Gonzalo Duran on Redefining Conservatism in the Bronx

By Deszure Thomas

Upon entering Gonzalo Duran’s office, a banner featuring Trump’s bloodied face came into view, his fist raised triumphantly. Against a stark black background, bold white letters captioned the image: “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Nearby, a blue Trump 2024 poster demanded, “TAKE AMERICA BACK.” In one corner, a life-sized cardboard cutout of Trump stood beside a black-and-white American flag with a single blue stripe, emblazoned with “NYPD Fidelis Ad Mortem.” Duran himself was more low-key — dressed in denim jeans, a winter coat, and a beanie, holding a cup of bodega coffee.

Duran, a Marine veteran, vice chairman of the Bronx Conservative Party, journalist, and candidate for NYC Public Advocate, spoke about being a conservative politician in Democrat-run New York. He described the struggles conservatives face while running for office and the nuances of a conservative shift in the Bronx, which challenges the traditional political landscape of city politics.

Trump’s win in the 2024 presidential election has brought renewed attention to long-standing conservative movements borough-wide. The Bronx Conservative Party, founded in 1962, has in recent years seen Duran become its most visible leader. As the current face of Bronx conservatism, he is also striving to represent the city as a whole, running for public advocate. He is the first conservative candidate in a decade endorsed by both the Bronx Conservative Party and the New York Republican Party. Still, the odds remain daunting: according to the NYC Board of Elections, more than 3.3 million registered voters in the city are Democrats, leaving Republicans with little to no representation in local government. That raises the question: Who is Gonzalo Duran — and who are Bronx conservatives?

Duran argues that today’s conservatives are more moderate than commonly portrayed, while Democrats, he says, have shifted toward radical progressivism. Explaining his beliefs, he said: “If you hear me in a room talking about why I’m conservative, I want the nuclear family type of lifestyle… I want safe streets, I want a good economy. There’s nothing wrong with anything I’m saying, and most people want that type of life.” He emphasized his focus on the concerns of ordinary New Yorkers: “The regular person — they may not care about the LGBT community or the migrants,” he said. “They might care about their business or putting food on the table, or inflation.”

Raised in the Bronx by a single mother who immigrated from El Salvador, Duran grew up on public assistance and experienced poverty firsthand. He recalls noticing economic disparities in his neighborhood: “I lived in [the Belmont] area,” he said. “Now when you go across the street, like two blocks, it’s Fordham University — you see the difference there. I didn’t know I was poor until I saw that part… When I was picking colleges, none of them were nearby because I couldn’t afford to go there.”

As a public advocate candidate, Duran says he wants to implement policies that serve the average Bronxite. He described being priced out of Belmont due to gentrification and exclusionary housing practices: “I was priced out of Belmont two and a half years ago. Not that I couldn’t afford it — they didn’t give me an opportunity. If you go back to where I live, there’s a sign now that says ‘For Professionals — Medical Professionals, Fordham students,’ and that’s it. How unappealing that is for somebody like me to walk by.”

To address housing affordability, he proposes using a localized Area Median Income (AMI) calculation. By excluding wealthier surrounding counties such as Westchester and Rockland, he argues, a Bronx-specific AMI would better reflect local incomes and help keep housing affordable.

Duran also pushes back against the idea that the Conservative Party is rooted in bigotry or exclusion. Bronx Conservative Party historian Marc Goret echoes that point. “We are Black, we’re Hispanic, we’re people of all different races,” says Goret. “We’re not a whites-only party. It’d be impossible to be a whites-only party in the Bronx — that’s racist! That’s the way it should be. All parties should have people of different backgrounds.”

Duran added, “We have an LGBTQ member that’s a conservative. If you look at our photos, it’s not just 10 white guys. It’s women, minorities, different groups — it’s a spectrum.”

Still, the rise of Trump has made many voters equate conservatism with extreme right-wing politics. Duran challenges that assumption. “So, if you move a little bit away from progressive, are you just automatically a Republican, or a conservative, or all about Trump?” he asks. “That’s the narrative they’re trying to push right now.”
Duran acknowledges criticism from both sides. “If you talk to a conservative, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, you’re too Democrat.’ If you talk to a Democrat, they’ll say I’m too conservative or Republican,” says Duran. “For me, I just want the best for the people. If you look at my track record, it’s really just to help people.”

He notes that he was once a Democrat, even running for City Council under that party, but encountered resistance. “They had their lawyers, they had people coming to mess up my petitions,” he says. “And I was like, why would I continue with you guys? You don’t want your own people to challenge your work or make progress if they’re not within your little circle.” That experience pushed him toward the Conservative Party. “It was the most willing to work with me — not only with my values, but also what I wanted to accomplish.”

Despite some success in campaigning, Duran says conservatives struggle for visibility in New York media. “Most newspapers are nonprofit in the Bronx,” says Duran. “So where do they get their money? From the Democratic Party. So, it’s better for them to write high profiles on the borough president, the city council people — because they’re all Democrats. The television — when they do public forums, they’ll just do it for the Democratic candidates and that’s it. They’ll forget about everybody else.” He added that many Democratic candidates decline debates in the Bronx, leaving conservatives excluded. “We can’t debate them, we can’t speak on it publicly.” He also said some forum organizers cancel events if Democrats refuse to participate.

One of his biggest challenges, Duran said, is fundraising. “I’ve spent 99 percent of my time on the grassroots level,” he said. “It’s hard for me to ask people who are struggling to give me money.” Still, he remains optimistic. “I don’t have big donors, but I’m hoping this citywide race will give me that appeal to those backers to say, ‘Okay, he’s here. Let’s invest in him.’”

Duran emphasizes his desire to find common ground. Though he advocates fiscally conservative on spending and resource allocation, he insists his campaign is not about pushing an extreme agenda. “At the end of the day, I am for the people and I just want a better life for the average person trying to make it.”