Cathy Rojas
Cathy Rojas (born 1990/91) is an American educator and political activist who was the Party for Socialism and Liberation's candidate for mayor of New York City in the 2021 election. A public school teacher by trade, Rojas received nearly 2.5% of the vote in the mayoral election, placing third. Early life. Rojas was born in the early 1990s to two Colombian immigrants in Queens, New York. She speaks English and Spanish. Her father was an auto body painter, and her mother a housekeeper. She experienced racism from a young age, and in public school was made aware  of the fact that students were expelled or arrested instead of being offered the mental health services they need. Rojas became a socialist after reading "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" in high school. She worked as a hostess, a waitress, a bartender, and a cook before becoming a teacher. Mayoral campaign. Rojas launched her mayoral campaign on June 28, 2021, in front of the First Spanish United Methodist Church in east Harlem, a church known for its occupation by the Young Lords in 1969. She launched a 14-point platform: Rojas staged a protest outside the mayoral debate after being  barred from it due to not receiving enough campaign contributions, exclaiming "What are they afraid of?" Rojas was endorsed by Julia Salazar, a New York state senator, former City Council candidates Moumita Ahmed and Carolyn Tran, and Kristin Richardson Jordan, an activist and council member. Rojas received 27,982 votes, or 2.49%, the most votes of any left-wing candidate in New York City mayoral history.