Ana María Archila has advocated for immigrant communities in New York City since arriving here at the age of 17. Now, Archila has made the leap into electoral politics as the running mate of gubernatorial candidate Jumaane Williams in the Democratic primary.

Archila had sharp words for Governor Kathy Hochul and her running mate, Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin, when she joined Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Monday. In her conversation with Errol, Archila offered a vision of the office that plays an active role in governing and advocating on behalf of constituents.

“We need a lieutenant governor’s office that functions much like a public advocate’s office functions in New York,” Archila said. Williams is the city’s public advocate. “Partnering with organizations, with people on the outside to make sure that the priorities that are left out of a governor’s office that is encircled by lobbyists and people with money are at the center of the conversation.”

Hochul, Archila said, is prioritizing the policies favored by “real estate and Wall Street and healthcare executives” above the needs of New Yorkers.

Archila would be the first Latina and first openly LGBTQ statewide official in New York’s history. She talked about how being an immigrant informs her politics and ambitions, hoping to bring the experiences of marginalized communities to the forefront.

Immigrant communities are consistently left behind by state policies, Archila said.

“I am really sick and tired of seeing immigrant workers and families be excluded from the very basic things,” Archila said.

Candidates for lieutenant governor run separately from the top of the ticket, but both Hochul and Williams selected their respective choices as partners in their campaigns to win the votes Democrats across the state.

“The lieutenant governor’s office is elected by the people and it should not be an office that used just as a surrogate to cut ribbons,” Archila said. “It should be an office that every New Yorker knows is a partner in the priorities that matter to New Yorkers.”

The campaign is a longshot, as the race stands now. Williams garnered 10 percent of voters support in a recent Emerson College/The Hill poll that had Hochul at 42 percent of Democratic primary voters. 

Archila is an activist and founder of the immigrant rights organization Make the Road New York and the Center for Popular Democracy, a progressive advocacy group.