Claire
Valdez

Claire Valdez is a union leader, artist, and member of the New York State Assembly who has championed working communities and will fight for a livable and equitable future.

After studying at the Art Institute of Chicago, Valdez joined the staff of the Columbia University visual arts program and became an organizer for her labor union. Valdez was soon elected as her local’s Union Chair and expanded her advocacy to city-wide reforms, leading a coalition to support the Build Public Renewables Act to develop large-scale renewable energy projects. The bill was successfully signed into law in 2023 by Governor Kathy Hochul. In 2024, Valdez won election to the New York State Assembly, where she served on the Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts, and Sports Development. Valdez has been an outspoken advocate for the environmental justice communities, fighting back against efforts to route heavy-duty trucks and resulting toxic air pollution through low-income neighborhoods.

As a representative, Valdez will fight for a just, sustainable future powered by clean energy and union-built, climate-smart infrastructure. Valdez earned a 92% score in 2025 on New York LCV’s State Environmental Scorecard during her time as an Assembly member. She is the first Indigenous person to represent New York in Congress.

Valdez joins the U.S. House to fill the open seat held by retiring Representative Nydia Velázquez, who earned a 95% lifetime score on LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard.

“Clean energy is effective, affordable, and endlessly renewable, and I will unequivocally support installing and scaling renewable energy as a publicly-owned, primary solution to the fossil fuel industry and rising utility cost.” – LCVAF Questionnaire