commissioner for the city Board of Elections — a connection that could be viewed as a potential conflict of interest.

Rendino, a former Elections Board commissioner, predicted that relationship won’t be a factor, because Marmorato’s husband will likely recuse himself from anything having to do with her race.

He added that his sister is the only GOP candidate with a shot at winning.

“It’s a winnable race for a Republican,” Rendino said. “We have to avoid an ugly primary.”

Another potential pitfall for Marmorato is the hearty endorsement she received from Gene DeFrancis, a former Republican candidate for state Assembly.

In December 2020, DeFrancis was caught on camera voicing his support for the Proud Boys, a far-right group whose members have been charged with seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection. In response to DeFrancis’ endorsement on Facebook, Marmorato wrote that she is “honored to have your support and friendship.”

Oddly enough, accusations of cozying up to right-wing extremists have extended to Velázquez as well.

John Doyle, who ran against her in a failed 2017 Council bid and is sitting out this race, went on the record recently to accuse Velázquez of poor judgement when she attended a forum last September hosted by Bill Stanton, who’s used inflammatory rhetoric when speaking about the city’s asylum seekers and is president of the City Island Civic Association.

During the event, which was focused on Mayor Adams’ aborted effort to bring a migrant relief center to Orchard Beach, Velázquez embraced Elysia Schaller Borrelli, who was planning to speak at a rally in D.C. a day before the insurrection and who at the time was affiliated with Connecticut Women for Trump.

“As an elected official you have the responsibility of what voices in the community you want to elevate,” Doyle said. “You entertain a clown and you become part of the circus — it’s as simple as that.”

Velázquez said what happened is far from simple, though.

She pointed out that Doyle and Stanton are engaged in a personal feud and that members of Doyle’s rival civic group, City Island Rising, also attended the event.

Velázquez also said she never met Schaller Borrelli before the event and only gave her a hug as a show of compassion after Schaller Borrelli spoke publicly about being harassed for her opinions.

“He’s just trying to liken me to January Sixers. I mean, come on now,” Velázquez said. “My thing was that she had spoken about being targeted and harassed, and I said I don’t think that’s fair and it’s not right, and at the end of the day our community doesn’t deserve that.”