AMY GOODMAN: And you’re listening to Democracy Now! Before we move on with the first segment of the show, we thought it would be interesting to follow up on a story that we have been bringing you on Democracy Now!, and that is the story of Anthony Baez, the young South Bronx man who was killed by a police officer when the football he was playing with with his brothers hit a police officer’s car on the edge of their property. The police officer, Francis Livoti, got out, put Anthony Baez in a chokehold, and he died.

Well, his mother and father have been outspoken since his death in December of 1994 calling for justice. And today, Iris Baez, his mother, announced that she would be running for Bronx borough president. I got a chance to talk to her about it.

IRIS BAEZ: I’m getting ready to set off a campaign and to run for Bronx borough president.

AMY GOODMAN: Why are you running?

IRIS BAEZ: Well, because in the — I’ve noticed in a couple of years that we don’t have no justice. In the past two years, we haven’t had any justice. And as I keep on going and meeting more people, I met that everybody is confused about this government, that everybody don’t get answers. We go to the courthouse, we don’t get answers. We go to our legislators, we don’t get answers. And they tell us, “Don’t worry. We’ll take care of it.” And we keep on sitting down and with no answers, and just cry. And that has to stop. That’s why I’m running for borough president and to make a change for the community. I went into City Hall, and I read a statement on the wall that says “the government of the people for the people.” And that’s — you know, nobody’s for nobody. From what I’m seeing, you know, we have to stand up and demand our rights. We have to stand up and say, “This is mine. I want this, because it’s my right.” You understand? And now when we don’t have that, other people think that they’re powerless, but they’re not. I discovered that we are not powerless, that we can make a change.

AMY GOODMAN: In addition to a big button of your son that you’re wearing, a photograph of your son, you’re wearing a Green Party campaign button — 

IRIS BAEZ: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: — which is a sunflower.

IRIS BAEZ: Yes, that’s the party that I’m running for, because it stands for, you know, clean air. It stands for the environment. It stands for the — we have to stop this corporation coming in and putting incinerators in our backyard. You know, we have to stop a lot of things that are coming into the city that we have to stop, because it’s not only endangering our lives, it’s endangering our children and our elderly.

AMY GOODMAN: In fact, Anthony had asthma, didn’t he?

IRIS BAEZ: Yes, Anthony had asthma. Well, I used to live in the South Bronx. Now I moved up a little bit. But back then, even back then, it was bad, you know, like, to breathe. We had a place around where I used to live that they used to burn garbage. And that, in itself, it’s a danger.

AMY GOODMAN: Did you ever think that you would see yourself running for political office — 

IRIS BAEZ: No.

AMY GOODMAN: — three years ago?

IRIS BAEZ: No, never. I never even dreamed of it.

AMY GOODMAN: What changed for you.

IRIS BAEZ: Well, I’ve seen the Republican and Democrat when they’re in power. I’ve seen that — how they just get the power but don’t go out to the community, don’t see what their needs are. And this is where we’re going to make a change.

AMY GOODMAN: Iris Baez, Democracy Now! is a national show. You’re running for a local office in New York City —

IRIS BAEZ: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: — in a part of New York City, the borough of the Bronx.

IRIS BAEZ: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: You’re running for Bronx borough president. What message do you have for people around the country? Why do you think your race —

IRIS BAEZ: Well, wake up, and when they start saying — sending messages — the government sent messages ahead. This is what I learned in these two — the government sent a message out. And when they say that we’re going to build more jails, the people say, “Oh, yeah, the criminals got to get off the street.” But what criminals? You understand? They’re only putting our youth in jail. They’re not going up to those criminals in a white shirt, blue tie. They’re not going after them. They’re not going after the drugs that is coming into our city. If we’re going to make a difference, it’s all of us together. It’s a whole community.

AMY GOODMAN: Iris Baez, the mother of Anthony Baez, killed in December of 1994 by a New York City police officer, announcing her candidacy for the presidency of the borough of the Bronx. Well, Juan González joins us today, my co-host and columnist with the New York Daily News. Interesting news, isn’t it, Juan?

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yeah, I think that Iris Baez will definitely inject a lot more substance into the — some of the political campaigning in New York, certainly raise the continuing issue of police brutality, the epidemic of police brutality that’s existed. In that sense, her candidacy will force anyone else in the race. And it’s not quite clear all of the candidates who will be running for borough president in the Bronx. José Rivera, the councilman, is probably going to be one of them, and Shirley Remeneski, an old-time political Democratic Party operative. So, we’ll see what happens, but she will definitely force everyone to address the issues more.

AMY GOODMAN: No question about that. She is running for the seat that is now occupied by Fernando Ferrer, who is a longtime politician, who will be running for mayor of the city of New York.