U. S. Dominican lawmakers are fed up with state Sen. Luis Sepulveda, claiming that Puerto Rican lawmakers have also adopted a Dominican identity for political purposes, without allying themselves with true Dominicans.
Tensions spread to the Bronx after Sepulveda announced on Oct. 14 that he had been granted Dominican citizenship in a rite at the presidential palace in Santo Domingo. Sepulveda was born in Brooklyn to Puerto Rican parents and has never lived in the Dominican Republic. has forged political connections in the country and this month filed a bill that would force New York to recognize Dominican driver’s licenses.
But fellow lawmakers said he had worked with Dominicans in the Bronx. “I think all of this is outrageous and a slap in the face for the Dominican network on so many levels,” City told City.
Sepulveda has represented the 32nd District of the state Senate since 2018. But this year’s redistricting shifted its district from the East Bronx to neighborhoods in the Midwest Bronx with a developing Dominican population, such as East Tremont. Earlier this year, Sepúlveda, a journalist who worked in the Dominican Republic, Rusking Pimentel, as communications director.
But other lawmakers like Rep. Karines Reyes, who was born in the Dominican Republic, said she had done everything wrong by co-opting identity, rather than running with Dominicans. “I feel like it burned a lot of bridges. He’s not someone who’s very easy to paint,” Reyes said. She and Séptimo pointed out how Sepulveda began in July organizing a delegation to New York to the country on his own, without any obvious input from Dominican lawmakers. They felt like they were invited after the fact. “We all gave him the opportunity and had conversations with him,” Reyes said, but felt he hadn’t changed.
Sepulveda expressed astonishment at the lawmakers’ offense and said no one had complained. “If you’re disappointed by that, it’s unfortunate, because all I’m looking for is to help an island that I surely love,” he told City.
Sepulveda added, “When they do things for the island of Puerto Rico, I don’t get offended. I don’t bother. You don’t have to come and get my blessing.
Some foreigners believe Sepulveda was right. “This is a sign of their developing political power. They deserve to pass it!” said a political representative, who requested anonymity to discuss the standoff between lawmakers with whom he had worked. The representative compared Sepulveda’s alleged complacency to the way many elected officials left for Israel as a way to appeal to Jewish voters and political leaders.
Dominicans have built their influence on New York politics for decades in Washington Heights, Manhattan. In recent years, more Dominican candidates from the U. S. have been able to do so. The U. S. has been elected than ever before, especially in the Bronx. Many discovered Representative Adriano Espaillat, the godfather of Dominican politics. and the first Dominican American member of Congress in the United States. Others, such as Reyes and Séptimo, or Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, won Espaillat’s strength structure outdoors. But Dominicans, whether allies of Espaillat and others, said Sepulveda had not helped in the election. A Dominican-American politician, who requested anonymity to speak about a colleague, called Sepulveda’s moves “disrespectful” and said it “didn’t help us achieve what we have to achieve. “
Sepúlveda himself said that he has an “excellent career relationship” with Espaillat. But Espaillat’s workplace did not respond to a request for comment. Sepúlveda also pointed out that his love for the country was nothing new and that his own son’s and many other members of the family circle were of Dominican descent. But he says a lot about the other tensions at play here, and why other politicians were willing to take the rare step of publicly criticizing a fellow Democrat. Sepúlveda’s ex-wife is Dominican, and he was arrested and charged with strangling her last year. She had applied for a protection order against him years before. The state senator denied wrongdoing in the 2021 case, and prosecutors lowered the fees in October 2021. Sepulveda also upset some of his fellow Democrats, namely his fellow Latinos, by staying in the primary. presidential. he Bronx Borough President last year when he had no trace of victory over tariffs. His crusade may have contributed to Vanessa Gibson, who is black, winning the seat from a Latina candidate. Sepulveda was widely welcomed at the Democratic convention in the state Senate, but some negative sentiments still linger. “There is a certain irony that the woman who continually accused him of domestic violence turns out to be a Dominican woman,” said Séptimo.
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