I was born and raised in Paterson, and moved to Garfield at the age of 6. That's not a talking point, it's a fact that matters. The streets I have walked, the schools I attended, the people I grew up alongside; they're all here, in NJ-09.

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I'm not parachuting into this race from somewhere else. I'm running in the community that helped build me, because I believe this district deserves a representative who can understand what it feels like to live here, not just represent it on paper.

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NJ's 9th District is one of the most diverse, most working-class, and most underserved districts in the state. It is home to nearly 774,000 people across 35 different municipalities. It is 43% Hispanic. More than a third of residents were born outside the United States. Over half of hosueholds speak a language other than English at home. And yet, the issues facing this community are treated as secondary by both parties, year after year.

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I'm running as an independent because neither party has done enough. I am running because this district deserves more than performative representation. And I am running because I believe that when working people have a real voice in Congress rather than a corporate-funded one, things can actually change.