Bronx conservative Dion Powell challenges Sen. Gustavo Rivera in 33rd District race

Dion Powell, who has worked on both sides of the political aisle, believes the Conservative Party is more closely aligned with ensuring necessary political change in the Bronx.

Courtesy Dion Powell

We want to (have) collaborative efforts just for the community and put people before party.”

Dion Powell

Dion Powell, a former Democrat turned Conservative, is campaigning to unseat long-serving state Sen. Gustavo Rivera in the 33rd Senate District.

Powell, a Bronx native, said he began his political career while at City College of New York, with the student senate. Later on, he helped found the Bronx Young Democrats and became the chair of the Caucus of Color for the New York State Young Democrats. 

From 2019 to 2022, he served as the community liaison for 79th District Assemblyman Michael Blake. However, Powell said, his experiences with the Democratic Party led to disillusionment.

“I saw how much corruption there was in the party,” Powell said, referencing what he considers a co-opting of the Democratic mission statement.

This dissatisfaction, paired with his longstanding relationship with the Bronx Conservative Party, prompted him to embrace the Republican platform after the party offered him its line to take on Rvera in the 2020 election.

Throughout his career, Powell said, he’s been actively engaged with various Black organizations, including the NAACP and Blexit, a Black conservative movement.

He told The Press he has committed to supporting small businesses, faith-based organizations and special-interest groups in his community. Powell said his efforts with the Bronx Conservative Party contributed to the election of Kristy Marmorato, the first Republican city councilperson in 40 years. He said he was also instrumental in arranging a visit from former president Donald Trump to the Bronx earlier this year. 

Running as part of a slate of Conservative and Republican candidates, Powell said he wants “to ensure all these Democratic candidates are held responsible with a challenger.” In the past, he worked to knock U. S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat off the ballot for the Working Families Party line.

One focus of Powell’s current campaign is education reform, particularly advocating for school choice. He said his passion for this issue was partially inspired by the archdiocese's recent decision to close several Catholic schools, including his alma mater, St. Angela’s, which he believes reflects a broader effort to hinder the upward mobility of African Americans.

If elected, Powell said he would aim to allocate budget resources to public schools, charter schools, private institutions and homeschooling options.

In addition to education, Powell would seek to reform New York’s tax code to ensure funds from major nonprofits are earmarked for essential services like education. He said he would also prioritize labor protections for nonprofit workers, with enhanced unionization and greater job security. Last, Powell said, he aims to support state workers who were fired for refusing the Covid-19 vaccine by reinstating them with “retro-everything,” including back pay and benefits.

When asked how he would gain support from the heavily Democratic Bronx under conservative leadership, Powell said the answer is simple. One of the reasons for the recent Republican win in the City Council’s 13th district is because Powell and others campaigned in the area and registered people into the Conservative party who were also Democrats, Republicans, people of color and independents. 

According to Powell, a lot of voter registration drives are gimmicks. Instead, his party focuses on voter education and re-registration, walking prospective voters through their options and educating them about the political parties.

In particular, Powell said, his team focuses on going over the four political parties — Democrat, Republican, Conservative and Working Families — and what each party stands for.

“We also want to do collaborative efforts just for the community and put people before party.” Powell said. As a former Democrat, he said longstanding relationships with certain district leaders will allow him to work effectively for the community outside of party lines.

Election Day is Nov. 5.