José Peralta, First Dominican-American Elected to New York State Senate, Dies at 47

New York State Senator Jose Peralta, the first Dominican-American elected to the New York State Senate, died on Wednesday night. He was 47.

According to the New York Times, Peralta was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens after becoming disoriented following a two-week illness, but the cause of death had not yet been determined, a staff member said.

Here’s an excerpt from the NYTimes Obituary below:

“Mr. Peralta, a Democrat, lost his re-election bid in September after serving eight years in the State Senate representing a diverse swath of Queens. A member of a group that caucused with Republicans, Mr. Peralta was defeated by a Democratic insurgent riding a progressive wave, and he was set to leave office at the end of next month.

Mr. Peralta was first elected to the State Senate in 2010 in a special election, defeating Hiram Monserrate, who was expelled from the Senate after being convicted of assaulting his companion. As a lawmaker, Mr. Peralta was a champion of the Dream Act, legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants to qualify for college tuition assistance. He also introduced bills to legalize hoverboards in the city and to extend the length of time that speed cameras are used in school zones.

Mr. Peralta, a resident of Queens for three decades, attended public schools in the borough and graduated from Queens College, where he studied psychology and sociology and served as student body president. He began his political career as a Queens community liaison to the State Assembly. He went on to win a seat in the Assembly, and he served in the lower house for eight years.

Mr. Peralta’s campaign to become Queens borough president was derailed in 2013 when he was recorded by a state legislator who was an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mr. Peralta was not charged or accused of wrongdoing.

José Rafael Peralta was born on Nov. 10, 1971, in New York City, to parents who had emigrated from the Dominican Republic.

He had been ill for at least two weeks, but had been reluctant to visit a doctor, according to Chris Sosa, his director of communications. After much prodding he finally went for an exam recently, and he had a follow-up scheduled for December.

“It was like pulling teeth to get him to talk about not feeling well,” Mr. Sosa said. “He just thought he was having symptoms related to getting the flu shot.”

Mr. Peralta was at home with his family on Wednesday night when he became disoriented. He was taken to the hospital, where he died at 9:23 p.m., Mr. Sosa said. An autopsy is scheduled.”