Adrienne Adams, Senate District 10, Queens (Challenger)
Adams, Chair of Queens Community Board 12 and a former executive trainer, is challenging incumbent State Senator James Sanders, Jr. “Much of Southeast Queens is a transit desert and we must increase funding for mass transit and increase bus service to both make our streets safer and our city more livable,” said Adams. She cites speeding in her district as a particularly vexing problem.
Micah Lasher, Senate District 31, Manhattan/Bronx (Open Seat)
Lasher, who most recently served as Chief of Staff to New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, was also Director of State Legislative Affairs for former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He’ll be able to hit the ground running in Albany. While his main opponents, especially labor organizer Marisol Alcantara, are compelling candidates, we believe Lasher has the greatest potential to help navigate critical issues like Move New York and increased deployment of speed cameras through the murky waters of the State Senate.
Robert Carroll, Assembly District 44, Brooklyn (Open Seat)
Carroll, an attorney and former president of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democratic club, has been a fixture in local politics since his teens. He has a good command of the issues facing the MTA, and is determined to find a win-win solution to the contentious issue of restoration of express service on the F subway line, which runs through the 44th District.
Paul Newell, Assembly District 65, Manhattan (Challenger)
Newell, a community organizer and District Leader for Lower Manhattan and the Lower East Side, is running in a six-way race that includes incumbent Alice Cancel, who won a special election earlier this year to replace Sheldon Silver. While we also gave high marks to Gigi Li, the former Chair of Manhattan CB3, we believe Newell is the strongest of the candidates on safe- and complete-streets policies.
Carmen De La Rosa, Assembly District 72, Manhattan/Bronx (Challenger)
De La Rosa, who was until recently Chief of Staff to City Council Member (and Transportation Committee Chair) Ydanis Rodriguez, is challenging incumbent Assembly Member Guillermo Linares. While working in the Council, De La Rosa played a key role in the passage of a number of pieces of legislation related to Vision Zero, and she’s firmly committed to improving public transit and street safety throughout her district.
Felix Ortiz, Assembly District 51, Brooklyn (Incumbent)
Ortiz, the Assembly’s Assistant Speaker, has represented his district for more than two decades. His bill banning the use of handheld cell phones by drivers became the first such state law in the entire country in 2000. Ortiz also introduced a “textalyzer” bill this past April, which would enable police to field-test motorists’ cell phones following a crash.
Jo Anne Simon, Assembly District 52, Brooklyn (Incumbent)
Simon, who won her Assembly seat in 2014, has a long, distinguished record of advocacy for better transit and safer streets. She is a member of the Assembly’s Committee on Transportation, and is an original co-sponsor of a bill supporting the Move New York Fair Plan, along with Felix Ortiz.
