Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis spends her days in the far reaches of New York: at senior picnics in the East Bronx, greeting firefighters and cops on Staten Island, and attending park fairs in Richmond Hill, Queens.
It is in these places, where newspaper headlines rarely shine, where the Republican mayoral candidate thinks she'll find voters who are disenchanted with Mayor Bill de Blasio.
People like Maria Santiago, a Puerto Rican who rushed up to Malliotakis as she was walking from her SUV to a recent campaign stop at the Bay Ridge Senior Center in Brooklyn. Santiago, a staff member at an organization for victims of domestic violence, asked for a selfie with the candidate and told her it's high time for the city to have its first woman mayor.
When Malliotakis told her — in Spanish — that she would also be the first Latina to hold the office, Santiago was pleasantly surprised.
"I did not know that she was Latina," Santiago told WNYC afterwards. "I mean, we need someone that can do the job, right? But we need more people that look like us."
Malliotakis was born on Staten Island to Greek and Cuban immigrants. Her mother fled the Castro regime and was the reason Malliotakis got into politics.
"My mother is a Cuban refugee, so for her democracy, being able to elect your leaders, is really important," the 36-year-old Malliotakis told WNYC.
Her mother encouraged Malliotakis to volunteer for Republican campaigns as a teenager; she stuck with the party and with politics, helping out over summer breaks while attending Seton Hall University. She later worked for the late John Marchi, a Staten Island state senator, and former Gov. George Pataki, both GOP members.
Malliotakis also voted for party nominee Donald Trump in last November's election, a move that her opponent, Mayor de Blasio, does not let her live down, constantly reminding voters whenever he speaks about his general election rival.
Malliotakis, by contrast, keeps reminding people that she favored Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a fellow Cuban-American, and even helped with his campaign.
"I probably should have just written [Rubio] in because now I have to deal with all these questions about Trump," Malliotakis told reporters on her way into the senior center. "I never really endorsed him. I never really was out there campaigning for him."
Though she's disavowed Trump, Malliotakis is still a conservative. She voted against gay marriage in the state legislature six years ago, though she now says she would have voted differently; she's criticized the mayor for shielding immigrants who commit crimes from federal immigration authorities; and she unsuccessfully sued the city to keep it from destroying the personal records of New Yorkers who applied for the city's free municipal identification card, IDNYC.
But her campaign has tried to steer the conversation to the city's crumbling subway system, the rise in homelessness, and the affordability crisis, all of which Malliotakis said de Blasio has exacerbated.
I OPPOSE de Blasio's plan to build 90 shelters & spend $1B to house homeless in hotels. Permanent housing instead! https://t.co/6JM4hoqtZO
— Nicole Malliotakis (@NMalliotakis) September 21, 2017
Her pitch seemed to work inside the Bay Ridge Senior Center, where Malliotakis was greeted by familiar faces like longtime neighborhood resident Carol Wood.
"We’ve sort of watched Nicole grow up," Wood said. "She has come to some of our senior centers and called bingo for us."
When asked if she'll be voting for Malliotakis this November, Wood didn't hesitate.
"Oh, definitely, are you kidding?" she said.
In the rest of the city, however, the numbers are stacked against her. A recent Marist Poll found 65 percent of likely voters will choose de Blasio, compared to 18 percent for Malliotakis. Almost half of the respondents didn't even know who she was.
But Malliotakis said it's not her first uphill battle. Back in 2010, she managed to beat a two-term state Assembly incumbent with more money and endorsements.
"I’m the underdog all the time," Malliotakis said. "But you know what, I feel it’s important that somebody steps up and challenge the mayor and hold him accountable for everyone in the city."
WNYC will be airing the first mayoral debate live at 7 p.m. on Tues., Oct. 10, on 93.9 FM and 820 AM and also through our web site.