A DSA longshot for a New York City congressional seat annually accepts as much as $20,000 from a Texas casino despite voting to foil a union-backed gaming project in her own borough, The Post has learned.
Zohran Mamdani-backed Assemblymember Claire Valdez rakes in between $5,000 and $20,000 each year as a member of the tribal nation Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo, which gets 60% of its revenue from the Speaking Rock Entertainment Center casino in El Paso, according to disclosures.
But Valdez, who has a notably thin political resume, sided with her socialist comrades in voting against a casino opening near Citi Field.
She was one of just two Queens lawmakers to vote against the proposed gaming complex – coined “Metropolitan Park” — which developers say would generate roughly 23,000 union jobs and over $1 billion in community benefits.
The bill, which passed the state Assembly in May, will allow public park property to be alienated and sold to New York Mets owner Steve Cohen to build the $8 billion Metropolitan Park casino, as long as the city approves the bid.
Valdez told The Post she collects casino funds as a tribal citizen of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo nation — a group that was displaced from present day New Mexico during the Spanish colonial period.
“Like many Indigenous communities where options for economic development are limited, the Nation operates a business with a casino gaming license and distributes a share of profits to enrolled citizens like myself,” she said.
Despite her opposition to the pending Queens casino, Valdez backed a nearly identical bill to allow a President Trump-tied Bally’s casino — formerly Trump Links — along The Bronx waterfront.
The Bally’s proposal would result in a $115 million payout to the Trump Organization.
“Many constituents and residents across Queens vocally opposed the Metropolitan Park casino project. I cast my vote with them,” Valdez explained, while stopping short of justifying her Bally’s vote.
Valdez’s run for the NY-7 congressional seat has the backing of fellow Democratic socialist Mamdani, who jeopardized his relationship with Rep. Nydia Velazquez.
The endorsement ticked off the retiring representative, who has since put her weight behind Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.
