State Senator Julia Salazar didn’t want to run for political office. So, in March 2018, eight months before she would go on to unseat Martin Dilan in the 18th District’s Democratic primary, Salazar’s friend Sam called her up and pleaded with her to mount a campaign. He told her that the community needed someone to fight against gentrification and big real estate. He told her that a narrow window of opportunity existed to change rent laws and that if she didn’t run, the opportunity would be squandered.