Candidate Answers to JOLDC: Khaleel M. Anderson for NY Assembly District 31

Candidate Name: Khaleel M. Anderson

Office Seeking Election for: New York State Assembly, 31st District (Brooklyn)

Campaign Address: P.O. Bo x 900641 Far Rockaway, NY 11690-0641

Campaign Website: In design

Campaign Telephone: (917)-830-6249

Campaign Social Media Handles (Facebook/Twitter):
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/khaleel.anderson.9
Twitter: @khaleelanderson
Campaign Contact (name/phone/email):
Ife Fahm (Government and Technology Advisor) Famojuro@gmail.com

1. Explain, based on life experiences and accomplishments, why you believe you are best qualified to represent your district.
I am a proud product of the District 75 (special education) school system in NYC from K-12 and a recent CUNY graduate. I've struggled with self expression and an emotional disability my entire youth life. People always told me that being a black young person in my circumstances at the time could only lead me in two directions: dead or in jail. This was sadly the reality for a number of my peers, growing up in a poor, economically distressed neighborhood with little resources, and poor schools. My entire life the odds have been stacked against myself and my family. I was able to overcome that “fate” by finding an outlet: volunteering and community organizing. I took to the notion that no matter how young I was, I could make an impact in my neighborhood. Ever since that realization, my life has been dedicated to righting the wrongs of the world. Running for office was not my first, second, or third choice, but it became a necessity to address the deeper systemic issues affecting my community.

Assembly District 31 has been my home for nearly 15 years! I have had the opportunity starting at the age of 10/11 years to volunteer to build a community that is better for us all! Whether it was hosting block clean ups and tutoring events, to fighting to expand local bus service and helping build a half acre community farm, my life experiences and accomplishments have helped shape me into the person I am today. My candidacy is the best qualified to represent this district because my life experiences are widely similar to the average person in the district. My candidacy is the best qualified because I am a born fighter, an underdog, a genuine person who is tunnel-focused on improving the neighborhood for now and the following generations proceeding us. Whether suffering under food desert conditions, poor transit, environmental racism, or even near homelessness, the modest people of this district deserve a better quality of life and future. We all deserve spaces that do not discriminate against race, seual orientation, gender and income, and our work does not stop until everyone can say they are free from any of the aforementioned.

2. Do you now support or have you ever supported an openly LGBTQ candidate for public office?
Yes! I supported and was a campaign canvasser for Melissa Skarlz for NYS Assembly in Queens in 2018.

3. If applicable, what legislation directly affecting the LGBT community have you introduced or co-sponsored? (indicate accordingly.
We are not elected to office yet; this question is not applicable.

4. What LGBT organizations have you been involved with, either on a volunteer basis or professionally?
As a community organizer with the Rockaway Youth Task Force, we worked with LGBTIQA+ groups from all across the city, state, and country. Whether attending training, direct actions, or even hosting events, I have had the honor to work with Fierce, GSA, Audre Lorde Project (ALP) ,and more! This helped ud build our social lends on the LGBTQIA+ community to ensure we are allies in all spaces. Also on my college campus, I’ve volunteered to help host and plan pride and panel events on health and socio-economic conditions folks face in this community.

5. If applicable, what LGBT organizations have you allocated funds to? We are not elected to office yet; this question is not applicable.

6. Do you consider yourself a member of the LGBT community?
I 100% consider myself an ardent defender and ally to the LGBTQIA movement + community. Although I do not personally identify as a member of the community, as a male who identifies as straight, it is my duty and responsibility to work twice as hard to defend and protect the rights of my friends, neighbors, allies, etc within that community.

7. Have you marched in Pride? Which marches and for approximately how many years?
In 2018, I marched in Queens Pride with candidates Suraj Patel and A.O.C. Prior to that myself and college friends have attended pride in Manhattan several times. We were excited that over the summer, OutRockaway, an LGBTQIA+ organization newly active in my neighborhood hosted a community block party which myself and the team attended.

8. Have you employed openly LGBT individuals previously? Do you employ any currently?
We are not elected to office yet nor are we employers; this question is not applicable.

9. If you receive the endorsement, do you agree to identify the club on all literature and electronic materials where you list endorsements?
If endorsed, the Jim Owles Democratic club would have logos printed on all our materials.

10. What press conferences, demonstrations, rallies and protests in support of LGBT issues, pro choice legislation, criminal justice issues and the Resist Trump Movement have you attended?
Over my 10+ years in the advocacy space, we have attended dozens of rallies and demonstrations in support of the LGBT, pro choice, criminal justice, and anti-Trump movements. Some of the most memorable include the following: March To Justice movement from NY to DC for Criminal Justice Reform in 2015. Many Black Lives Matter rallies in the city and different parts of Queens to protest the unlawful killings of black, brown, or trans individuals by the police including an event in Washington Square Park. And Resist Trump demonstrations we’ve attended including the protest at JFK airport after the Muslim Ban in 2017.

11. Have you ever been arrested? If so please explain why and the outcome of arrest.
When I was a senior in high school I was arrested for fare-evasion. My friend was involved in a domestic dispute and was escaping her abusive partner. I escorted her to the subway station and swiped her onto the train. When she asked for help with her bags up the stairs, I realized I only had one swipe, so I went under the turnstyle, helped her up the stairs and as I was leaving the station, I was arrested and charged with fare evasion. I was released the next day on my own recognizance and the case was dismissed after six months.

12. Will you advocate and sponsor legislation to mandate the review of sentences of incarcerated individuals over the age of 55 who have served in excess of 15 years to determine if they warrant release?
I 100% support this legislation. The prison industrial space has captured many lives of the centuries of its founding. The oldest among us are much less of a societal “threat” and must be released with the proper tools for effective recidivism.

13.Do you commit to visit constituents who are incarcerated in state prisons such as Bedford Correctional Facility?
yes. In a district that is overpoliced and is saturated with elements of an unjust system I would visit any constituent that has been unjustly targeted by the criminal injustice system, including Bedford. In November I visited a middle school friend who had been detained for two years on Rikers Island pending trial. He was released in January 2020.

14. Do you believe sincere remorse, risk of reoffending and actions taken while incarcerated should be considered over the original crime in determinations of parole?
We believe that the rehabilitation aspect of the CJS is flawed, broken, and in some cases non-existent. This needs to be strengthened in an effort to create a better, more effective space. We do think remorse should be considered in the determination of parole.

15. Have you participated in any demonstrations or protests in relation to the issues of clemency and parole?
Yes, with VOCAL_NY at the Queens Criminal Court

16.Will you affirmatively seek to hire formerly incarcerated individuals? Yes

17.Do you believe in the decriminalization of sex work? Are you sponsoring the bill introduced by Jessica Ramos?
Senator Ramos is an uplifting forward thinking visionary, and ally in the fight to decriminalize sex work. This campaign wholeheartedly supports the decrimalization of sex. We also believe that our neighborhood would benefit from the repeal of Section 240.37 of the New York State Penal Code. The line states that: “Loitering for the purpose of engaging in a prostitution offense”. We believe that this is a form of broken windows policing that needs to be repealed.

18.Will you actively oppose legislation that would implement the dangerous Nordic model instead of decriminalization of prostitution?
Yes, our campaign and office once elected would actively oppose the Nordic model of decriminalization of prostitution.

19. What proposals will you advocate for to protect immigrants and the further New York as a Sanctuary City?
We need to loosen the regulations on social benefits for our undocmeted neighbors. We also need to eliminate any aspect of the NYPD communication with ICE and we need to ban ICE from a courtrooms period. We also need to create mechanisms on the local level (understanding this is limited) to help our families with citizenship test costs and naturalization.

20. Will you advocate, including introducing legislation, to remove public funding from religious schools?
We believe that access to education is vital to all constituencies across the district;Religious or nonreligious alike. We also believe that public dollars should be dedicated to public education. In that vein, we would support the removal of funds from religious schools.

21.Do you support the establishment of supervised drug consumption spaces?
As a measure of good faith and harm reduction, we will support the implementation of supervised drug consumption sites across the city. We need to understand as society that the war on drugs was a failure and that over policing people with substance-abuse use disorder is not how address the issue from a root cause perspective.

22.Have you ever endorsed any member of the IDC or any candidates who challenged IDC members?
Please identify all candidates. In 2018 I was a canvasser for John Liu to unseat Tony Avella in Northeastern Queens. I also supported Jessica Ramos by attending one of her first fundraisers on the Lower East Side in 2018.

23. Will you commit to hiring a member of the LGBT community to serve as a liaison to the community?
The 31st Assembly district is among the most diverse in the county of Queens. We have folks of all walks of life and will hire people that reflect the neighborhood, its values, and our vision for it! We will absoulety, hire a member of that community including a brother, sister, or nonconforming individual from the neighborhood that is a member of LGBTQIA+ who represents the community.

24. Will you commit to ensuring diverse LGBT representation among your staff?
Yes we would 100% and already have candidates in mind.

25.Who did you support for office in the following races A) mayor and Public Advocate in 2014 B) President in 2016 C) Governor and Attorney General 2018
A. William De Blasio and Tish James B. Bernard Sanders (Primary) Hillary R. Clinton (General election) C. Cynthia Nixon and Tish James

26. Describe any legislation and policy changes that you support in order to address the ongoing effects of slavery, racism, colonialism, and discrimination.
We support reparations for black people, the redistribution of wealth back to black people, and a power dynamic shift for generations affected by the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade through the current system of the New Jim Crow. We support and/or created legislation to achieve these goals.

27. 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?
As a college graduate who was thankful enough not to leave college in debt, I believe that the excelsior scholarship is a scam. We need access to truly free universal public higher education. We support legislation that would buy back the debt of college students who use their degrees for different forms of public service. We also support legislation that would strengthen student enrollment in the public education systems like CUNY and SUNY by creating a dedicated revenue stream through taxation of the wealthy and on vices like beer, etc to pay for access to education.

28.Do you support a single-payer universal health care system? Please elaborate.
The New York Health Act is the single most important piece of legislation that is available. We need to create a health care system that is equal and will not cause people to spiral into debt. As a medicaid recipient I understand that the need for universal healthcare can literally change lives.

29. Discuss your stance on reproductive rights, including access to contraceptives and abortion services.
Support the access to all reproductive care products needed, from contraceptives to abortions. Women, men, gender non-conforming should have access to these items free of charge. Cash should not stand in the way of access to healthcare.

30. Will you refuse money from individuals or Political Action Committees representing the real estate industry?
Have already committed to this and signed the Housing Justice for All pledge. We will not even look at filthy real estate money.

31. Will you refuse and refund any contributions from executives at corporations complicit in the Trump agenda?
We will 100% refuse or refund any of Trump related dirty money.

32. Are you against the opening of casinos in New York owned and controlled by Trump mega-donor Sheldon Adelson? Yes we are!

33. Do you support the surrogacy bill introduced by Senator Brad Hoylman allowing women to decide control of her body in regard to surrogacy?
Yes, as a campaign run primarily by woman organizers, we wholeheartedly believe in the right for women to choose.

34.Will you cosponsor the legislation to prohibit evictions without good cause (previously S2892A)? Yes, as a victim of retaliatory eviction within the past year, we believe that the good case eviction legislation is a no brainer and would co-sponsor within the first 30 days in office . I signed the HJFA pledge and support for a homes guarantee.

35.Will you push for the passage of Home Stability Support (HSS) to bridge the difference between the public assistance shelter allowance and fair market rents for NY's 95,000 homeless?
Yes and I have been publicly supported this again no-brainer legislation.

36. What additional information would you like Jim Owles to consider when we are making our endorsements decisions?
Supporting Khaleel Anderson would be supporting a young, authentic, engaged, and fighter-type individual that will also defend and protect the rights of our LGBTQIA+ family. Having close and distant family members who are members of this community provide my first hand experience needed to fight even harder to ensure their rights are protected and that improve their quality of life. Once elected, we are committed to check-ins with your organization, attending actions, and helping create a stronger understanding of what it means to be a member of the LGBT community.