Greek American Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis of Staten Island is the Republicans’ candidate in this year’s New York City mayoral elections which will take place on Tuesday.

She is running the race against Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio who is pursuing his second term in the leadership of the US largest city and seems to be taking precedence as it regards to fundraising and campaign polls. There are also quite a few third-party candidates, among whom is a businessman and former detective, Bo Dietl.

Despite de Blasio’s pride in decreasing crime rate, providing universal pre-K and dealing with income inequality, both Malliotakis and Dietl have challenged the effectiveness of his administration.

Ms Malliotakis contends with the current Mayor in terms of efficiency in addressing major problems and crises by making reference to her contribution to the relief of victims in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

In an interview she gave to The New York Times, Malliotakis claims to be prepared to lead the biggest municipal government of the United States on the strength of two arguments.

The first is her seven-year experience in the Legislature, which she says has given her insight into what government work is about and a clear picture of what needs to be done.

Her second argument is the experience she gained while working with Governor Cuomo in order to provide relief and solutions to her constituents when devastating Hurricane Sandy struck her district.

At the age of 36, Malliotakis feels particularly confident about her managerial skills, maintaining that a major display of her management ability is to “do more with less”. As she told the NYT, she intends on bringing in people in her administration who have, not only a passion for a particular area but have also the capability to implement things.

Born in New York in 1980, Malliotakis is the daughter of immigrant parents. Her mother is Cuban and her father is Greek.

She received a B.A. in communications from Seton Hall University and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Wagner College. In 2010, she was elected to the New York State Assembly, thereby becoming the first Greek American woman elected to office in New York State.

Source: thegreekobserver.com