I Am Humbled And Honored To Accept The Nomination Of The Democratic Party For The New York Assembly District 125

Now that every vote has been counted, from absentee to early voting to Election Day, I am humbled and honored to accept the nomination of the Democratic Party for the New York Assembly District 125. I wish to recognize the other candidates who ran strong campaigns, and I thank them for their service to our community. This process has been marked by unprecedented challenges. Early in the process, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down anything resembling traditional campaigning. I sincerely missed having the opportunity to meet with folks in person, to discuss the issues eye-to-eye at your doorsteps. Beyond impacting the campaign process, the COVID crisis has caused mass unemployment and an economic crisis unseen for a century.

More recently, the civil awakening following the senseless deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black men, women, and children have caused us all to re-examine our society’s understanding of what we are willing to accept and what we must rally to change immediately. We are reckoning with over 400 years of systemic racial injustice. We must face these challenges head-on.

As we go toward the general election, I want to highlight what we’re fighting for, and what’s at stake, noting that each of the issues we face as a community impact our neighbors of color at far higher rates and we must address these inequities. I will prioritize the following issues from day one in Albany:

RACIAL JUSTICE:

We must fight for meaningful reforms to policing policies, ensuring sufficient state funding to enforce the recently passed 10-bill policy reform package, breaking the school-to-prison pipeline, and equity in access to housing and jobs to end centuries of injustice. 

CLIMATE JUSTICE:

We must champion a green workforce as a road to economic recovery through renewable energy and agriculture, electrified transportation, and tax incentives and grant programs for weatherizing buildings. We know that transportation and buildings are the greatest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions so any comprehensive solution must target these areas. We currently do not have the workforce to realize notable changes in these areas so as a mechanism for economic recovery we must focus on building a green workforce with a target on developing programs in BOCES and community colleges. We must ensure that programs target many of the most economically disadvantaged communities in the state.

HEALTHCARE JUSTICE:

We must champion the New York Health Act to provide quality healthcare for all New Yorkers while saving taxpayers money. Over 121,000 Americans have died due to COVID-19. There is no better time to act than now. This plan would help close our fiscal deficit and create stability for individuals, households and local businesses.

CHILDCARE JUSTICE:

We must fight for child care and early education so every child has a chance at success while giving parents the freedom to enter the workforce and ensure good paying jobs for childcare providers. 85% of the human brain is developed with the first 3 years of life and inequity in childcare during this critical window can create lifelong inequities. The lack of childcare has become even more apparent during this COVID crisis including the disproportionately negative impact on women. Access to childcare is an economic development and equity issue and we cannot fully recover from this crisis unless we prioritize childcare for all.

HOUSING JUSTICE:

We need policies to keep people in their homes and increase access to affordable housing. I will fight to dismantle racist housing policies and advocate for grant funding and tax incentive programs that increase affordable housing access.

I am eager to get to work in Albany on your behalf. With your help, I won’t be working alone. I plan to work to get Leslie Danks Burke and Jim Barber elected to ensure we have strong progressive Democrats in the New York State Senate. We all must fight to get Tracy Mitrano elected to flip the 23rd Congressional District. In Cortland, we must re-elect Anthony Brindisi to continue fighting for Progressive Values, and most importantly, Democrats at all levels must do everything to ensure that change comes to the White House.

Again, I thank my community for your support. And to folks who voted for a different candidate, I look forward to earning your support by working hard on your behalf.