Born in Hoboken and raised in West New York, Hector is a proud product of Hudson County’s public schools, from his humble beginnings at Head Start to his diploma from High Tech High School. Hector’s mother emigrated from the Dominican Republic and raised him and his younger sister on her own while making ends meet. Her tenacity and determination eventually led to her earning a Masters in Education at New Jersey City University, setting an example for Hector that he would carry throughout his life.

In 2012, Hector volunteered for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Senatorial campaign in between cashier shifts at Whole Foods and classes at New England Law | Boston. It was there that he learned being on the front lines of progress meant organizing and building coalitions. He would later volunteer for Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, and later for fellow Boston University classmate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional run. He brought his activism home as part of Hudson Civic Action, whose advocacy succeeded in protecting our immigrant community by ending Hudson County’s 287(g) agreement with ICE.

After gaining admission to the New York and New Jersey bars in 2015, Hector struggled to find a job like most recent graduates. He eventually found a job at a Five Guys, flipping burgers in order to make ends meet, and later settled for a temp job as a Paralegal in Newark.

Today, Hector lives in an apartment in Union City and works as an Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, preventing fraudsters, criminals, and terrorists from moving illicit funds through our financial system.

“Hector knows first-hand what it means to pull on your bootstraps until they tear off and still not having enough to pay the bills.”

He also knows that many people in our community aren’t so lucky; people for whom the daily grind ends up being a struggle not to drown from illness, student debt, or underpaying jobs. He has seen the luxury high rises going up while rents go up higher. He knows the monthly frustration of watching your income evaporate from student loans because of the wistful promise of a better life. His experiences confronting the injustices imposed by an economy rigged against working class people and the progress that can be made when workers come together is what fuels his run for Congress.