A local New York lawmaker publicly accused AOC of ignoring her home district: 'It would be nice if you breathed our air'
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- State Sen. Jessica Ramos accused Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of ignoring her New York district.
- Ramos tweeted that Ocasio-Cortez would know what goes on if she "spent more time" in her office.
- "Just saying it would be nice if you breathed our air," Ramos added.
New York State Sen. Jessica Ramos on Sunday hit out at fellow progressive lawmaker Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, accusing the congresswoman of not spending enough time in her home district.
Ramos called out Ocasio-Cortez in a series of tweets, which stemmed from an account from a Twitter user named Daniel.
On July 21, the Twitter user, who uses the handle @jai_lies, accused Ocasio-Cortez of "doing performative resistance art" for publicity while alleging that staff at the congresswoman's office blew off a meeting with health policy academics to discuss issues.
In response to the Twitter user, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Sunday, stating: "I'm really sorry to hear that this happened. It's not representative of me nor my values. If you can connect with details I'd appreciate it. I'll follow so DMs will be open."
However, Ocasio-Cortez's response prompted anger from Ramos, who tweeted that if Ocasio-Cortez had "spent more time" in her office and with her team, she would "know what goes on." Ocasio-Cortez represents New York's 14th district.
"Just saying it would be nice if you breathed our air," said Ramos in response to Ocasio-Cortez's message to Daniel.
In other tweets on Sunday, Ramos also accused Ocasio-Cortez of not calling her despite "crises" in the district, while rebutting Twitter users who came out in defense of Ocasio-Cortez.
Ramos also claimed to have "receipts" and her "own experience" with Ocasio-Cortez, stating that she just wants her "congressional representative to be around and do their job in the community."
"I gave up texting her a while back, and as petitioning unfolded, I reached out through staff and requested a meeting. I have not spoken to my congressperson in months," Ramos tweeted late on Sunday. "Maybe more than a year? What else is it I'm supposed to do?"
Ramos also responded to a Twitter user who posted a picture of the two lawmakers from a March 2022 engagement in an apparent attempt to refute Ramos' claim of not having spoken to Ocasio-Cortez in months.
"That's not a conversation or a meeting. She moves on to her next scheduled event as do we, if we have one. This is so disingenuous," Ramos wrote.
When contacted for comment, a representative for Ocasio-Cortez told Insider that their office had asked the original poster, Daniel, for more information about the healthcare meeting or the names of the people informed.
"Based on what they've tweeted so far, we're not able to confirm if this meeting occurred but we are continuing to look into it," the Ocasio-Cortez representative said.
The representative also said that Ocasio-Cortez had recently been back in her district and last held an outreach meeting in Jackson Heights, where both her and Ramos' offices are located. This took place on July 6, which lines up with the congresswoman's schedule indicating a district work period from July 1 to July 8.
"Rep. AOC met with staff and clients of Chhaya, a community group for which the congresswoman was able to secure $2 million in an appropriations bill this Spring," Ocasio-Cortez's representative said.
Ramos did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.
Other local lawmakers, like Zohran Kwame Mamdani, a New York State assembly member, also came out in support of Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday.
"I have met with her multiple times, she was a critical part of our @NYTWA victory, and she has been a partner at every level of politics. Astoria is all the better for having her represent us." Mamdani wrote, referring to the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.
Brooklyn State Sen. Julia Salazar also tweeted that it was "abundantly clear" that Ocasio-Cortez is "present in her district and absolutely dedicated to the communities she represents."
Salazer added that while taking criticism is "part of the job" for elected officials, there was also no need to "sling mud at each other."