Brooklyn Boro

Rose to run for Congress again, Malliotakis responds

December 7, 2021 Jaime DeJesus, Brooklynreporter.com
Share this:

Former U.S. Rep. Max Rose, a Democrat, is running to reclaim his former seat in the 2022 election — against the same opponent.

The district, known as the 11th C.D., includes a swath of Brooklyn from Bay Ridge to Gravesend as well as all of Staten Island.

Rose, who lost the position to U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis in 2020, made the announcement on a video posted on social media and a release Monday, Dec. 6

“I’m running because this country can be affordable and fair,” said Rose, a former U.S. military officer.  “Our politics can lift us up rather than tear us down.”

He also reflected on the previous election. In 2020, Rose took part in a protest march in Staten Island after the killing of George Floyd. Because some protesters (although not Rose) briefly chanted, “Defund the Police,” this may have hurt Rose’s chances in Staten Island, even though Rose assured his constituents that he did not believe in defunding the police.

“Staten Islanders, Brooklynites, and all Americans deserve a country that is affordable, fair and safe; where we have defeated the pandemic, not made it worse,” Rose said recently. “That America is possible, and I’m running for Congress to fight for it.” 

U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who has been serving in her position since 2020. Photo courtesy of Malliotakis’ office

Following his defeat, Rose explored the possibility of running for mayor, but eventually decided not to join the crowded race.

In January, Rose was named senior adviser to U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on COVID-19.

Rose has a long association with the military. He served nearly five years of active duty with the U.S. Army and was a first lieutenant platoon leader during the war in Afghanistan in 2012-13. He currently serves as a company commander in the New York Army National Guard.

“People tell me if I had listened to the polls instead of doing what was right, I would have won. Maybe that’s true. But for me, something is more important than elections,” he said in the video.

On election night in 2020, the New York City Board of Elections had Malliotakis leading with 58.3 percent of the vote, and Rose with 41.8 percent. He conceded a week later.

Malliotakis responded to the news and criticized her opponent.

“Last year, our community overwhelmingly rejected Max Rose because he was a rubber-stamp for Nancy Pelosi 96 percent of the time and supported the Defund the Police movement that slashed $1 billion from the NYPD’s budget and implemented dangerous policies like cashless bail that made our families and neighborhoods less safe,” she said. “Since then, Rose has further embraced the most radical elements of his party. 

She added that as an appointee of the Biden Administration, “Rose has pushed Joe Biden’s disastrous agenda that has caused rising crime, run-away inflation, and a border crisis.”

Before becoming an elected official, Malliotakis at various times worked for State Sen. John Marchi and Gov. George Pataki as a community liaison, as well as public affairs manager for Con Edison.

Subscribe to our newsletters


Leave a Comment


Leave a Comment