Candidate Answers to JOLDC: Conrad Blackburn for NY Assembly District 70

Candidate Name: Conrad Blackburn
Office Seeking Election for: NY Assembly District 70
Campaign Website: https://conradforharlem.com/

1. Based upon your life experiences and accomplishments, why do you believe you are best qualified to represent your district?

I have committed my life to public service, working as a public defender and an organizer. I grew up knowing what it was like to struggle to make ends meet, and I am deeply committed to organizing with my community to help build their power and working to address the issues that are impacting those in the District.

I split my days between defending New Yorkers charged with committing crimes and advocating for legislative policy change in defense of poor and working class communities of color and mixed immigration status. That means I spend a lot of time listening and bringing people into coalition, finding solutions and shared consensus while still advancing the actual goals we’ve set out for ourselves. I’ve helped draft bills, I’ve helped come up with strategy for the introduction and passage of bills, and I’ve helped organize to ensure that bills are implemented once they are passed. I am well-acquainted with the complex and often frustrating political dynamics of Albany and am ready to navigate those dynamics on day one.

Additionally, I worked to organize the Bronx Defenders into a union shop, joining UAW Local 2325, the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys, the union it had once been created to undermine. That took talking to my coworkers again and again with the aim of listening to them, not just hearing them, so that I could really respond to their concerns. And, it took making sure that we remained in solidarity, even when we disagreed and our opponents tried to use those disagreements to fracture us.

I have personal experiences that intimately connect me to the struggle that poor and working class New Yorkers of color fight. I know what it’s like to struggle to get the bare necessities. I grew up poor and in the projects; a child of Jamaican immigrants, raised by a single mother. I’ve had to rely on government assistance for food. My family has had utilities turned off on us. I have personally witnessed and lived through the way poor governance, the worshiping of profits over people, and a draconian immigration and criminal punishment system tears people, families, and communities apart. I want to change that. In the richest country in the world, no child, no family, no community should go through that.

I don’t determine my politics via consultants or polling. My political commitments have been shaped from my personal experiences, whether they be from growing up in the projects or standing next to New Yorkers fighting the immense power of the State. I am constantly in conversation with people who experience everyday struggles, not just the upper political echelon which creates a cynical and myopic view of what helps communities that are really only focused on maintaining power through the next election.

All of this is to say that I believe my experiences growing up ground me in the struggles of everyday Harlemites, and that my time advocating on others behalf, whether for legislation or in court, has given me the skills to stand firm in defense of my community. I believe these experiences, along with my time organizing, will help me serve Harlem.

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

I work closely with the DSA Trans Rights and Bodily Autonomy Working Group, where I have helped advise on how to navigate the State Assembly and State Senate and support trans organizers in their lobbying efforts. I’ve also volunteered with the Black Trans Mutual Aid Group.

3. What press conferences, demonstrations, rallies and protests in support of LGBTQ+ issues, pro-choice legislation, racial justice, criminal justice have you attended, including rallies specifically against Donald Trump and his policies?

I have had the opportunity to speak at multiple Trans Rights rallies, including those put on by Black Trans Mutual Aid and the New York City Democratic Socialists of America. When I speak at these rallies, I center the experiences of Black and Brown Trans Women who face an intersection of oppression. I also uplift Harlem’s history of being the center of New York City’s underground ball community, which many of Harlem’s politicians conveniently leave out. I also have called on NYU, and now Mount Sinai, to resume gender affirming care for those under 18. My campaign is dedicated to centering Trans voices and stories in everything we do.

Beyond Trans Rights and Queer Liberation, I have also been part of multiple actions in support of racial justice and demanding criminal legal reform. This includes multiple press conferences, rallies, and protests, including ones calling on lawmakers to end solitary confinement in correctional institutions, bringing attention to and demanding a stop to the human rights abuses at Rikers, demanding that the legislature stay committed to protecting our bail and discovery reform laws amidst attempts to roll them back, calling on the City and State to hold the NYPD accountable for police brutality, demanding the release of individuals from ICE detention and opposing the terror ICE has unleashed on our streets, calling for the passage of important measures like New York for All and Dignity Not Detention to help provide protections to immigrant New Yorkers, and pushing for the Governor to adopt proposals to tax the rich.

4. In light of the Trump Administration’s war on women, the LGBTQ+ community, minorities and immigrants, what are your plans to organize and combat the Trump agenda?

While our state legislature does not have a vote in what is happening at the federal level, we can—and must—do everything we can to create guardrails and support systems for New Yorkers to shield them from the threats posed by the Trump Administration wherever we can.

For example, while we cannot prevent ICE and CBP from being deployed to our streets, we can ensure that our state is not using its resources to make things easier for the Administration to carry out their cruel deportation agenda. We know that queer migrants, especially our Trans siblings, face disproportionate harm if they are deported. I strongly support measures like New York for All and Dignity Not Detention, which would help meet these goals and keep all our immigrant neighbors safe. I also support efforts to better fund and create a more robust infrastructure for individuals facing deportation through the passage of the Access to Representation and BUILD Acts. Further, I would make sure to do community outreach and offer know-your-rights efforts to ensure people in our community have access to resources and knowledge that could help them if they, their family, or friends come into contact with ICE.

I support efforts to ensure that we set up roadblocks to the Administration or red states trying to prosecute individuals for seeking reproductive or gender-affirming care. This includes allowing for the segmentation of electronic health records and protecting electronic health data produced through the use of apps, devices, or other digital tools. Our state must also do more to allow individuals to know what health care facilities provide the services they seek. I would also do everything in my power to ensure that private hospitals resume gender affirming care for minors, as required by New York State Law. I would explore every avenue needed and demand CEOs testify in Albany if they refuse to answer for their actions.

Additionally, our state has a responsibility to counter financial threats leveraged by the Administration to cut access to services and benefits. I would push us to raise taxes on the rich and fill gaps created by the Administration—whether that be to ensure New Yorkers do not see cuts to health services, disruptions in food stamps or other benefits, or losses of other necessities. I will also strengthen laws that require insurance companies to cover gender affirming care and work to make this care more accessible for New Yorkers.

5. Will you seek or accept endorsements from individuals who oppose LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights?

No, I will not. I fundamentally believe we cannot leave anyone behind when it comes to building a robust, multiracial democracy founded on the dignity of all people. We cannot get to that outcome by sacrificing anyone. Not our trans siblings, not our immigrant neighbors, no one. If a person won’t stand for those of us who are marginalized, I have no interest in having their support.

6. Do you support the unrestricted right to reproductive care and abortion?

Yes. Reproductive care, which includes abortion, is health care. Ensuring people have adequate access to reproductive care not only gives them full autonomy over their bodies, but it fundamentally means they have access to lifesaving medical care. There should be no restrictions on when people can seek reproductive care of any kind. My platform includes having State run clinics provide free abortion care for New Yorkers to ensure that everyone who needs is able to receive this livesaving care.

7. Have you hosted, funded or otherwise supported Drag Story Hours in your community?

In my personal capacity, I have supported Drag Story Hours and believe they are one of the best ways to expand children’s imaginations. In my burgeoning political career, I have yet to have the opportunity to host a Drag Story Hour or fund one, but I would love to use my discretionary funds to partner with local libraries to host Drag Story Hours once elected. My campaign is centering Queer Harlemites and will be hosting various Drag events along the campaign trail!

8. How will you work to enhance protections for immigrants and uphold New York’s role as a “Sanctuary City”?

As noted above, I strongly support passing New York for All—a robust, state-wide sanctuary bill. At a time when other watered-down or piecemeal proposals have been introduced, I believe our state must do everything we can to create the strongest infrastructure of protections possible. I also support the Dignity Not Detention Act, which would prohibit people and entities in New York from profiting off of immigrant detention.

Further, I recognize that even after passage of bills like New York for All, we must ensure that the law is followed. For that reason, I support funding the Attorney General’s office to be able to investigate and pursue claims against jurisdictions who violate state sanctuary protections.

I spent a year doing immigration deportation defense, so I know firsthand how important representation is for our neighbors forced to appear at immigration court. While New York State Law provides public defenders for our immigrant neighbors, it is not fully funded, which means many are not able to be properly represented. I would lead the fight to include full funding for this program in our state budgets.

9. Do you support New York becoming a Transgender Sanctuary State?

Absolutely. People should be able to exist as their true, authentic selves. That means being able to exist outside of the gender binary and outside of coupling of assigned gender at birth and sex. As the federal government attempts to erase trans people through executive orders, removal of correct gender markers from official documentation, and support of sports bans, New York must stand strong as a bastion for trans people. We must not only make it safe to be trans here, but make sure no trans person has to be invisible.

10. If elected, will you commit to supporting legislation that raises taxes on the richest New Yorkers and large corporations in order to fund the services and investments our communities need?

Taxing the rich is central to my campaign and why I am running for office. Raising taxes on the richest New Yorkers is necessary to create a state that prioritizes workers and human rights. New York is facing an affordability crisis, one that is the result of deliberate choices made by elected officials passing austerity budgets that defund necessary social services and exploit the labor of hardworking New Yorkers. This has only exacerbated our rapidly growing wealth disparities between the rich and the workers. As the rich get richer and insist on paying less and less of their taxes, the State has a harder time paying for important public goods, and leaders make excuses to continue their austerity budgets.

It comes as no surprise that during the period after WWII through the 1960s, a time marked by massive growth for the United States, a decrease in wealth disparities, and the creation of social programs, was also when the federal tax rates were at their highest. The Invest in Our New York package of bills does not approach rates as high as those (which were upwards of 90%), but adequately addresses the fact that the wealthy, whether they be people or the corporations those people derive their money from, should pay more to help keep the State running and not simply hoard it for themselves.

Taxing the rich is also about fundamental fairness. Everyone should pay their fair share, and the massive inequality between workers and the rich is largely made by exempting the ultrarich and corporations from taxes. These record profits that Corporate CEO’s enjoy are generated by the workers. These CEO’s must pay their fair share of taxes so that we can invest in programs that alleviate workers’ struggles.

By raising taxes on the rich we can begin to fund and build universal programs that can serve every New Yorker. These are programs like universal no cost childcare, universal healthcare, improved public transit service, and climate resilient infrastructure. Taxing the rich will allow us to not only support all New Yorkers, but ensure fairness.

11. How will you represent the most vulnerable, including individuals experiencing homelessness and asylum seekers? Have you ever opposed any shelter in your district?

As a Public Defender, I have spent my career protecting vulnerable New Yorkers from an unjust carceral system and I know the power of legal representation. It is time to pass the New York State Right to Counsel Act which would provide tenants facing eviction with a public defender, ensuring fewer New Yorkers experience homelessness due to not being able to navigate housing court. Additionally, as stated above, I would ensure that New York fully funds public defenders for asylum seekers.

I believe that to best help New Yorkers experiencing homelessness we need to build a robust social service program and work towards moving these individuals to independent housing where they are supported with job placement, any medical help they may require, and are given a way to build community. We need to decriminalize homelessness in the Subways and other public areas by repealing fines and fees that often disproportionally hurt Black and Brown New Yorkers. We must also ensure that the State fully funds the Housing Access Voucher program to help people experiencing homelessness access housing.

I have not and will not oppose shelters. Doing so would run directly counter to my belief that the government has an obligation to ensure that all New Yorkers have a safe place to sleep.

12. Will you sponsor and support legislation which will ensure that state and local resources are not used to facilitate or cooperate with federal immigration enforcement (New York for All Act) to prevent the funneling of people into ICE custody, and the sharing of sensitive information with ICE?

Yes. I strongly support, would cosponsor, and advocate for the passage of New York for All and other measures that would ensure that our state is not diverting its resources to help advance a federal deportation agenda.

13. To advance safety and justice, New York must address our archaic sentencing and parole laws. Do you support the following key legislation: 1) Second Look Act (S.158/A.1283), which would allow judges to review and reconsider excessive sentences by considering if incarcerated people have transformed while incarcerated or based on changes in law and norms; 2) Earned Time Act (S.342/A.1085), which would strengthen and expand “good time” and “merit time” programs in prison that encourage personal transformation and reunite families?; 3) Marvin Mayfield Act (S.1209/A.1297), which would eliminate mandatory minimum sentences, thereby allowing judges to consider individual factors in a case?; 4) Elder Parole (S.454/A.514), which would allow incarcerated people over age 55 who have served 15 years the opportunity to go before the parole board?

Yes. Each of these bills are ones I have advocated for and supported in my current role at Bronx Defenders. I worked as a part of the Communities Not Cages Coalition, whose campaign was behind the drafting and advancement of each of the bills. Prior to running for office, I was a member of the steering and legislative committee of the coalition. I strongly support them, as well as other measures—for example Fair and Timely Parole (S.159/A.127)—that will reduce incarceration rates in our state and address our punitive and out-dated sentencing and parole practices.

14. Do you oppose the death penalty?

Yes. While international covenants have called for states to abolish the death penalty—and while international experts have recognized that “it is almost impossible for states to impose capital punishment while meeting their obligations to respect the human rights of those convicted” leading to the determination that “[a]bolition of the death penalty is the only viable path”—the U.S. continues to carry out this draconian form of punishment. The U.S. deployment of the death penalty is flawed, riddled with bias and error, and applied in a discriminatory and arbitrary manner. The methods used for execution, as well as death row conditions, are cruel and inhumane. I support the full abolition of the death penalty. I would work closely with federal representatives on a Constitutional Amendment to ban the death penalty nationwide. It is not enough that New York banned the death penalty in 2004. As an elected official, it is my duty to enshrine this for all Americans.

15. Do you support outlawing solitary confinement?

Yes. As policy counsel at Bronx Defenders, I helped write Local Law 42 for the year 2024 to End Solitary Confinement. This bill closed loop holes that had long been exploited by corrupt correctional officers, including locking individuals in showers. I worked with my colleagues to lobby the City Council to pass this bill, and when then Mayor Adams passed illegal executive orders to stop this legislation, I, along with a coalition including the Public Advocate, successfully sued the administration, repealing those orders and winning the implementation of Local Law 42.

At the State Level, I support the full implementation of the HALT Solitary Confinement Act, and support legislation like Rights Behind Bars that seek to strengthen protections against the use of solitary confinement in the state. There are currently no Public Defenders in the State Legislature. I am excited to, as a public defender, lead the charge to end solitary confinement throughout New York State, just as I have in New York City.

16. Do you commit to visit constituents who are incarcerated? Will you work to secure the release of individuals who have demonstrated sincere remorse, worked toward rehabilitation and are not deemed a threat to society?

Yes. I would absolutely visit incarcerated and system impacted community members. As a public defender, I have visited countless incarcerated clients. I quickly realized how much trust I am able to build with my clients, and it was clear how much the visits meant to them. I would take those lessons with me into elected office. Oftentimes the coalitions I’ve worked with have done prison visits. I’d enthusiastically join those visits as an elected official.

And, as someone who has done direct work to bring community members home and to fight to reform our sentencing laws, I am dedicated to fighting to secure the release of people who have served lengthy sentences, who have shown remorse, and who have demonstrated rehabilitation. New York needs to drastically decarcerate. Far too many community members, who have demonstrated that they are ready and able to be successfully reintegrated into the community continue to languish behind bars because of our outdated, outmoded sentencing and Parole laws.

17. Do you commit to make applications for clemencies available to your constituency including a link to an application in a constituent newsletter? Will you submit it to our club?

Absolutely. I will always advocate for clemencies for my constituents. I want to bring as many Harlemites home from an unjust carceral system that still uses draconian sentencing laws. I will also advocate for laws that make it easier to be up for parole. I will absolutely help Jim Owles club with clemencies as well.

18. Did you rank Andrew Cuomo on your Democratic primary ballot in 2025? Who did you support for mayor in the 2025 Democratic primary and general election?

No, I did not rank Cuomo. Zohran Mamdani was my number one pick in the primary and is who I voted for in the general election. I hosted an event for Zohran in Harlem, where I interviewed him about community issues. I was an enthusiastic supporter and was glad to see him win.

19. In view of the fact that Ed Koch has been documented to have caused the deaths of scores of people with AIDS, excused city council members who voted against the gay rights bill and was blatantly racist, would you support and sponsor a bill to rename the former Queensboro Bridge?

I would absolutely support and sponsor legislation to rename the former Queensboro Bridge and remove the name of someone who supported homophobic, racist bills. I would support and lead the charge of renaming any public bridge or structure that is named after individuals that do not represent New Yorkers values, including renaming the Mario Cuomo Bridge the Tappan Zee Bridge. These changes would help New Yorkers, as our maps and signage would accurately reflect what most New Yorkers continue to call these structures.

20. What is your legislative remedy to secure the building of low and moderate-income housing around the state?

In order to expand low and moderate income housing, I would support funding and building a state construction authority that specializes in building housing and transit infrastructure across the state as called for in the Social Housing Development Act carried by Assemblymember Emily Gallagher and Senator Cordell Cleare. Currently, there is a vacuum in terms of building expertise because the United States government does not do any building directly, but instead all construction work is paid out to the highest bidder. This means, we don't have a program to ensure the building of desperately needed housing, transit, or public infrastructure is built effectively to minimize costs. This would also create more union jobs across New York. And building social housing greatly benefits low and moderate income people. We’ve seen the success it has had in places like Vienna, Austria or Montgomery County, Maryland.

Though not directly related to building housing, I will work to pass the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act and connect constituents to resources to help them purchase their buildings from landlords. This could mean connecting them with organizations or funding to assist with the purchase. I will also look at ways to connect tenants to other tenants who are going through this process or to residents who have already purchased their buildings from landlords. This will help them share knowledge on how to successfully get the best deal, how to structure their co-op, and more. Similarly, this kind of connecting people can help build relationships among tenants and new homeowners to build a strong tenants organizing bloc. We can’t only think about building housing, though it is necessary that we build much, much more housing than we have and that it is accessible to low and moderate income New Yorkers. We must also think of how tenants can increase their ability to either own their housing or have a greater say in it so as to keep rents low and prevent displacement of families.

21. Will you refuse donations from AIPAC, SolidarityPAC, police and corrections associations, the fossil fuel industry, and the charter school industry?

Absolutely. These industries and lobby groups do not reflect my values. Any candidate who accepts donations from these groups are no longer beholden to their constituents but instead are beholden to monied interests. I will reject these as well as real estate and corporate money. My campaign is funded by grassroots donors, which allows me to only answer to my constituents.

22. Do you support removing criminal penalties for consensual commercial sex work between adults? Also known as Cecilia's Act for Rights in the Sex Trades (S2513 Salazar / A3251 Forrest).

Absolutely. This bill, named for the great Trans leader Cecilia Gentile, would decriminalize sex work, which, like all labor, is dignified. We know that historically, Trans people have been pushed to the margins and use sex work to support themselves. One of the proudest moments of my career happened when I was able to work with advocates in my office to have all of one my client’s sex work convictions vacated and sealed.

I will support repealing any criminal penalty that unjustly affects the trans community.Decriminalizing consensual commercial sex work between adults will also make it easier for victims of sex trafficing to come forward because they will not fear being prosecuted for engaging in this labor. I am proud to be endorsed by both State Senator Salazar and Assemblymember Forrest and would proudly cosponsor this bill if it is not passed this session.

23. There is an effort to have mandatory inclusion of the New York State proposal that would require public schools to teach about the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, commonly described in the bill text as an “insurrection.” Do you support this proposal?

Yes. It is important that we cover this in our history so that we do not repeat the same mistakes. January 6, 2021, was an attempted coup. It is important that our students know this so that they can see warning signs of future attacks on American democracy and work to prevent it at home.

24. What additional information would you like the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club to consider when we are making our endorsement decision?

As I alluded to earlier, I am running this campaign and plan to manage the AD 70 office with an organizer mindset. That means I really want to be present in my community. I like to link this specifically to constituent services, because I think that so often we get drawn only into the policies and forget the service aspect of being a legislator. Good constituent services not only solve people’s problems, but they are part of really being able to build trust between the office and the community, particularly in communities that have been forgotten by machine politics. A robust constituent services operation can discover issues facing the district to legislate around. This is exactly why I would ensure that my constituent services office has a strong community organizing arm.

I want to always be organizing. I want to always build connections with people, build trust by being there to support the community through the problems, big or small. We will do this by running a different kind of campaign—a campaign that builds tenant power and creates a robust faith-organizing strategy with the goal of creating a field program that outlives the election and creates a lasting structure for community organizing. That way my office and our constituents can all be on the same page when it’s time to mobilize for an issue or legislative campaign.

25. If you receive our endorsement, do you agree to identify the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club on all appropriate literature and electronic materials?

Absolutely. I would be proud to receive your endorsement and display Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club information on my campaign materials and website.