43°
Valentina Gomez, who had been running in the Republican primary for Missouri Secretary of State, finished in sixth place on Tuesday, Aug. 6, receiving just 7.4% of the vote, after a campaign filled with anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.
Her brother, Jonathan Gomez-Noriega was fired from his job as an aide to Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop after donating $1,250 to Valentina's campaign.
He apparently shared a recording of his phone call with the mayor with his sister, who promptly posted it on social media. Gomez-Noriega also resigned from the city's LGBTQ task force.
The dismissal marks a stunning fall for Gomez-Noriega, who emigrated from Colombia at 13 years old. A champion swimmer, he represented Colombia in the 2016 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal in the 2019 Pan American Games.
In 2017, he co-founded the Flor de Mayo foundation with his sister, helping more than 1,200 children in Colombia access sports, education and health. He graduated from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.
Everything unraveled for Gomez-Noreiga once the donations came to light. Valentina went viral after making a video attacking transgender athletes, repeatedly using anti-gay slurs. She also has made other videos using incendiary language. Gomez-Noriega's Instagram features photos of himself with his sister, along with photos of him and Fulop, who he considered a mentor.
Calls for Gomez Noriega to resign from Jersey City's LGBTQ task force came from Hudson County Executive Craig Guy, Rep. Rob Menendez and others, while the Hudson Pride Center announced its members would be resigning from the task force.
"Jonathan Gomez Noriega's silence and inaction in the face of his sister's derogatory statements and his financial support of her campaign which consistently denigrates and dehumanizes members of our community are unacceptable and contrary to the values of inclusivity and respect that we strive to uphold," the organization said in a statement.
Gomez-Noriega finally put out a statement Monday saying he put his family above politics and did not support any hateful remarks toward the LGBTQ+ community. The statement was not enough for Fulop, who shared a text message where he told Gomez-Noriega to say he found her comments disgusting and to condemn her publicly.
Valentina responded by telling Fulop his action were illegal and shared a phone call where Fulop threatened to fire Gomez-Noriega. That was the final straw for Fulop, who announced Gomez-Noriega's firing on social media.
"Valentina - first your brother was an “at-will” employee for the city - as of tomorrow he no longer works there because he doesn’t reflect the values of the city," Fulop wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
It is unclear what is next for Valentina. Following her loss, her Twitter account posted videos of her "catching pedophiles."
In an interview with the Jersey Journal, Fulop said Gomez-Noriega was in Missouri campaigning for his sister when he was fired.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Ridgefield Park-Hasbrouck Heights and receive free news updates.
