- Full bilingual English/Spanish support serving Queens' diverse immigrant communities
- Interactive features including draggable photo collage, animated statistics, and district map
- Built for a special election sprint supporting Mayor Zohran Mamdani's endorsed successor
I first met Diana through NYC-DSA organizing in 2019, when she was leading immigrant rights work at NICE (New Immigrant Community Empowerment). I even helped her move-in to Astoria years ago. Over the years, we’ve volunteered together on Zohran Mamdani’s first Assembly run in 2020, Starbucks solidarity organizing in Astoria, and countless other actions—from the Tax the Rich campaign to opposing the NRG fracked gas plant in Astoria as well.
When Zohran launched his mayoral campaign in late 2024, Diana and I were both all in. I built a digital tool for the campaign, while Diana appeared in his day one launch ad and championed universal childcare throughout.
Once Zohran won, many of us in the neighborhood immediately saw Diana as his natural successor, and an ideal candidate not just for the special election, but as a longtime new leader in Albany. The decision to build her campaign website was a no-brainer for me.
The Special Election Challenge
Special elections are their own unique beast. Governor Hochul called the election after Zohran was sworn in as Mayor in January, giving candidates a narrow window to mobilize voters. Every door knocked mattered, and the website played a crucial role in converting visitors into supporters, volunteers, and donors.
The website needed bilingual support to serve the district’s diverse language communities, and quickly communicate Diana’s platform to voters on the go—people who might only glance at it during their morning commute. It also aimed to convert visitors into donors and volunteers. Most importantly, it needed to ship fast and iterate frequently to keep pace with a compressed campaign sprint.
Making It Personal
Diana’s portrait at an elevated train station centers her in the familiar experience of Queens commuters. In a district where 56% take public transit to work, it’s a simple way to show she’s one of us—she rides the train like everyone else.
The “Meet Diana” section pairs her immigration story with an interactive photo collage. Diana was born in Ecuador to a working-class family. Her grandfather was indigenous and grew up on the land before becoming a union bus driver. When Ecuador’s economy collapsed under a neoliberal government, her family immigrated to the U.S. when Diana was 11. Her story echoes what many working New Yorkers face today: a system that feels rigged, where the rich keep getting richer, and where working people need greater investment and collective power at every level of government.
On desktop, visitors can drag and rearrange eight photos showing Diana organizing, speaking at rallies, and doing movement-building work. Double-clicking opens a full-screen spotlight. It’s a small touch, but it creates an emotional connection before voters even read her platform.
Platform That Speaks to the District
Diana’s three core issues extend Zohran’s mayoral platform while going further to meet the current moment.
Enact Universal Childcare: In a district with a significant numbers of young families, childcare costs function as a second rent. Diana will work with Mayor Mamdani to tax the rich and fund free childcare for every New Yorker aged six weeks to five years.
Housing is a Human Right: With 84% of the district renting, housing affordability is the defining issue. Diana’s platform strengthens tenant protections, defends rent stabilization, and pushes for a Social Housing Development Authority to build and preserve affordable housing with union labor.
Defend Immigrants Without Apology: With 38% foreign-born population, immigration policy isn’t abstract here. Diana will stand up for immigrant neighbors under attack from Trump’s deportation machine and fight to pass the New York For All Act to restrict cooperation with ICE. Her experience as Executive Director of NICE gives her experience on this issue.
The Coalition Behind Her
The endorsements section showcases the large coalition Diana is part of. It features Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, State Senators Kristen Gonzalez, Julia Salazar, and Jabari Brisport, plus a growing list of unions and progressive organizations.
Each endorser’s portrait appears in a circular frame with their office title curved along the top and their name curved along the bottom using SVG text paths. The gold glow animation fires in sequence across the grid, creating a wave effect that subtly draws attention to the breadth of coalition support.
Making the District Feel Real
Assembly District 36 covers Astoria and Long Island City, neighborhoods I know well from years of organizing and living here for over a decade. The district section makes this geography tangible with animated statistics that count up as you scroll: 84% renters, 56% public transit users, 38% immigrants.
The interactive map displays 14 custom markers representing Diana’s favorite community spots. Candidates are often asked in the press or at debates about their favorite spots to eat in the city—this is a way to showcase Diana’s personality and build a relationship with locals. Places like the falafel spot where she’d grab lunch during NICE organizing days, the playground where she takes her kid, or the coffee shop where she’d meet with DSA organizers. The map makes the district feel lived-in rather than abstract.
Complete Bilingual Support
The district’s 24% Hispanic/Latino population and significant Spanish-speaking communities required complete bilingual support, not one-off translations. Every piece of content has a translation: section titles, body copy, button labels, map marker descriptions, form placeholders.
Spanish-language press coverage from Telemundo and La Nacion appears alongside English coverage. The language toggle persists preference across sessions. This reflects the campaign’s commitment to serving the district.
Building the Movement
This is the third campaign website I’ve built for NYC-DSA candidates. First was Zohran’s 2020 Assembly race, then Kristen Gonzalez’s 2022 campaign, now Diana’s special election run. Each project has built on the previous one, refining and improving on what works.
Effective campaign websites are important communication tools and a digital home base—an opportunity to have a conversation with a voter. Every design decision serves the goal of converting website visitors into voters or even campaign participants. It’s about finding subtle ways to add animation, depth, and greater interactivity that transform the website from simply a declaration into more of an interactive conversation and experience.
Diana’s campaign continues Zohran’s legacy of grassroots organizing powered by people, not corporate PACs. She’s a proud democratic socialist, openly and unapologetically. The website reflects that: clear about who she is, what she believes, and what she’ll fight for.
On February 3rd, voters in Astoria and Long Island City will decide whether to send another democratic socialist to Albany. If they do, it will be because of a dedicated team of folks supporting this campaign—whether it was me developing the website, Diana at the helm as a terrific candidate, or staff and super volunteers organizing and setting up door knocking operations, fundraising, filling out questionnaires, and more. All deep organizing, not surface level, whether it’s in the website or the candidate themselves. This is the movement we’ve been building, and it’s been great to be part of it and help develop infrastructure to help it grow.