Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is the only member of the New York City delegation who doesn’t have a staff member picking up the phone regularly, the New York Post reported.
According to New York Post reporters Marisa Schultz and Nikki Schwab, The Post “called the offices of all 13 lawmakers representing New York City – even those in high-profile positions like Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler – and a real person answered the call on every occasion, in every office location, except for calls dialed to AOC’s two offices.”
Calls to AOC’s Jackson Heights office go to a series of voicemails with no ability to leave a message as of Monday, and constituent calls to her D.C. office will only get to a real person if it can pass the filtering system that blocks callers without New York or D.C. area codes.
This is a critique that has been echoed for months by TV journalist Juliet Huddy and radio host Curtis Sliwa who often cite their inability to get a response from AOC's Office on their WABC Radio program in New York City. In June, the New York Post reported that AOC ran away from potential challenger Rich Valdes when he attempted to introduce himself and ask her in person why she wouldn't return any calls or emails requesting a debate. To date, all calls and emails from them have gone unanswered.
I think it's safe to say @richvaldes would return our calls, emails a little more often than @RepAOC does (which is never since election) Republican 'mega donor worth $200million' is ready to fund GOP challengers to AOC | Daily Mail Online https://t.co/YUNhxqAZ7P
— Juliet Huddy (@JulietHuddyTV) April 22, 2019
AOC’s spokespeople claim this is due to the high volume of calls the congresswoman gets, but as Schultz and Schwab noted, “Other members of Congress with a large national profile have staff picking up phones in their DC and district offices consistently, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and AOC’s fellow freshmen “squad” members. The Post was able to get through even when calling from an area code outside of DC and not from the member’s home state.”
Rachel Kookogey is a contributor to TheRichValdes.com
Follow on Twitter @rach_kookogey
H/T: NY Post
