NEW YORK—Nicole Malliotakis’s path toward becoming a state assemblywoman and then candidate for mayor of New York City began one summer day when her mother took the then-high schooler with her to volunteer in the campaign office of a candidate for congress.
Her mother had never volunteered before, but she had her reasons for taking her daughter along that day. A refugee from Castro’s Cuba, she valued very highly the opportunity in America to elect one’s leaders, and she wanted Malliotakis to become involved in politics and to learn to cherish democracy.
Malliotakis was an eager student. “I just liked it and wanted to be a part of it,” Malliotakis said, in an interview at the Epoch Times offices in Manhattan. “And I thought I was making a difference in my community, and so I stayed with it.”
Malliotakis continued volunteering for campaigns, and, after she graduated with a B.A. from Seton Hall University and an MBA from Wagner College, she went to work as a community liaison for the late state Sen. John Marchi in 2003 and for then-Gov. George Pataki from 2004 to 2006.
All the while, she brought with her lessons learned from her immigrant parents (her father came from Greece).
