Grace Marrero, 69, says her campaign for New York State Senate is rooted in decades of community involvement, political activism, and firsthand life experience shaped by both hardship and public service.
Born and raised in the South Bronx before later moving to the Allerton Avenue section of the borough, Marrero is now running for New York State Senate District 36 after years of involvement in education advocacy, local organizations, political campaigns, and neighborhood activism.
A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Marrero earned a Bachelor of Science degree after initially attending college in Sherman, Texas before later transferring to Austin.
Her professional background spans both media and technology. Marrero worked in advertising and media coordination before transitioning into telecommunications and networking, later working for companies connected to IBM and AT&T during the early expansion of network infrastructure and communications systems.
Now retired, Marrero says many of her experiences throughout her career and community involvement continue shaping the policies and priorities behind her campaign today.
Marrero says major personal events, including raising her daughter and later becoming the foster kinship parent for her grandchildren, pushed her deeper into community advocacy and education-related leadership roles.
Over the years, she served as a parent leader, PTA representative, district advisory participant, and community organizer while remaining active in neighborhood organizations throughout the Bronx.
She later founded the Allerton Barnes Block Association and became involved in multiple civic organizations, community boards, precinct councils, and political campaigns throughout the borough.
Marrero previously ran for Bronx Borough President in 2025 before later launching her current campaign for New York State Senate District 36.
She currently serves as Recording Secretary for the Bronx Conservative Party and as District Leader for the 80th Assembly District.
Politically, Marrero describes herself as a strong conservative and America First candidate whose views evolved over time after years of identifying as a Democrat before later joining the Republican and eventually Conservative Party.
“I’m 100 percent American,” Marrero said during the interview. “Everything is America first.”
Marrero also described herself as a staunch supporter of Donald Trump and said many of her political views align with what she described as an “America First” approach to immigration enforcement, crime prevention, public safety, and economic policy.
Throughout the interview, Marrero voiced strong criticism of illegal immigration, government spending priorities, and what she believes are long standing failures by political leaders to address neighborhood-level concerns affecting working-class communities.
She also raised controversial concerns regarding business practices, rapid neighborhood changes, and public safety issues throughout parts of New York City, arguing that elected officials too often avoid difficult conversations surrounding crime, economic instability, and quality-of-life concerns.
Marrero says one of her major priorities involves economic opportunity and support for small businesses, particularly neighborhood-based stores and family-owned operations.
She supports tax incentives for businesses hiring locally, expanded grant access, reduced bureaucratic barriers, workforce partnerships with unions and colleges, and commercial rent stabilization protections for smaller businesses struggling with rising lease costs.
Marrero also supports longer-term lease protections for small businesses, arguing that neighborhood stores cannot properly grow or stabilize if landlords continually raise rents or force frequent lease renegotiations.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our neighborhoods, not giant corporations,” Marrero said.
Mental health and addiction services also remain central parts of her platform. Marrero says the state spends too much time reacting to crises instead of preventing them before they happen.
Her proposals include expanded community mental health clinics, increased intervention programs involving schools and families, larger crisis response teams, stronger addiction recovery services, and expanded counseling access for young people and seniors alike.
Marrero additionally argued for stronger intervention involving troubled youth and families before violence or addiction escalates into larger public safety issues.
“Mental health care should be available before a crisis happens,” Marrero said.
Marrero also supports expanded school-based counseling programs and believes teachers, families, counselors, and law enforcement should work more closely together to identify struggling youth before situations escalate into crime, addiction, or long-term instability.
Senior citizen protections also remain one of Marrero’s major campaign focuses.
As a senior herself, Marrero says older residents are increasingly struggling with property taxes, transportation costs, prescription prices, fraud scams, and access to quality healthcare services.
Her proposals include expanded transportation assistance for medical appointments, stronger anti-fraud protections, affordable prescription programs, expanded home-care services, and property tax relief for seniors.
Marrero additionally supports broader protections for seniors living on fixed incomes, arguing that many older residents are being financially overwhelmed by rising costs despite spending decades paying taxes and contributing to their communities.
“Our seniors built this state and this country,” Marrero said. “They deserve security and respect.”
Transportation and infrastructure modernization round out another major part of Marrero’s campaign platform.
Marrero says subway reliability, bus wait times, unsafe sidewalks, deteriorating roads, and public infrastructure neglect continue affecting working-class residents throughout New York City.
Among her proposals are redesigned bus shelters, improved transit communication systems, commuter safety improvements, expanded accessibility protections for seniors and disabled residents, and increased investment into roads, bridges, sidewalks, and public transportation infrastructure.
She also supports stronger emergency-response systems throughout public transportation, including additional commuter safety measures and infrastructure improvements aimed at protecting riders and reducing delays.
Marrero connected many infrastructure problems to broader political frustrations surrounding government spending priorities and public accountability.
Throughout the interview, Marrero repeatedly emphasized what she described as a prevention-first philosophy involving crime, addiction, transportation safety, mental health, and neighborhood stability.
Whether Marrero triumphs in her campaign remains to be seen, but her candidacy reflects a growing segment of voters frustrated with traditional political leadership and increasingly drawn toward candidates presenting themselves as anti-establishment voices.
For Marrero, the campaign represents the result of decades spent navigating community organizations, political movements, family struggles, and neighborhood activism throughout the Bronx.
“I feel like God had me going through all these different things to prepare me for today,” Marrero said.
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