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The New York State Democratic Party omitted Hispanic voices from its slate of nominating convention speakers until being called out for the “egregious” blunder at the 11th hour — then scrambled after claiming the list had been “tentative” to add a trio of Latino speakers.

“We’re not on a tentative list? We’re not tentative. The Democratic Party has revealed itself. You’re basically saying the Latinx community has no role. It’s outrageous,” said former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

“This is beyond a snub. It’s very glaring that [Brooklyn congresswoman] Nydia Velázquez is not on the speaking list. She has broadened the party.”

“The lack of Latinas in the speaking order is even more egregious. Women are the majority in this state so that needs to be reflected in the voices we hear from,” added Mark-Viverito, who represented East Harlem in the Council.

“The convention is a presentation of the values of the party. Who the party invites to officially stand on that stage and speak is a reflection of those values. Not having Latinas on that stage is telling us we don’t matter. And I’m not going to accept that.”

Mark-Viverito went on to note that the party split up Brooklyn’s Hispanic population centers to try to win more seats in redistricting — taking Sunset Park out of Velazquez’s district and placing it into Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ Staten Island-based one in a bid to challenge her re-election.


  Rep. Nydia Velázquez became the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress in 1992. She isn’t included on the convention’s speaking slate. Kevin C. Downs Rep. Nydia Velázquez became the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress in 1992. She isn’t included on the convention’s speaking slate. Kevin C. Downs

The updated slate included the trio of Rep. Adriano Espaillat, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz — but didn’t go out to reporters until late Wednesday, when the glaring omissions had been reported to the state Democratic Party.

Espaillat and Reynoso weren’t official speakers at the convention, instead assigned less prestigious nominating positions.

The amended speaking slate still left out some of the New York Democrats’ biggest Hispanic politicians, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a nationally known darling of the left, and Velázquez, who in 1992 became the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress.

Fumed political consultant Mike Nieves, “It looks like it’s ‘Puerto Ricans need not apply’ in the Democratic Party anymore.”


  Rep. Adriano Espaillat was included on the updated list of speakers. AP Photo/Alex Brandon Rep. Adriano Espaillat was included on the updated list of speakers. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

“Nydia should have been speaking,” he emphasized.

The gathering of top state Democrats on Thursday will include speeches from Hillary Clinton, along with Mayor Eric Adams, Gov. Kathy Hochul, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, state Attorney General Letitia James, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and several other prominent elected officials.

Espaillat, the first Dominican American to serve in the House, told The Post that James, not the state Democratic Party, asked him to address the crowd at Thursday’s affair. 

“It wasn’t the Democratic Party who asked me to be here today, it was Tish James who asked me to place her name into nomination,” he said.

“Not having a Latino here is really something that weakens the party because our party should be, and it is, a big-tent party, whose diversity is a strength, so we should not … be a second thought. We should not be a footnote. We have to be at the table.”

He said the snafu spoke to a broader problem in the Democratic Party.

“In many ways, the law Latino vote is important nationally to us. And we’re not getting it as Democrats. You know, we’re not making the extra effort to speak to them and bring them to the table, and I hope we correct that mistake, otherwise we’re going to pay dearly at the polls,” explained Espaillat, a former state senator and a member of Congress since 2017.

“You know, we just can’t speak in English. We got to be able to speak in Spanish. So the party is not automatically considering that, and so it’s like a second thought, and they gotta catch up and it has to be fixed.”


  Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz is part of the trio of Hispanic voices scheduled to speak. William Farrington Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz is part of the trio of Hispanic voices scheduled to speak. William Farrington

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams — a left-wing gubernatorial candidate trying to get 25 percent support at the convention so he can get on the primary ballot without petitioning — blasted the party for omitting Latinos in the first version of the speaking list. 

“The only thing that I will say is, when you look at the lineup of the convention, when you look at the fact that they actually left out Latino, Latinx Latinas — when you look at how this is set up, the Democratic Party has repeatedly over time … said we are going to reject any message that is not about the status quo, that is not about incumbency protection. That has failed us,” he told reporters Thursday morning. “And so we have rejected other voices — that hasn’t worked for us. And so, it’s sad to see that continuing.”

Williams — a longtime anti-establishment Democrat in New York who ran against Hochul in the 2018 lieutenant governor race — lamented that decision-makers in his party have “ignored” Hispanic residents of the state.

“I’m a member of the Democratic Party — the biggest concern has been incumbency protection, they kind of want to swap their elite for their publicly elite — now we have to change that. And they’ve ignored pockets of New York for a very long time. Unfortunately, that has been Latino, Latina population,” he said. “So there was rightfully an outcry that we had the whole day with no Latinx, no Latina, no Latino representation at this convention — that shows you that this is really pageantry about one person, and that’s unfortunate.” 


  Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso is slated to speak at the event. William Farrington Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso is slated to speak at the event. William Farrington

“So I’m glad that they did that,” Williams added of the insertion of the three Latino speakers.

“But what we need is a leader and leadership that doesn’t have to be forced to do that, that comes in with understanding that’s needed just enough for you these days.” 

New York state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs told The Post Thursday that the preliminary list of speakers that was sent to reporters Wednesday morning did not include the trio of Latino politicians because they weren’t “confirmed” and were on a “tentative” slate, not because they were being left out of the event.

“That’s a cheap shot,” he said of Williams’ remarks.

“What actually happened is … they just hadn’t confirmed yet, they were always on it. You have to get confirmation, the press was asking us for a list of speakers. We had not gotten their confirmation. They were on the tentative list.”

“The bottom line is the Democratic Party has not been the party of the status quo,” Jacobs insisted. “We’re gonna continue doing more.”

But ex-City Councilwoman Diana Reyna, announced Wednesday as longshot gubernatorial candidate Rep. Tom Suozzi’s running mate, agreed with Williams that the episode was emblematic of longstanding shortcomings in the state Democratic Party.

“The Democratic Party has done a poor job recognizing who are their members of the party — and speaking on our behalf when we’re not even at the table. That’s where the problems begin and end,” Reyna told The Post. “That’s why the party continues to be fractured. We can’t continue to play politics as is, the status quo is not going to work.”

“And Latinos in general want to be able to relay the message: We’re suffering from economic insecurity. Immigration is an issue, but it’s not the only issue. We want crime addressed,” explained Reyna, formerly the deputy Brooklyn borough president. “And these are real-life problems that we need solutions for.”

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