Candidate Answers to JOLDC: Emily Gallagher for NY Assembly District 50
Candidate Name: Emily Gallagher
Office Seeking Election for: New York State Assembly, 50th District (Queens)
Campaign Address:
Emily Gallagher for State Assembly (Treasurer’s Address)
112 Waverly Ave - Brooklyn, NY 11205
Campaign Website: www.emilyforassembly.com
Campaign Telephone: (914) 316-4728
Campaign Social Media Handles (Facebook/Twitter): @em4assembly
Campaign Contact (name/phone/email):
1. Explain, based on life experiences and accomplishments, why you believe you are best qualified to represent your district.
I am a community activist in North Brooklyn, where I’ve been living since 2006. I’ve been organizing with my neighbors for tenant protections, environmental justice and the rights of survivors of sexual violence for more than a decade. I served as the co-chair of Neighbors Allied for Good Growth, a representative to the Mobilization Against Displacement, a member of Community Board 1 and founder of the Greenpoint Sexual Assault Task Force. In my professional life, I’ve worked in museum education, public history and community affairs for a major international nonprofit.
I’ve also had a set of life experiences that don’t make me unique but are too rarely shared by our representatives in Albany. I’ve been a renter, a roommate, a cyclist, and a commuter. I’ve been unemployed, underemployed, and have known many months where I scrambled to make rent. I’ve worked in retail, the gig economy, education and the nonprofit sector. I’m a survivor of sexual violence. I have friends who have experienced police brutality and friends who have faced their rapists in court and watched them walk free.
Now I’m running for Assembly against an incumbent who’s been in office since 1973.
2. Do you now support or have you ever supported an openly LGBTQ candidate for public office?
Yes. I was very involved in Cynthia Nixon’s campaign for Governor in 2018, including fundraising, canvassing and appearing at a press conference with her! Cynthia won my district overwhelmingly, capturing 61% of the vote. I also fundraised and canvassed for Tiffany Caban’s campaign for Queens District Attorney. I am a big supporter of two queer candidates for District Leader in Brooklyn: Jesse Pierce and Samy Nemir-Olivares. And I have a long history of supporting LGBTQ candidates and causes across the board. When I was in high school, I was the youth delegate for the Rochester Episcopal Diocese and, where I supported and advocated for Gene Robinson to become the first LGBTQ Bishop in history. Unfortunately, the vote did not pass but he eventually became the Bishop in New Hampshire and made history there!
3. If applicable, what legislation directly affecting the LGBT community have you introduced or co-sponsored? (indicate accordingly)
I’m not an incumbent so I haven’t had the opportunity to introduce or co-sponsor legislation yet!
4. What LGBT organizations have you been involved with, either on a volunteer basis
or professionally?
My first work experience was with Southeast Ecumenical Ministries in Rochester, New York, which primarily served an LGBTQ population, especially individuals with HIV diagnoses. I was involved in the creation of the first ever Gay-Straight Alliance at Penfield High School, a suburb of Rochester, in 1999, where we organized participation in the annual Day of Silence. I’ve been active in the AIDS Walk since 1997 and connected many of my high school friends with the Out Alliance. The LGBTQ community has been a major part of my life and I’m resolutely committed to advocate and advance the rights and priorities of queer people in every way that I can.
5. If applicable, what LGBT organizations have you allocated funds to?
I have made many personal donations to Housing Works, the AIDS Walk, and to support LGBTQ rights across the country whenever they’ve come under attack.
6. Do you consider yourself a member of the LGBT community?
No.
7. Have you marched in Pride? Which marches and for approximately how many years?
Yes. And just this last year I participated in the Drag March and intend to every year from now on!
8. Have you employed openly LGBT individuals previously? Do you employ any currently?
Yes, I am a huge advocate of hiring LGBT individuals. I have also worked almost exclusively for LGBT employers.
9. If you receive the 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 LGBT issues, pro choice legislation, criminal justice issues and the Resist Trump Movement have you attended?
I traveled to Washington, D.C. to protest the inauguration of Donald Trump as part of the Women’s March. I’ve joined demonstrations in front of Trump Tower, including the Pussy Grabs Back protest. I went to JFK Airport to stand with people targeted by the Trump administration’s racist Muslim travel ban. I traveled again to Washington, D.C. to participate in a civil disobedience against the nomination of the rapist Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, where I was arrested. I’ve shown up for nearly every Black Lives Matter protest in New York since the murder of Travyon Martin. To be honest, I’ve participated in so many protests, speeches and marches that I can’t remember them all!
It has been a consistent part of my life since Occupy Wall Street.
11. Have you ever been arrested? If so please explain why and outcome of arrest.
Yes, I was arrested as part of the Cancel Kavanaugh civil disobedience actions at the Hart Senate Building in the autumn of 2018. My charges were cleared.
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?
Absolutely. A life sentence is death by incarceration. And it’s completely at odds with a just and compassionate society. More New Yorkers serving “life without parole” are from Brooklyn than anywhere else in the state. And 1 in 5 people in New York prisons are 50 years or older. We need to pass Elder Parole reform that allows people aged 55 and older who have served at least 15 consecutive years in prison to be considered for release. And we need a fair and fully staffed Parole Board that can, in a timely manner, assess who a person is today, not their crime of conviction.
13. Do you commit to visit constituents who are incarcerated in state prisons such as Bedford Correctional Facility?
Yes. It’s my responsibility to serve constituents, even in prison. And as a member of the legislature, I would have a unique ability to monitor conditions and advocate for better treatment.
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? Yes
15. Have you participated in any demonstrations or protests in relation to the issues of clemency and parole?
I’ve participated in petitioning for wrongfully convicted death row prisoners all over the country.
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?
Yes. Sen. Ramos’ bill makes it safer for consenting adults who perform or patronize sex work, while upholding all of the felony anti-trafficking statutes that are designed to hold traffickers and people who seek to buy sex from minors accountable.
18. Will you actively oppose legislation that would implement the dangerous Nordic model instead of decriminalization of prostitution?
Yes.
19. What proposals will you advocate for to protect immigrants and the further New York as a Sanctuary City?
I will fight for the key pillars of Make the Road New York’s Respect and Dignity for All platform, including passage of the Protect Our Courts Act to prevent civil arrests and detentions by ICE inside and near New York courthouses, and the Ensure Immigrant Health Care Access Act to allocate $532 million to create a state-funded Essential Plan for all New Yorkers, including people without documentation.
I take these issues very seriously. For 6 years I worked in the education and curatorial departments of the Tenement Museum, where I made the stories of working class immigrants the centerpiece of American history. I worked as an ESOL educator, an oral historian, and an advocate for the rights of immigrants. I know our complicated history with immigration and I know how important the energy, courage and skills that immigrants bring to our state are.
20. Will you advocate, including introducing legislation, to remove public funding from religious schools?
In truth, I have not engaged with the issue in any great detail. But it seems obvious that there should not be public funding for religious schools until the State of New York lives up to its court-ordered obligations to provide equitable resources for all public schools.
21. Do you support the establishment of supervised drug consumption spaces?
Yes. It’s a key part of my criminal justice reform platform. Our approach to drug use and addiction must be guided by reducing harm, addressing trauma and providing support. No one should be arrested or criminalized for the possession or use of drugs. Drug overdoses killed nearly four people a day in New York City in 2018. Our state should follow the lead of Vancouver and Philadelphia, piloting the creation of sites where people can safely inject heroin and other drugs under medical supervision and without fear of criminal prosecution. The state should also invest in the creation of 24-hour non-sober drop-in centers for homeless and precariously housed people so they can access medical care, store their belongings, and not be criminalized simply for existing.
This issue is personal for me, as I lost a loved one to opioid addiction in 2018. When he died, I pledged to work on the issue to make the world safer for people who experience addiction.
22. Have you ever endorsed any member of the IDC or any candidates who challenged IDC members? Please identify all candidates
I have never endorsed any member of the IDC. I wholeheartedly supported Jessica Ramos, Alessandra Biaggi, Zellnor Myrie and Rachel May in 2018, donating, amplifying and volunteering where I could.
23. Will you commit to hiring a member of the LGBT community to serve as a liaison to the community?
Yes!
24. Will you commit to ensuring diverse LGBT representation among your staff?
Yes!
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) Bill de Blasio, Tish James
B) Bernie Sanders in the primary, Hillary Clinton in the general election
C) Cynthia Nixon and Zephyr Teachout
26. Describe any legislation and policy changes that you support in order to address the ongoing effects of slavery, racism, colonialism, and discrimination.
I support reparations for the Black community, both on a federal level and here in New York. Too many people don’t realize that New York City was a center of the transatlnatic slave trade. Much of our city’s infrastructure was built and maintained by enslaved people well into the 19th century. School curriculums and public history projects must be updated to reflect this important history.
New York State has also consistently violated treaties between the federal government and the Haudenosaunee (or Iroquois) Confederacy, whose nations still remain across upstate New York. We need to acknowledge that much of the state was illegally acquired and work closely with Indigenous nations to make fair and respectful restitution, including honoring sovereignty rights, compensation for stolen land, and supporting Native environmental stewardship of their historic homelands.
A major structural legacy and driver of racism is how public schools are funded by area-based property taxes. We need to detach public education resources from the value of privately-owned homes and equalize funding across the state. We need to tax billionaires, invest in historically oppressed communities and ensure everyone has a safe and stable place to call home. We need to curtail police powers and dismantle the racist system of mass incarceration. Additionally, I would explore ways to further remove and reduce the historic impacts of redlining (which I also believe is mimicked today through luxury housing development and unaffordable “affordable housing.”) The proposal to create a racial impact study for all future rezonings is also important.
In employment, I would also like salary windows to be published with all job postings before any interviews are held, so that compensation decisions are transparent and will not vary based on the applicant’s previous salary or on their perceived race/gender/sexual orientation.
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?
We need to make CUNY and SUNY free for all. That may require trimming administrative costs in exchange for better pay for professors. Baruch just got a new president who will be paid over $437,000 a year when many adjunct teachers struggle to make rent or feed their families. I also think we should use programs like CUNY ASAP, that allow for expedited associates degrees with no cost for books or tuition, as a model across the state. We need to make childcare widely available in all of our university systems, too. At the federal level, we need to keep pushing for the total abolition of all student loan debt.
28. Do you support a single-payer universal health care system? Please elaborate.
Yes. Healthcare is a human right. While the ideal situation would be swift passage and implementation of a federal Medicare for All program, we can’t wait. The New York State legislature needs to finally pass the New York Health Act so we can get to work on implementing a universal, single-payer program right here and now.
29. Discuss your stance on reproductive rights, including access to contraceptives and abortion services.
I am an unequivocal and unapologetic lifelong supporter of women’s reproductive freedom, including free and immediate acccess to contraceptives and abortion services.
30. Will you refuse money from individuals or Political Action Committees representing the real estate industry?
Yes. My opponent, however, does accept these kinds of contributions.
31. Will you refuse and refund any contributions from executives at corporations complicit in the Trump agenda?
Absolutely.
32. Are you against the opening of casinos in New York owned and controlled by Trump mega-donor Sheldon Adelson?
Yes, absolutely.
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.
34. Will you cosponsor the legislation to prohibit evictions without good cause (previously S2892A)?
Yes.
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.
36. What additional information would you like Jim Owles to consider when we are making our endorsements decisions?
I have been a steadfast, lifelong activist and I am excited to take this energy to the NY Assembly on behalf of district 50.