Jose Peralta

José Rafael Peralta (November 10, 1971 – November 21, 2018) was an American politician who served in the New York State Assembly and New York State Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, he last represented District 13 in the State Senate, which includes the Queens neighborhoods of Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, and Woodside. He previously represented District 39 in the New York State Assembly, which is located in Queens, New York and includes Corona, Elmhurst and Jackson Heights. He was elected to the New York State Senate in a landslide on March 16, 2010. Peralta was a member of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), a group of Democratic senators who allied themselves with Senate Republicans. He was re-elected in 2012, 2014 and 2016, but was defeated in the 2018 Democratic primary.

Peralta died of leukemia at the age of 47 on November 21, 2018.

Life and family Born in New York City on November 10, 1971, Peralta was a first-generation Dominican-American. After immigrating to the United States from the Dominican Republic, Peralta's father was employed as a bank teller. worked as a seamstress.

After graduating from Queens College, Peralta was a community liaison in the New York State Assembly. Peralta represented the interests of immigrants on the New York City Central Labor Council, serving in the position of Director of the Commission on the Dignity for Immigrants.

Political career New York State Assembly In the November 5, 2002 election, Peralta won a seat in the New York State Assembly representing District 39. He was the first Hispanic from Queens, New York to win an election to serve in the New York state Assembly. The 39th Assembly District in New York was created in 2002 as a result of the significant increase in immigrant population in the region. Peralta was sworn in as a member of the Assembly by Civil Court Judge Diccia Pineda, also of Dominican heritage. In April 2007, Peralta introduced anti-gang legislation in the Assembly that focused on creating Gang Free School Zones surrounding schools in New York. In June 2007, Peralta was among a majority of the Assembly that voted to support passage of a same-sex marriage bill in New York. In January 2008, Peralta co-signed legislation with Sheldon Silver, Audrey Pheffer and Rory I. Lancman which put forth a proposal of $150 million in funding for families that had the possibility of their homes being foreclosed upon.

Peralta worked with fellow Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry to change the Rockefeller drug laws. The Queens Democratic Party lent support to Peralta in his campaign for the Senate seat. Politician Hiram Monserrate was expelled from the Senate on February 9, 2010 by a 53–8 vote of his former colleagues after being convicted of misdemeanor assault on his girlfriend Karla Giraldo. Civil rights activist Al Sharpton endorsed Peralta in February 2010. On March 2, 2010, Peralta received an endorsement from New York City Council member Julissa Ferreras. Peralta received the endorsement of the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) due to his support for LGBT rights. Peralta also received endorsements from groups including the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women, building services workers union the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) sector 32BJ and Fight Back New York. On March 16, 2010, Peralta was elected to the New York State Senate.

In January 2017, Peralta joined the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), a group of Democratic senators that caucused with the Senate Republicans, allowing the Republicans to control the chamber. After joining the majority coalition, he was named vice chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Telecommunications. Peralta received a $12,500 stipend (known as a "lulu") for his position as vice chair, although state law designates these stipends for committee chairs only. The Republican conference submitted falsified payroll information listing Peralta as committee chair so that he could receive the stipend, although the IDC argued that Peralta was legally entitled to the stipends for his position as vice chair.

In April 2018, Peralta and his IDC colleagues rejoined the Senate Democratic Conference.

In the September 2018 Democratic Party primary, Peralta was defeated by Jessica Ramos, a board member of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group. Peralta's nine-point loss was attributed to long-simmering anger with the former members of the IDC. Due to New York State's electoral fusion laws allowing candidates to run on multiple ballot lines in an election, Peralta appeared in the November 6, 2018 general election as the third-party candidate for the Independence Party of New York, the Women's Equality Party and the Reform Party of New York State; however, Peralta conceded the race to Ramos and promised to support her campaign.

Election results November 2002 general election, NYS Assembly, 39th AD

November 2004 general election, NYS Assembly, 39th AD

November 2006 general election, NYS Assembly, 39th AD

November 2008 general election, NYS Assembly, 39th AD

March 2010 special election, NYS Senate, 13th SD

November 2010 general election, NYS Senate, 13th SD

November 2012 general election, NYS Senate, 13th SD

(uncontested)

November 2014 general election, NYS Senate, 13th SD

(uncontested)

November 2016 general election, NYS Senate, 13th SD