Candidate Answers to JOLDC: JoAnne Simon for US Congress NY-10

Candidate Name: JoAnne Simon

Office Seeking Election for: US Congress NY-10

Website: https://joannesimonforcongress.com/

1. Explain, based on life experiences and accomplishments, why you believe you are best qualified to represent your district.

I’m asking for your endorsement because not only do I have a proven track record of passing progressive laws and the policy chops to do this job, but I have deep roots in the congressional district and I understand constituents' needs better than any other candidate in this race.

My entire career has been about lifting the voices and fighting for the rights of those who have been historically marginalized. I grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Yonkers, the grandchild of immigrants, and was the first in my family to attend college. I am a disability civil rights lawyer, a former teacher of deaf students, a community activist, and progressive NY State Assemblymember. I fought and won a landmark case that went up to the Supreme Court and changed the landscape for disability rights.

I have had significant legislative victories against big industries and institutions that needed to change -our Red Flag law which is the strongest such gun violence prevention law in the country and which is being replicated across the country, the campaign finance reform bill to close the notorious LLC loophole, a gender equity bill, a supported decision making bill to protect people with disabilities, an education bill for those with dyslexia and related learning disabilities, and more.

I helped secure equal pay for equal work, voter and elections reforms, paid family leave, NY’s green new deal, and sexual harassment protections. I also helped codify Roe v. Wade into state law to protect the right to an abortion in New York.

I have seen first-hand how the voice of the average person is rarely at the table on decisions that impact their lives. I was often one of those people sitting in an auditorium late at night trying to impact change. I know the people in this district, I know the issues, and I will keep the interests of the community front and center.

2. Do you now support or have you ever supported an openly LGBTQ candidate for public office?

I endorsed and worked to elect Jesse Pierce as the District Leader forAD52 in 2020. I endorsed Jacqui Painter for City Council and then for District Leader. Some LGBTQ+ New York candidates include my late co-district leaderAlan Fleishman, Justice Richard Montelione, Justice Debra Silber, Corey Johnson, Harley Diamond (candidate for civil court), NYC Council Members Daniel Dromm, Rosie Mendez, Carlos Menchaca, NYSAssemblymembers Deborah Glick, Harry Bronson, Matthew Titone (now Staten Island Surrogate), and Daniel O’Donnell, Senator Brad Hoylman. I have also supported candidates in other parts of the country, including US Sen Tammy Baldwin, Ed Flanagan in VT, among others.

3. If applicable, what legislation directly affecting the LGBTQ community have you introduced or co-sponsored? (indicate accordingly).

I co-sponsored GENDA, a bill to legalize paid surrogacy, a ban on conversion therapy for minors, and a bill to prevent the use of a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity as an affirmative defense in an effort to reduce a charge of murder to manslaughter (“gay panic” defense). I also co-sponsored the bill to repeal the ban on loitering for the purpose of prostitution (a.k.a. walking while trans).

I was also the main sponsor of a major piece of gun violence legislation in 2019, the Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) bill, which prevents interpersonal gun violence and reduces the rate of suicide, which is particularly critical for LGBTQ+ younger people. ERPO, also known as NY’s “Red Flag Law,” was just strengthened this year.

I co-sponsor the good cause eviction bill. We can’t build our way out of this housing crisis -we need to also ensure that the housing we have now is more affordable. I will continue to fight for increased beds for homeless runaway youth, supportive housing, and housing and other services for LGBTQ+ seniors who have had too few champions.

I would like to hear from you about additional areas that need attention.

4. What LGBTQ organizations have you been involved with, either on a volunteer basis or professionally?

I am a strong ally to the LGBTQ+ and the TGNC community. I am a member of Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn, the Jim Owles Board of Governors, and have been a member of Stonewall Democrats over the years. In the early 1990’s, I volunteered to draft wills for HIV positive clients of GMHC and won the first succession rights case in DHCR in 1992 for a man whose partner had died ofAIDS, thus saving him from eviction. I have worked with Gays Against Guns on their gun violence prevention efforts and participated in their actions.

I also held a senior resource fair every year before Covid, and featured LGBTQ+ groups working in my district and the borough, including SAGE and GRIOT Circle. One of the panel speakers at the town hall portion of the fair was Paul Nagle, Executive Director of the Stonewall Community Development Corporation.

5. If applicable, what LGBTQ organizations have you allocated funds to?

Rainbow Heights Club, a drop-in space that offers peer support and advocacy for LGBQT+ New Yorkers who are living with mental illness. Many others through the state budget process.

6. Do you consider yourself a member of the LGBTQ community?

No, I am not a member, I am a strong ally.

7. Have you marched in Pride? Which marches and for approximately how many years?

I have marched in Pride parades for many years, beginning with the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1979. I have also marched for about 15 years in the Pride parades in Manhattan and Brooklyn and the St. Pat’s forAll parade. I have also marched in the Queer Liberation March.

8. Have you employed openly LGBTQ individuals previously? Do you employ any currently?

I have previously employed openly LGBTQ individuals and I am fortunate to have always had a member of the LGBTQ community on my staff. I also currently employ members of the LGBTQ community, including my Chief of Staff.

9. If you receive the endorsement, do you agree to identify the club on all literature and electronic materials where you list endorsements?

Yes. I’ve done so in the past and would be happy to do so again.

10. What press conferences, demonstrations, rallies and protests in support of LGBTQ issues, pro choice legislation, criminal justice issues and the Resist Trump Movement have you attended?

Dozens! Probably more at this point. I have attended demonstrations, marches, rallies on all of these issues in Brooklyn, New York City, Washington D.C,Albany, and more.

I attended several events and protests in support of the LGBTQ+ community, reproductive rights, and BLM. I joined a press conference in the wake of the disgraceful insurrection attempt at the Capitol Building to call on the Department of Justice to fully investigate the actions. Clearly law enforcement’s approach to this act of domestic terror is very different from what we saw in connection with 2020’s response to BLM protests. I called for the impeachment of Trump, who incited these domestic terrorists, and I have publicly made this statement.

11. Will you advocate for legislation to mandate the review of sentences of incarcerated individuals aged 55 and older who have served in excess of 15 years to determine if they warrant release?

Yes, I feel that compassionate release is something that should be done on a more regular basis. I have sponsored bills to ensure elder parole and fair and timely parole.

12. Will you advocate for legislation that would ensure those appearing before the New York State Parole Board are considered for release from prison based on who they are today and not exclusively based on the nature of their crime?

Yes. I have been a leading voice on criminal justice reforms in our state, from bail and discovery reforms to closing Rikers. I have long advocated for criminal justice reforms to dismantle the deep flaws that perpetuate racial and economic bias in our judicial system. I have fought to end solitary confinement, and to break the school-to-prison pipeline (I have a bill to do the same). I was one of the few state legislators to stand strong against the recent bail rollbacks -which were implemented due to inaccurate information about the laws and their impact on public safety. My passion for this issue is a moral and ethical imperative, but also keenly tied to my intricate understanding of the legal system and of local court proceedings.

13. Do you commit to visit constituents who are incarcerated in state prisons such as Bedford Correctional Facility? When was your last visit to visit incarcerated constituents?

Yes, if possible. Last visit was in December 2019.

14. Have you participated in any demonstrations or protests in relation to the issues of clemency and parole?

Yes, many. NYS has many incredible advocates like RAPP and HALT, and I have been to many of their events and signed on to support and vocally push for bills they want to advance. I have also participated in clemency events with Jim Owles.

15. Will you affirmatively seek to hire formerly incarcerated individuals?

Yes, I believe that everyone deserves a second chance. I will seek the best person for the job and if they are formerly incarcerated, that would not be a barrier.

16. Do you believe in the decriminalization of sex work?

Yes, I strongly support decriminalizing sex work.

17. Will you oppose any legislation that promotes the Nordic model

I am aware there are concerns with the Nordic model, but I am not sufficiently familiar with it to comment otherwise. I am unfamiliar with any similar legislation at the federal level, which of course would be most relevant to serving in the House of Representatives.

18. What proposals will you advocate for the protection of immigrants and further New York as a Sanctuary City?

I have pushed for strong supports for immigrants in New York, including the NY State DREAM Act which gave undocumented students access to state.administered grants and scholarships for their higher education costs. I helped push through New York’s critical program for expanding access to care for lower income people ineligible for Medicaid and for those who were excluded from health insurance coverage due to immigration status -our state-funded Essential Plan for people living at up to 200% of the federal poverty level.

I was an active co-sponsor of the NYS green light bill and have supported the availability of driver’s licenses for persons who are undocumented since former Gov. Eliot Spitzer proposed it. I have actively supported the LegalAid Society andArabAmerican Family Support Center which supports immigrants with education, training and legal services including immigration support.

Immigrants bore the brunt of cruel and dehumanizing federal policies enacted under Trump. However, the dysfunction and gratuitous suffering at the center of the nation’s immigration system long pre-date 2016. The system weaponized by Trump was constructed by prior administrations from both political parties, and funded and enabled by laws passed by Congress under both Republican and Democratic leadership. The unprecedented and ever-increasing scale of detentions and deportations have squandered unprecedented billions of taxpayer dollars and devastated millions of families. These detentions and deportations also disproportionately harm Black and Brown immigrants, reinforcing the racial hierarchies and racial injustices that pervade our society.

I have strongly supported immigration reform with a path towards citizenship. I believe that President Biden’s bill, which would place a moratorium on deportations until an in depth review of the process can be completed, is a much needed addition.

We’re still seeing cases that mirror the experience of Pablo Villavicencio, who was delivering pizza for his job and was detained while taking an order to a BrooklynArmy base, that don’t get the same coverage and resolutions. Instead people with extraordinary and de-humanizing experiences become statistics. According to theACLU, nearly 79 percent of detained people in removal proceedings lacked counsel in the current fiscal year. Immigrants have rights that are protected under the constitution and right now we have a federal agency that is basically operating on an extralegal level not seen since the Japanese internment in the 1940s.

I will always show up for our neighbors when they need us and help protect immigrant communities; Ravi Ragbir is a friend and a constituent and I accompanied him to his ICE check-ins in Manhattan, and was in the building with his wife, colleagues and legal team when he was secretly removed from 26 Federal Plaza and spirited to another part of the country. While we took to the streets to try to prevent them from leaving with him, he was removed (and later returned to NYC by the courts). It was harrowing and all too commonplace. Ravi is a Brooklyn immigrant rights activist, and was the Executive Director of the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City, and I am proud to say, a supporter of my candidacy.

I've been an avid supporter of funding for legal services for social justice issues and for immigrants in the city and state and removing ICE from our courts.

19. Will you advocate, including introducing legislation, to remove public funding from religious schools?

I’m a strong supporter of public schools and my focus is to improve the public educational system so that all kids have access to a good, equal education. While I strongly believe in the separation of church and state, I am also aware that for kids with disabilities who are entitled to a free appropriate public education (education at public expense), some needed programming and educational environments are only available in private and religious schools. I would not object to that public funding for those children’s specific needs. I also do not object to free meals for children attending religious schools at public expense.

20. Do you support the establishment of safe consumption spaces?

Yes. I supported plans to have a site in Gowanus in my district and I am an active supporter of

VOCAL-NY (that plan had stalled).

21. Have you ever endorsed any member of the IDC or any candidates who challenged IDC members? Please identify all candidates

I have not endorsed members of the IDC. I also worked very hard to elect Sen. Zellnor Myrie whose district overlaps with mine, who defeated an IDC member, Jesse Hamilton.

22. Will you commit to hiring a member of the LGBT community to serve as a liaison to the community? Yes.

23. Will you commit to ensuring diverse LGBT representation among your staff? Yes.

24. Who did or do you support for office in the Democratic primary in the following races

A) mayor and comptroller in 2021 B) President in 2016 and 2020 C) Governor and Lt. Governor 2022.

In 2021, I didn’t endorse, but my home club IND endorsed Lander and Stringer for Mayor, but later changed that Mayoral endorsement to no endorsement.

In 2016, I supported Hillary Clinton. In 2020, Elizabeth Warren.

In 2022, I formally endorsed Kathy Hochul, and my club endorsed Hochul &Ana MariaArchila.

In all but a few cases over the last 20 years, I support candidates endorsed through my home club’s endorsement process.

25. Describe any federal legislation and policy changes that you support in order to address the ongoing effects of slavery, racism, colonialism, and discrimination

I support financial restitution for those who have been the victims of systemic racism, including redlining, which is one of the worst modern examples of systematic racism in this country. I support Baby Bonds and co-sponsored legislation to create such a program in NYS. I support canceling student debt and funding HBCUs as well as community schools.

Both of the areas I have specialized in -disability rights and transportation justice -are areas where Black, Indigenous, and People of Color are disparately impacted because of a lack of medical resources, racial discrimination in special education and a legacy of neglect on account of race. The transportation area has always benefited the most privileged communities leaving BIPOC with challenges when it came to navigating their way to work, school and other needs. My response to address the legacy of racism in other areas is the same. Listening to the concerns raised by racial justice advocates and working to systemically reverse the harm created by supporting the facts -that it is time for governance that centers equity and racial justice.

I have been an active supporter of theAlliance for Quality Education’s efforts to ensure the campaign for fiscal equity’s education funding, school integration, expansion of MWBE programs, and expansion of rent stabilization protections. I have also been an advocate to repeal the SHSAT test for specialized schools, which is not a valid test and which disproportionately impactsAfricanAmerican and Latinx students (and girls).

I am also committed to being anti-racist, amplifying the voice of BIPOC, and ensuring that policies and programs that reduce racism are at the forefront of our policy plans and programs .including in land use, jobs, and anti-poverty measures.

In 2020, we focused efforts on combating racism in policing, judicial and prison systems. I was a prime sponsor of the package of criminal justice reforms passed in the state legislature, including the repeal of 50a. I continue to fight for the release of aging people in prison, and fair and timely parole for people who are incarcerated, and the clean slate act.

I was also part of a vocal minority who stood firmly against the state’s bail reform rollbacks, and voted against the budget this year because of additional changes, including to Kendra’s law which I believe were unconstitutional. I have engaged with the Brooklyn DA’s office on reentry programs and working with young people to avoid gun violence with anti violence organizations and to address educational gaps. The DA’s office is very interested in my bill to screen folks for reading disabilities, for example. I will also work to ensure that New York is at the forefront of innovative programs and alternatives to incarceration.

26. What legislation or other policy changes do you support in order to make college and graduate school affordable for poor, working-class, and middle-class Americans and to alleviate the crushing loan debt that many students and alumni are facing?

I support Senator Sanders' College forAllAct and the expungement of up to fifty thousand dollars in debt for those who attended public colleges and universities. I have also supported the New Deal for CUNY and the elimination of tuition in New York’s public colleges and universities. I am also a supporter of Early college high schools, such as Bard’s program. Students graduate from high school with two years of college done, reducing the number of years they will be paying tuition at college.

27. Do you support a single-payer universal health care system? Please elaborate.

Yes, unequivocally. I support Sen. Sanders’ and Rep. Jayapal’s Medicare forAllAct (S.1129,

H.R. 1384) and I am a proud co-sponsor of the NY HealthAct.

28. Discuss your stance on reproductive rights, including access to contraceptives and abortion services.

The ability to access reproductive health care, including abortion care, is a human right and an racial, social and economic justice issue. As a former abortion counselor, who has held the hands of hundreds of patients through their procedures, I was proud to co-sponsor and vote for the Reproductive HealthAct to codify Roe v. Wade into state law and the Comprehensive Contraceptive CareAct in 2019. We also recently passed another package of bills to ensure that New York is a sanctuary for those traveling from other states seeking abortion and contraceptive care.And, just last week we passed the EqualityAmendment to amend the NY Constitution to ensure abortion protection and protections from a host of other forms of discrimination.

I will never hedge on protecting a right to an abortion, and working for better abortion access and reproductive justice for everyone.

I have been one of the leaders pushing for legislation to study Crisis Pregnancy Centers, which operate across the country. We must monitor the centers masquerading as providing reproductive health care, but that don’t have any qualified medical personnel on staff. There are several CPCs right here in our very progressive congressional district, including one in the same building as Planned Parenthood!

29. Will you refuse money from individuals or Political Action Committees representing the real estate?

Yes and I would not accept their support. Never have.

30. Will you refuse money from police and corrections unions?

Yes.

31. Will you refuse and refund any contributions from executives at corporations complicit in the Trump agenda?

Yes.

32. What additional information would you like Jim Owles to consider when we are making our endorsements decisions?

As I have noted previously, my entire career has been about lifting the voices and fighting for the rights of those who have been historically marginalized. Having grown up in a working-class neighborhood in Yonkers, the grandchild of immigrants, and putting myself through college, graduate school and law school, I know what it means to not take things for granted and to work hard for just results. I am a disability civil rights lawyer, a former teacher of deaf students, a community activist, and progressive NY StateAssemblymember.As a sole practitioner, I fought and won a landmark case that went up to the Supreme Court and changed the landscape for disability rights in the United States.

I would bet I am the only candidate to have interpreted Broadway shows inAmerican Sign Language, or who has worked in the clinical trenches as an abortion counselor.

I believe my Red Flag law is the strongest such gun violence prevention law in the country and am pleased that the Building Safer Communities Act includes money and resources to help states implement red flag laws, such as New York’s. I am a national leader in dyslexia advocacy and the science of reading which could help empty our prisons and eliminate the school to prison pipeline.

33. If you resign in the middle of your term, will you let the voters decide? Do you plan to serve your term and not send a vacancy to the county committee?

I don’t plan on retiring midterm, but would let the voters decide.

34. Who are you supporting for Speaker/Democratic leader in 2023?

I don’t know this yet; it's not clear who will be in the running,

35. In view of the fact that Ed Koch has been documented to have caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people with AIDS, and was blatantly racist, would you support a city bill to rename the former Queensboro Bridge? Do you authorize the use of your name for such a purpose?

Yes, I would support this effort.

36. What is your position on removing the Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus Circle and if so, what should replace it?‘

I support removing the statue, and replacing it with a monument to New York City’s native Lenape people in answer to Columbus’ colonialist legacy, or a statue supported by the Lenape people.

37. What is your position on FOSTA/SESTA, passed in 2018? Do you or will you sponsor the Safe Workers Study Act which has been introduced by Elizabeth Warren and co.sponsored by Reps. Barbara Lee and Ron Wyden and a host of other sponsors including Bernie Sanders.

FOSTA/SESTAseems to have made some sex work more dangerous due to reduced vetting and reducing the control that workers have, but it also seems to be used very infrequently. I am open to learning more about this, and I would be very supportive of the Safe Workers StudyAct.

38. Do you support the class-wide scheduling of Fentanyl-related substances, which groups like Human Rights Watch have argued would worsen pretrial detention, mass incarceration, and racial disparities?

I don’t support this. People who may be addicted to fentanyl need harm-reduction services and treatment, not punishment.

39. Do you support the Green New Deal?

Yes. I helped pass NY’s Green New Deal (CLCPA), and I fully support the vision of a federal Green New Deal, andI would supporttheTHRIVEAct withthe same gusto. Climate change is one of my top priorities. We must meet the climate crisis head on by moving our economy to 100% renewable energy. I co-sponsored the Build Public RenewablesAct and theAll Electric BuildingsAct, as well as the GreenAmendment ensuring a NY constitutional right to clean water and clean air which the voters overwhelmingly endorsed in last year’s referendum.

There is so much more we could do on every level of government, but the federal government’s role is critical. New York City’s public land use process (ULURP) is in need of radical reform and given that we have democratic control of the state and city, we should be accomplishing much more in these bodies. ULURP is wildly undemocratic and does not provide the public a meaningful seat at the table, but rather it favors the developers who offer “affordable” housing that is not truly affordable, and offers few environmental protections.

One reform I have suggested to the City Council is amending the NYC Zoning resolution to include standards for combatting greenhouse gasses (it only addresses hazardous materials), so currently, a builder can build in conformance with the zoning resolution while violating the CLCPA. I have also stood up against irresponsible development projects that harm the environment while they line the pockets of developers. I led the Gowanus Expressway Stakeholder Group and litigated against the state and federal governments to plan for an environmentally just tunnel to replace the aging elevated Gowanus Expressway, which has divided and polluted predominantly poor communities of color along the western Brooklyn corridor for decades and will continue that advocacy and support as a member of Congress.

40. President Biden has not granted a single pardon or commutation. When have you publicly demanded that Biden do more on this issue? Will you pledge to publicly speak out about this in 2022?

Leonard Peltier should have long been released and it’s about time that the Biden administration starts granting pardons, especially in cases of compassionate releases.

41. Do you commit to not supporting Joe Manchin or Kyrsten Sinema? Will you consider supporting a primary opponent?

Yes.

42. Some members of congress indicate they will only support incumbents regardless of their politics and regardless of who is presenting them a primary. Are you one of them?

No, you have to choose the best person for the job. These aren’t lifetime positions and never were intended to be. Members of the Congress need to always know who they answer to and that is their constituents.