Candidate Answers to JOLDC: Angel Vasquez for NY Senate District 33
Candidate Name: Angel Vasquez
Office Seeking Election for: New York State Senate District 33
Website: https://vasquezforsenate.com/
1. Explain, based on life experiences and accomplishments, why you believe you are best qualified to represent your district.
Every day I see my experience, as an immigrant, an educator, a public servant, and a gay man of color reflected back in my neighbors. I owe my success to my parents and the sacrifices they made, but also to my teachers and to the diverse community around me who put the needs of others first. This is why I have dedicated my life to public service and why I am running for State Senate to continue that work.
I have the lived experience of the district to meet the diverse needs of all constituents and have the academic and professional experience to be an effective legislator. I have studied and worked in the fields of education and labor throughout my entire professional career. One of my proudest accomplishments is creating a safe enough space in my classroom as a former educator where middle school students “came out”.
As we rebuild and rebound from the pandemic, we have the opportunity to create a new normal by embracing a bold change and taking real action that improves lives.
As a public school teacher, a government chief of staff, and labor union policy expert, I have seen incremental progress be made. More often than not, I have witnessed government bogged down by inertia, inaction, and inability to imagine new ideas. As the next State Senator for SD-
33, I will create a culture of unity, inclusion, and creative vision to deliver meaningful and tangible progress for the district’s students, families, and workers.
2. Please identify any openly LGBTQ candidates for public office you have previously or presently endorsed?
I have never made any personal public endorsements of any candidates.
3. If applicable what legislation directly affecting the LGBTQ community have you introduced or co-sponsored?
I have not been a legislator and have not introduced legislation. However, one of my proudest accomplishments is awarding the Dominican Women’s Development Center $200,000 in 2018 to open the first LGBTQ youth drop-in center in northern Manhattan.
4. What LGBTQ organizations have you been involved with, either on a volunteer or professional basis?
I have volunteered and supported the Dominican Women’s Development Center. While the organization is also focused on women’s rights and child care, they did open the first LBGTQ youth drop-in center in northern Manhattan. I am also very active with the Latino Commission on AIDS. I was a member of their Cielo Gala benefit committee.
5. If applicable, what LGBTQ organizations have you allocated funds to?
I increase a donor’s contribution level from $2,500 to $5,000 to the Latino Commission on AIDS 2019 Cielo gala. I also helped allocate $200K to the Dominican Women’s Development Center in 2018.
6. Do you consider yourself a member of the LGBTQ community?
Yes, I am a gay man.
7. Have you marched in any Pride parades? Which marches and for approximately how many years?
I have attended the NYC Pride parade since moving back to NYC from Denver in 2013, except for those cancelled due to COVID. I have not marched but have attended.
8. Have you employed openly LGBTQ individuals previously? Do you employ any currently?
Yes, I did when I served as chief of staff to a State Senator.
9. If you receive the Jim Owles endorsement, do you agree to identify the club on all literature and electronic materials where you list endorsements?
Yes.
10. What press conferences, demonstrations, rallies and protests in support of LGBTQ issues, pro- choice legislation, criminal justice reform issues and the Resist Trump Movement have you attended and/or participated in?
In June 2020, I helped organize and spoke at the first rally in northern Manhattan in support of legislative changes needed to address issues of policing and criminal justice reform in our state.
11. Have you ever been arrested in pursuit of legislation or for protesting an injustice? Please elaborate.
No.
12. If you are an incumbent, what have you accomplished in your most recent term?
N/A.
13. For the following pieces of legislation, please answer if you are currently a sponsor or co- sponsor (if you are an incumbent), or if you will co-sponsor (if you are not an incumbent):
A. Fair and Timely Parole (S.1415A / A.4231A): A bill pending in Albany that would ensure access to the parole release process for incarcerated people in New York State. This bill insures that decisions on parole are not solely based on the nature of the original crimes but
includes incarcerated peoples’ record of rehabilitation and assessment of current risk to public safety.
Yes. I will co-sponsor.
B. Elder Parole (S.15A / A.3475A): A bill pending in Albany that would allow elderly incarcerated people who have served at least 15 years in prison an opportunity to appear before the Parole Board for a chance at release.
Yes. I will co-sponsor.
14. If you will not co-sponsor any of the above legislation, why not?
15. Do you oppose the efforts to weaken bail reform as written?
Yes. Event he NYPD’s data shows that there is little correlation between the increase in crime and violence and the bail reform enacted before the start of the pandemic. We need to follow the facts, not fear.
16. Do you commit to visiting constituents who are incarcerated in state prisons and city jails? If incumbent, when did you do so last?
Yes.
17. Do you support legislation outlawing solitary confinement in all prisons statewide including city jails?
Yes. This is inhumane treatment and serves no place in our prisons and jails, which are meant to primarily serve as rehabilitation centers, not space for inhumane treatment of incarcerated people.
18. When was the last time you were inside a correctional facility.
5 years ago to visit a family member.
19. Do you believe sincere remorse and actions taken while incarcerated should be considered over the original crime in determinations of parole? This question is redundant. I would eliminate it.
Yes.
20. What do you believe should be done to ensure more clemencies are granted every year?
I think we may want to look at the very high requirements in place and consider creating a tiered system depending on the crime that was committed.
21. Will you publicly call on the governor to use her clemency power for the many incarcerated New Yorkers who can safely return home? Will you tweet out your support for this or issue a public statement? Would you be willing to be critical of a governor who does not exercise their power to grant clemencies and commutations to those worthy of release? Have you ever spoken out in such a way?
Yes, I am more than willing to do so. I have not spoken out in this way, but I do believe there is power in serving as a strong advocate on specific cases.
22. Have you participated in any demonstrations or protests concerning clemency and parole?
No.
23. Will you affirmatively seek to hire formerly incarcerated individuals?
Absolutely. Having had family members who are formerly incarcerated, I know the damage it can cause when you don’t have the ability to restart your life. We have to open up doors and opportunities to those who are formerly incarcerated, not make it more difficult for them to establish a normal life. Once a person has completed their sentence, they should have the opportunity to a fresh start.
24. Do you support legislation to prohibit discrimination against formerly incarcerated people in housing and employment?
Absolutely.
25. Do you believe in the decriminalization of sex work? Are you or will you co-sponsor the bill introduced by Julia Salazar (S.6419 / A. 8230), which fully decriminalizes sex work?
Yes.
26. Will you actively oppose legislation (S.6040 / A.7069) that would implement the dangerous Nordic model instead of the decriminalization of prostitution? Explain in detail your views on full decriminalization, the Nordic model, legalization, and the existing criminalization approach.
We don’t need partial decriminalization as the Nordic model proposes because then we only get partial solutions. By criminalizing sex work, we only drive the industry underground with many abuses prone to take place. We need full decriminalization because the sex work industry is not going to disappear. By taking the industry out of the shadows we can bring an end to the abuse, sex trafficking, and other crimes related to the industry as it currently exists.
27. Do you support ending qualified immunity for police and other law enforcement individuals?
Yes.
28. What proposals will you advocate for to protect immigrants and further New York as a “Sanctuary State”?
I think we need to continue to fund the Immigration Legal Defense Fund so that all immigrants have universal access to legal defense. Though it’s a federal fight, we need to continue to push for DACA and a pathway to citizenship for the over 11 million undocumented residents in the U.S.
29. Are you a sponsor of New York's Medical Aid in Dying Act (A.4321a/S.6471)? If not will you add your name and sponsor?
When elected, I commit to co-sponsoring.
29. Do you support the establishment of supervised drug consumption spaces?
Yes, but I do believe we have to be careful with placement and make sure we take equity into consideration. In talking to my neighbors in Washington Heights, I have learned that there are a lot of neighbors who are displeased with the space established near 181st street.
30. Have you ever endorsed any member of the IDC or any candidates who challenged IDC members? Please identify all candidates
I have never made any public endorsements. I did, however, serve as a government staff member to Marisol Alcantara. I had recently received my master’s in public policy from Columbia University and serving in her office offered me the opportunity to put my academic experience to work in a real practical way where I could affect change for my home community of northern Manhattan.
31. Will you commit to ensuring diverse LGBTQ representation among your staff?
Absolutely.
32. Who did you support for office in the following primaries or special elections: A) Mayor in 2021 B) President in 2016 and 2020 C) Governor and Attorney General in 2018?
I did not make any public endorsements in any of those races.
33. Have you made an endorsement in the current bid for Governor? If so, who?
I have not.
34. Do you support term limits for statewide office holders? For State Legislators?
Yes. I believe in term limits for statewide office holders and for state legislators. We always need to think about succession planning and giving opportunities to the next generation. Public policy must be shaped with all stakeholders in mind.
35. Describe any legislation and policy changes that you support in order to address the ongoing effects of slavery, racism, colonialism, and discrimination.
We have to create more access to capital for MWBEs and address skyrocketing commercial rent for small business owners if we want to support generating wealth; close the school-to- prison pipeline in schools; implement culturally-responsive education to improve student engagement; we have to stop the displacement of communities of color by building market rate housing using government subsidies; and we have to end the mass incarceration of black and Latino men.
36. 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 am personally straddled in student loan debt because to be a serious professional in the realm of public policy, a master’s in public policy or public administration is necessary. However, these degrees can cost up to $200,000. We must add more student loan forgiveness programs at the state level for professionals who obtain degrees in NYS and work in public service fields. I also believe in cancelling student loan debt because it’s holding back generations. We must find a way to make CUNY tuition free again. CUNY is an engine of social mobility—it used to be free, but since the population of black and Latino students has increased over the years so has the tuition.
37. Do you support a single-payer universal health care system? Do you or will you co-sponsor the New York Health Act? Please elaborate.
I believe access to healthcare needs to be universal because healthcare should be considered a human right. About 5% of our state’s population remains uninsured, including the undocumented population. We need to find strategies to fully insure our state, even if that means enacting the New York Health Act.
38. Discuss your stance on reproductive rights, including access to contraceptives and abortion services.
Government should not be in the business of telling women what to do with their bodies. We don’t tell men what to do with their bodies. I believe in sex education for our youth and increasing access to contraceptives.
39. Will you refuse money from individuals or Political Action Committees representing the real estate industry or law enforcement unions/associations?
Unfortunately, running political campaigns in the State of New York has become exorbitantly expensive, costing upwards of half a million dollars. We do not have a public-matching
program for state elections and as a gay man of color who does not come from a wealthy background, it’s difficult for me to commit and say no to funding. There are some players in the real estate industry who seek build more affordable housing and want to increase access to affordable commercial spaces. I can commit to being vigilant of who I accept money from, but I cannot commit to refusing all funding.
40. Will you refuse and refund any contributions from executives at corporations complicit in the Trump agenda? What does this mean?
Yes. The Trump agenda was an onslaught of attack on everything I am as a immigrant, gay, Latino from the black diaspora. I have no need to accept funding from organizations that supported that agenda.
41. Will you cosponsor the legislation to prohibit evictions without good cause (S.3082 / A.5573)?
Yes.
42. 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? Will you co-sponsor S.856 / A.6032, which amends the Social Services Law to create a statewide rent supplement for families and individuals who are eligible for public assistance benefits and who face eviction, homelessness, or loss of housing due to domestic violence or hazardous living conditions?
Yes, absolutely.
43. What should happen to 421-a? Would you end it, mend it, continue it?
We need to change 421-a. It was drafted in the 1970s with a very different purpose that what is needed today. The 80/20 split in 421-a displacing communities of color. We need to focus on building more affordable housing. I don’t want to hear from developers who think that the 80/20 split is the only thing that works for them because they want to make millions in profit. We cannot sell out communities to real estate developers.
44. Do you support legalizing accessory dwelling units?
Yes, I believe this can help build more needed affordable housing.
45. Do you support more state funding for NYCHA? If so, how much?
Absolutely. NYCHA has approximately $40 billion in capital needs. If the federal government is not going to act, then our state government must. We did not need the private sector to build out our public housing in the 1970s and we do not need it now to make the necessary maintenance and repairs. We need revenue generators at the state level to fund the capital improvement projects in NYCHA.
46. Do you, or will you, co-sponsor the Climate and Community Investment Act? (S.4264A / A.6967) If you are an incumbent and do not currently co-sponsor this bill, why not?
Yes.
47. Do you support the New York Public Banking Act (S.1762A / A. 8290? If you are an incumbent and do not currently co-sponsor this bill, why not?
Absolutely yes. Hopefully with this act we can eliminate predatory check cashier businesses.
48. Do you support the New Deal for CUNY (S.4461 / A.5843)? If you are an incumbent and do not currently co-sponsor this bill, why not?
Yes. CUNY used to be tuition free. CUNY needs to go back to being tuition free.
49. 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.
50. What is your position on removing the Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus Circle and if so, what should replace it?
As an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, I know firsthand the devastation brought by Christopher Columbus to my island nation. His nephew’s home, first Governor of Santo Domingo, still sits in the preserved colonial are of the country’s capital. The Columbus Statue
should be moved to a museum where we can learn the history of what ensued from his landing on Hispaniola in 1492. As a replacement, I think we need a statue that symbolizes the mosaic and melting pot that is our history. We need a statue that stand to represent NYC as an international city that has accepted many waves of immigrants seeking a better life.
51. Do you support reducing the budget of law enforcement throughout the state, and if so, by how much?
I think we need to stop asking police officers to play roles beyond that of a public safety officer. Today we expect them to also be social workers, counselors, and psychologists. This is exactly what’s also happened in our public schools. I think we need to add more resources and tools to our police departments so that police officer can focus on public safety.
52. Are you in favor of removing police from any of the following? a) Schools; b) Mental health response calls; c) Homeless outreach and social services; or d) Traffic enforcement.
Yes. This is connected to my response for question 51. We should not expect police officers to attend mental health response calls. We can have them support a mental health professional on the call so that the professional feels safe, but that should not be the primary role of our police officers.
53. Should law enforcements "Vice Squads" be eliminated?
I think we need to look at what Vice Squads enforce. For example, they should not be focused on stopping prostitution as I believe in decriminalizing sex work; however, I do believe the sale of narcotics on the streets should be stopped. Children of color are particularly harmed when they see drug transactions on the streets—I grew up in the 1990s in NYC, particularly Washington Heights. My parents made the decision to leave the neighborhood in the 2000s because it was unsafe for my brother and me.
54. How would you recommend law enforcement officers be penalized for refusing to wear masks in public while on duty, in defiance of city and state rules?
They should be taken off duty until the comply. If we are expected to comply as residents, then so should police officers.
55. What reforms would you make to the Civilian Complaint Review Board? Would you support state legislation to make CCRB disciplinary determinations binding?
I think we can to continue to expand the category of issues the CCRB is allowed to investigate. And yes, I do believe CCRB disciplinary determinations should be made binding.
56. What will you do to support nightlife in New York State?
As the vice chair of Manhattan Community Board 12’s licensing committee, I have learned about the onerous process restaurants must go through to obtain their licenses. There is a very long wait list—we need to cut red tape and make it easier for these small businesses. If we want to reduce crime and violence, we have to support employment generating opportunities for young adults.
57. Do you commit to speak with restaurant and nightlife industry representatives before taking a position on any policies that affect their businesses?
Yes, I already do as the vice chair of my community board’s licensing committee.
58. Do you commit to speak personally with liquor license applicants and license holders before opposing any bid for a liquor license? Likewise for an applicant seeking your support?
Absolutely. I already do locally.
59. What are the top 3 issues you aim to address locally and legislatively?
Converting more schools in the district into community schools, expanding access to capital and lowering commercial rents for small businesses, providing more mental health services to improve safety on our subway and bus commutes.
60. How much money do you presently have in your campaign account?
Since launching my campaign on 2/12, I have raised $35K and have 5 fundraisers planned in the month of March. My goal is to hit $100K by April 1.
61. What additional information would you like members The Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club to consider when we are making our endorsement decision concerning your candidacy?
I want to bring new energy to Albany. I think my district deserves a State Senator that wants to provide constituent services and one that wants to be an accomplished legislator. For too long, that has been missing in our district. I have the lived experience to know what constituents need and I have both the academic and professional experience to be an effective legislator.
The district needs a State Senator who is active and present.