Meet Steven Carbajal

Steven Carbajal was born and raised in the Queens Village section of Jamaica. His father immigrated from Peru, and his mother was a sixth-generation New Yorker, so he grew up with two distinct stories shaping how he sees the world. New York has always been home: first Queens, then Manhattan, and now Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where he and his family have put down deep roots.

He graduated from St. John’s University and built his career in New York’s film and television industry, working behind the scenes to bring stories to life. On set he is the person who keeps things moving when everything feels like it could fall apart. He coordinates crews, navigates neighborhoods, solves problems in real time, and finds common ground where it does not exist.

But Steven didn’t arrive there in a straight line.

Before working in film, he worked wherever opportunity called, including roles as a restaurant server and bartender, real estate salesperson, short-order cook, toll collector at the Cross Bay Bridge, and lifeguard.

Years into his locations career, he took a detour into entertainment publicity, managing Al Gore’s New York press during the promotional campaign for An Inconvenient Truth. It gave him his first real look at how politics works, including the way information becomes currency, the way access is controlled, and the way stories take shape long before the public hears them. He returned to film, but the experience stayed with him.

Those jobs shaped him more than any title. They taught him what hard work looks like in real life, how New Yorkers hustle, and how every person carries a story the city doesn’t always see.

Today, Steven is a father to two public school students and a husband to a talented costume designer. Family is the lens through which he sees policy, community, and the future of New York’s 7th Congressional District.

Why Steven is Running:

Steven is running for Congress because New Yorkers deserve representation grounded in real experience. He has spent his life working in the same kinds of jobs, raising a family in the same public schools, and navigating the same challenges as the people he hopes to represent. Washington needs more voices shaped by real work and real life, not by political careers.

He believes public service should feel straightforward and honest. That means listening before speaking, solving problems without theatrics, and treating politics as a responsibility rather than a performance. Too often, leaders talk past their constituents or talk around the truth. Steven believes the only way to rebuild trust is through clarity, empathy, and genuine connection.

He is running to help restore a shared sense of reality in our politics. That begins with bridging the gap between policy and lived experience and making sure the decisions made in Washington reflect the everyday needs of Brooklyn, Queens, and the communities that define New York’s 7th District.

This district is strongest when we look out for one another rather than past one another. Steven is not running to climb. He is running to serve. He is running to show up. Every day. For everyone.