Giselle Martinez will be sworn in as the newly elected member of Newburgh City Council at the Monday, January 10 meeting. The meeting will take place at the Activity Center at 401 Washington Street at 7 p.m. Ward 1 of the City of Newburgh, also known as the East End, has been the home and entire life of Martinez for the past 23 years. Heading into 2022, Martinez is ready to make a larger impact in her ward and her city.

The oldest of three daughters, Martinez was born in Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital and is the proud daughter of Mexican immigrant parents. According to Martinez, her parents immigrated to the United States during the late 80s, early 90s during their teenage years and met here in Newburgh. Growing up in Newburgh, Martinez said from an early age she saw her parents work day in and day out to provide for the family and her parents’ example set Martinez on a path to help others.

During her high school years, Martinez made the decision to become more involved in her community. She served and participated in food drives and clothing drives and volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club.

Martinez graduated from Newburgh Free Academy in 2016 and attended Mount Saint Mary College (MSMC) in Newburgh, where she aspired to be an immigration lawyer.

“My parents were encouraging and told me to pursue a higher education,” Martinez said. The Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) at MSMC, a program which assists those underserved students and provides them academic and student support, assisted Martinez on her academic journey and she sends gratitude to all in the program that helped her along the way.

In her junior year, she had the opportunity to be a part of the New York State Senate Session Assistant Program, where she interned and worked as an aide for New York State Senator Jessica Ramos (D-13) in Albany from January to June of 2019. The year prior, she interned for U.S. Representative Sean Patrick Maloney.

Martinez graduated Cum Laude from MSMC in 2020, receiving a bachelor of arts in history and political science. She is currently pursuing a masters degree in public administration at Baruch College. She hopes to attend law school in the future.

In Newburgh, Martinez started working for Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson (Assembly District 104) as a constituent liaison in June 2019.

“She’s very smart, but more importantly she knows what she doesn’t know and she’s willing to learn and ask questions and that’s a very important skill to have when you’re an elected official,” Jacobson said.

In a newspaper article, Martinez read that Councilwoman Karen Mejia would not seek another re-election term for city council. From the article, Martinez decided to take a leap of faith and run for office and represent her ward. “I was really nervous. It took a little bit of convincing myself that I could do this,” Martinez said.

Her campaign team, made up of friends and supporters, helped Martinez each step of the way to create and establish her platform, both online and physically. “I started door knocking in late February. It was almost a whole year of this campaign,” Martinez said. “When I went out door knocking, I was able to speak with so many people. People told me all kinds of stories.”

Hearing the stories of her neighbors, reflected upon her own life, continued to inspire Martinez each day. Her excitement to join the council parallels with her ideas and initiatives she hopes to bring to her community, for example, community wifi, more youth and student empowerment, more progressive legislation and eco-friendly spaces. “I get so excited when I think about all these ideas,” Martinez said.

During her time at MSMC, Martinez served as President of the Latino Student Union, where she coordinated with the Black Student Union to create more inclusive spaces for students of color on campus. During the Black Lives Matter movement, she spoke out on social media and supported her friends and the movement all during the pandemic.

For now, Martinez looks forward to being sworn in on January 10.

“I’ve always been underestimated. People kind of just brush me off,” she said. “I kind of like it that way because then I’m able to come back even stronger.”