AOC 'barely ever present', says fellow progressive who shares building with district office

A progressive state legislator from Queens called out her neighbor, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D), for not spending more time in her district, saying that “it would be nice if you breathed our air.”

State Sen. Jessica Ramos said she knew AOC’s perpetual tardiness first-hand because their district officers are on the same floor of the same building.

“She’s barely ever present in the community. It’s an indisputable fact,” she wrote on Twitter Sunday.

Our district offices are on the same floor in the same building. She’s barely ever present in the community. It’s an indisputable fact.

— Jessica Ramos (@jessicaramos) July 24, 2022

The spat began when a male medical student claimed on the platform last week that a group of “highly respected health policy academics” had set up a meeting with the congresswoman’s office only to be turned away by her staff, who said: “We’re not doing healthcare right now.”

Ocasio-Cortez replied personally to the tweet a few days later to apologize.

“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,” she wrote on Sunday, which was liked by the original author.

Ramos, who had been a progressive ally of AOC’s, said the congresswoman would have known sooner if she actually spent time in her district office.

“Maybe if you spent more time in your office and with your team you’d know what goes on,” wrote Ramos.

 “Just saying it would be nice if you breathed our air.”

Maybe if you spent more time in your office and with your team you’d know what goes on. Just saying it would be nice if you breathed our air. So, as an employer, what happens with the staffer who said this?

— Jessica Ramos (@jessicaramos) July 24, 2022

The local lawmaker then sparred verbally with AOC supporters that came to her defense.

“I believe what I see and hear on my streets and in my office building :),” Ramos quipped at one man who accused her of spending too much time on Twitter.

When asked if she was jealous of her more famous peer, Ramos replied, “Nah. Just want my congressional representative to be around and do their job in the community.”

“My congressperson being absent is not dirty laundry,” she said to shoot down another troll. “It’s never been with any other elected official.”

The New York Post noted that the Bronx congresswoman does not seem to spend much time in Washington D.C., either. House records show that AOC has asked to vote by proxy 26 times, including 11 times this year and four in May alone.

The top 20 users of proxy voting through April 2022 were all Democrats, according to Cronkite News/Arizona PBS. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) has extended proxy voting three times, which is now set to expire Aug. 12.

Implemented over health concerns in the early days of the pandemic, critics say the proxy voting system is ripe for abuse. The most egregious known example comes from Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY), who voted by proxy in summer 2021 from a celebrity friend’s wedding in France.