Candidate Answers to JOLDC: Illapa Sairitupac for NY Assembly District 65

Candidate Name: Illapa Sairitupac

Office Seeking Election for: NY Assembly District 65

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

My name is Illapa Sairitupac. I’m a mental health social worker, a climate organizer, and son of Indigenous Peruvian immigrants. I’m not the type of person who ever expected to run for office.

Growing up in various small towns in New York, it was hard for me to come into my own as a gay person. By the time I was in college I proudly began to embrace my identity, and I am so fortunate to have had parents who supported me.

Being a gay Latino/Indigenous person in this country is hard, especially when you are raised in a strict Catholic church. There were times where I was discouraged from being a Sunday School teacher for my local church here in NYC because I was proudly out to my congregation. This discrimination, while saddening, is a reality that many gay people of faith experience in their

spiritual circles.

The LGBTQ center in lower Manhattan was one of my refuges when I was younger, and I made many close friends there. I am running to fight for all LGBTQ folks in our city who are struggling to make ends meet and survive in this system.

As a social worker, I have many queer and trans clients who appreciate having a gay therapist to work with them through their mental health struggles. It is the honor of my life to be a figure like this to my clients, and I would have loved to have had a queer social worker when I was a young man.

From the New Deal to the Queer Liberation Movement we know all real change only happens when we fight together and for each other. This election and our campaign is about me only in that I share the same struggles as the delivery workers in Chinatown, the NYCHA residents in Two Bridges, and the musicians in the Lower East side. This campaign is about building a multi-racial, multi-generational coalition capable of bringing real change and representation to the district.

Our district needs someone who understands the struggle of working-class immigrants. The Lower East Side and Chinatown have been home to first-generation immigrants for hundreds of years, and we need a fighter who can protect these communities from displacement to come by flooding, extreme weather, and continued real estate speculation. As the son of immigrants, I’ve seen firsthand our crumbling public infrastructure and broken system that makes life for working-class migrants a constant struggle. This district needs somebody who can advocate on their behalf and represent their interests.

Our district also needs somebody who understands the existential threat that climate change poses to our district — in fact, it threatens its very existence — and the massive challenge we face in winning climate legislation and ending fossil fuels. Lower Manhattan is my home, and I know from years of organizing in our district that we are hungry for climate action. We need an organizer with a demonstrated commitment to our movement in this seat. We cannot afford to watch as climate action continues to be sidelined for the short-term profits of the fossil fuel industry. We need someone in Albany who can push our issues to the front of the line and ensure we have a clean, livable future — and we need a strong movement behind them.

2. Please identify any openly LGBTQ candidates for public office you have previously or presently endorsed?

I’ve never been in a place to endorse a candidate for office, but I always have supported volunteered and supported LGBTQ candidates for office whenever possible

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

n/a

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

I've helped coordinate a Queer faith event during Brooklyn Pride Week at All Saints

Episcopalian church, and I attended Union Theological Seminary to be among other queer people of faith.

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

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

Yes, I've been a proud member of the LGBTQ community my entire life, and this is a deep part of who I am as an organizer.

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

Although I’m a first time candidate, I’ve been proud to attend Pride every June with my friends and loved ones as a private citizen. Once elected I would be honored to participate as a public servant.

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

While I’ve never been in a position to hire staff, my Assembly office will prioritize employing LGBTQ people.

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?

As an LGBTQ person, the social movements in Lower Manhattan around queer liberation have been very impactful for me and I have happily attended countless rallies in support of my community. New York has a a rich LGBTQ history and I am proud to be a gay working class candidate fighting to represent my district.

I attended many Resist Trump marches and actions from 2016 until he was ousted in 2020. I’ve marched in solidarity with targets of anti-Black & LGBTQ hate crimes. Violence against people like me is still all too common, even in seemingly liberal states like New York & I will always stand up for my community and our human rights.

11. Have you ever been arrested in pursuit of legislation or for protesting an injustice? Please elaborate.

Yes, last summer I was arrested for putting my body on the line in support of the Build Public Renewables act, which would enable the New York Power Authority to build and run renewable energy projects. New York state is currently at just 6% wind and solar energy, which is far behind even some deep red states. The BPRA is essential to breaking the power of the fossil fuel industry in our state and ensuring a livable future for the everyday working people of lower Manhattan. This was a “hard block” direct action in which me and my comrades locked ourselves together by chaining our arms. We did this to call out the injustice that is the fossil fuel industry and corrupt politicians who accept fossil fuel donations.

I went to court last month and was sentenced to community service, which I am still engaged in.

12. If you are an incumbent, what have you accomplished in your most recent term? I am a first-time candidate.

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

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, The “Less is More” bill that the legislature passed last year is a good start to parole reform, but it’s only a start. Particularly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when infections have raged in carceral facilities with poor provisions for the health needs of prisoners, many of whom have died in custody, it’s clear that incarceration severely damages the health of incarcerated people. Every year in prison reduces life expectancy by two years, meaning that long charges are frequently charges that condemn people to sicken and die in prison.

Incarcerated elders deserve parole hearings regardless of the charges for which they were incarcerated, and to be reunited with their families and the people who love and support them.

14. If you will not co-sponsor any of the above legislation, why not? n/a

15. Do you oppose the efforts to weaken bail reform as written

Yes, cash bail is a rigged and unjust system that criminalizes poverty, perpetuates wealth-based inequalities that disproportionately affect communities of color and increases the occupancy rates of our jails. A large number of the people held in jails and prisons are there not because they have been found guilty of committing a crime, but because they cannot afford to pay their bail. This violates presumption of innocence and punishes poverty while shifting the cost of the state onto the backs of the poor. The entire monetary bail system shifts focus and resources away from communities to a violent system that punishes and imprisons those who are unable to pay the price put on their freedom.

Preventing the rollback of the 2019 pretrial reform law is a good first step, but I will also aggressively pursue and support legislation that ends cash bail and pretrial detention.

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, solitary confinement is inherently inhumane and has been linked to incredibly serious and lasting mental, physical and emotional injuries. Inmates who have been exposed to solitary confinement are at greater risk of suicide, self harm, PTSD and lasting mental illness. Contrary to the recent remarks of Eric Adams, the practice of solitary confinement makes our prison system, and our society at large, less safe.

Moreover, like all of our criminal justice institutions, solitary confinement is disproporionately inflicted on Black and Latinx people, queer, transgender and gender non-conforming people and people with mental health needs. As a social worker I support investing in incentives, programs and services that have actually been proven to reduce crime and violence, and will never support the outdated and barbaric torture that is solitary confinement. I will fight to protect and expand the HALT Act & to end our carceral system.

18. When was the last time you were inside a correctional facility?

When I was doing chaplain work in 2018 at Bellevue Hospital I would visit the prison floor, where I worked with patients, most of them young men of color who had been incarcerated at Rikers Island. I gave them spiritual care, listened to them and many times learned how they were men who did not have the proper mental healthcare or resources to survive.

Do you believe sincere remorse and actions taken while incarcerated should be considered over the original crime in determinations of parole?

Yes, I believe it is cruel to refuse to consider parole year after year, especially based solely on the original crime and without regard to any other information. Concretely, I support the Earned Time Act, which allows incarcerated people to earn “good time” credit off of their maximum sentences through rehabilitative activities such as education, job training, and treatment (S.7873A/A.84628)

What do you believe should be done to ensure more clemencies are granted every year?

Beyond public pressure, we can also do political education to ensure that the general public understands how granting clemency does not put the public at risk, and in fact can improve community safety and cohesion; saves the state money; and improves people’s health and well-being. We can set benchmarks for reducing our prison population, including by doing

things like closing prisons without building or opening new ones, which will require the state to reduce its prison population one way or another. Clemencies will become a necessary and natural, common-sense, compassionate way to meet these goals.

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 not afraid to call on the governor to grant clemency to as many incarcerated New Yorkers as can safely return home as possible, and to tweet out my support for this issue and support in other ways. I was outraged that Governor Hochul granted clemency to only 10 people and commuted the sentence of only 1 during her first holiday season in office -- fewer than Governor Cuomo did the year before! During a pandemic, we could have expected unprecedented compassion, and that is what I will demand when I am in office and have a much bigger bully pulpit.

22. Have you participated in any demonstrations or protests concerning clemency and parole?

Yes, I’ve attended and helped turn out for protests organized by the RAPP campaign, some of them outside Cuomo’s office, to bring attention to clemency and parole justice.

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

24. Do you support legislation to prohibit discrimination against formerly incarcerated people in housing and employment?

Yes, definitely! Housing and employment discrimination against formerly incarcerated people are just further methods to entrench the racism of our failed war on drugs and war on crime, and exacerbate our compounding issues of housing instability, homelessness, and job instability. I will work to prohibit discrimination at the site of employment/lease signing, as well as through sealing and expunging criminal records.

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, I believe in the decriminialization of sex work, and would be proud to co-sponsor A.8230! I also support the newly-introduced Massage License Decriminalization Act (A.8281), which removes criminal penalties for workers who practice unlicensed massage, and prevents law enforcement from seizing their property (including cash). Currently, over 90% of people arrested for these crimes are Asian women and non-binary people, which takes on added significance to me, running to represent and protect a district with a significant Asian constitueny.

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.

The existing criminalization approach is racist, deadly, and absolutely needs to change. Although it is not a state-legislature issue, I support the calls of my colleagues in the city council to disband the Vice Squad of the NYPD. Additionally, I would actively oppose legislation that would implement the Nordic model instead of full decriminalization. Because sex workers (and their clients!) often live at the margins of society, criminalizing any piece of the industry inherently puts sex workers at risk. Even if sex work itself isn’t criminalized, if “pimps,” “brothels” or other elements of the sex trade can be targetted, this can limit the rights and ability of sex workers to organize, protect themselves in the workplace, and access health care. And when clients are criminalized, because they inevitably hold the power in the dynamic, this pushes sex work further into the shadows, and into riskier settings for sex workers. Full decriminalization is the safest and best step to take right now, for the health and dignity of sex workers (and their clients, who are often also poor, Black and brown, and disproportionately targeted by the police). And it is the best step to take right now because it is what sex workers themselves are asking and advocating for.

27. Do you support ending qualified immunity for police and other law enforcement individuals?

Yes, we must end qualified immunity, which shields officers who knowingly endanger the public from being held accountable for their actions. The absurdly high legal bar that qualified immunity creates effectively shields law enforcement from being held responsible for their actions and denies victims and their families any possibility of justice. As Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, it sends a message to officers that they can “shoot first and think later.” While Ending qualified immunity will never repair the irreparable harm done to so many lives nor erase the resultant trauma, it will send a clear message that lawlessness in policing will no longer be tolerated and will also allow victims to claim compensation for harm done.

28. What proposals will you advocate for to protect immigrants and further New York as a “Sanctuary State”?

As a gay man and the son of Indigenous Peruvian immigrants, I have experienced how racism is used to justify acts of gross violence & serves to divide the larger working class. My district is home to many recent immigrants and I’ve seen how anti-immigrant rhetoric & policies hurt us. I believe that for a movement to be truly successful and sustainable it must materially improve the lives of the community and also address racism and xenophobia. Since capitalism falls hardest on working-class people of color, I support legislation that will do both.

I support The New York for All Act (S.7562/A.9586) which would prohibits state and local police officers from enforcing federal immigration laws, funneling people into ICE custody, and sharing information with ICE. As right-wing lawmakers in the federal government continue to demonize and target immigrant communities, it is vital that New York State act as a bulwark against these racist and damaging efforts. ICE is a brutal and authoritarian force and we should state clearly and loudly that they do not belong in our state. I will fight to stop ICE from taking parents away from children and neighbors away from their communities.

I also wholeheartedly support the Access to Representation Act. Though ideally there would be no need for it because there would be no deportation proceedings in New York State. Providing access to counsel for immigrants is the absolute bare minimum and the New York that I know would never settle for that. At a time when immigrant communities across the country are under siege from far right legislatures, New York must be a beacon of hope and progress. We must fight for full recognition of all immigrants as legal permanent residents in the long term while also providing whatever protection we can in the present.

I will also push for increased funding to both immigrant legal services & the Office for New Americans. Access to legal representation is a basic right and serves as the bedrock to our entire legal system and so we must fully fund all indigent legal defense. Services such as the ONA are incredibly important to giving all immigrants the tools they need to succeed and thrive within our state.

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?

Yes, as a first time candidate I look forward to sponsoring this bill once in office

29. Do you support the establishment of supervised drug consumption spaces?

Yes! I’m so proud and encouraged by the life-saving work of the two first overdose prevention centers in NYC, that have continued the tradition of OPCs around the world and seen not a single death, but reversed hundreds of overdoses since opening their doors. I will support establishing more sites like these, around the city and around the state, to curb the devastating toll of the current overdose crisis.

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

31. Will you commit to ensuring diverse LGBTQ representation among your staff?

Yes, our campaign is committed to hiring a diverse and representative staff.

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?

1. Maya Wiley

2. Bernie Sanders (2016 & 2020)

3. Cynthia Nixon & Zephyr Teachout

33. Have you made an endorsement in the current bid for Governor? If so, who? No

34. Do you support term limits for statewide office holders? For State Legislators? I can see benefits and costs to this andI’m still forming an opinion on this issue.

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

Yes, first, I support reparations for slavery. New York was a critical state not just for slavery within the state but for capitalist slave trafficking. Charles Barron and Jabari Brisport introduced a bill (S7215) which would establish a commission to study the harm and effects in NY. The commission would provide recommendations on how our state could deliver reparations. I will co-sponsor the bill and work with Jabari to move it through the legislature if it hasn’t passed yet. If the bill has passed, I will fight to ensure the commission’s recommendations are fully funded and prioritized.

I also support the Land Back movement. Native People in the United States and Canada experience some of the lowest social determinants of health, and have some of the worst health outcomes. We experience disproportionate environmental racism, and our lands are frequently the sites chosen for hazardous waste, oil pipelines, and other forms of pollutants.

The post settler colonial era cannot begin until we have returned native lands to Native Peoples.

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?

Prior to 1975, the City University of New York provided its diverse student body with a tuition-free education that opened the door for more working-class students of color to finish

their degrees. Today, thousands of students in New York City are struggling under the weight of tuition and fees for an education that is almost required in the current job market. New Yorkers are facing a mental health crisis without adequate support in school. Overcrowded and dilapidated buildings have sparked even more safety concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adjunct professors at CUNY are paid poverty wages with little-to-no job security. In order to address these issues, I strongly support the New Deal for CUNY (A5843) campaign that would remove all tuitions from all of our City Universities & provide students with many thousands more professors, counselors, and faculty.

We must also address food and housing insecurity among college students. Around 25% of CUNY students experience food insecurity and about 55% report housing insecurity. At The New School over 39% of students experience food insecurity and over 15% experience housing insecurity, and those are pre-covid numbers. There are many possible policy interventions here, including more subsidy support for students to help meet these costs and expanded pell grants.

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.

Passing the New York Health Act will be one of my first legislative priorities. Not only will I work tirelessly in the legislature to provide universal healthcare to all New Yorkers as a right, I will be using my campaign and my office to mobilize and build the movement we need to make it a reality.

The NYHA has a majority of co-sponsors in the Assembly, yet Carl E. Heastie refused to bring it to a vote last year. It’s tremendously frustrating to see such an important bill sitting in committee when it could radically improve the lives of so many people. My office will do more than

co-sponsor this bill. We plan to organize our district and our colleagues around it and make sure that it both comes to a vote & passes.

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

I support free and easily accessible contraceptives and abortion services, as well as extending postpartum coverage, mandating comprehensive sex education, and a dedicated New York state Abortion Access fund to provide financial resources to women seeking abortion nationwide.

Abortions will take place whether they are legal or not, and access to safe legal abortions is a fundemental right that saves lives. Our office will never compromise on this issue, and will pursue legislation that continues and advances the sexual liberation movement.

39. Will you refuse money from individuals or Political Action Committees representing the real estate industry or law enforcement unions/associations?

Yes, our campaign will be refusing all donations from the fossil fuel, finance, and real estate industries and is fully funded by small grassroots donations. We have raised over $90,000 from over 1,100 unique donors with a median donation of just $20.

40. Will you refuse and refund any contributions from executives at corporations complicit in the

Trump agenda?

Yes

41. Will you cosponsor the legislation to prohibit evictions without good cause (S.3082 / A.5573)?

Yes, I’ve dealt with housing insecurity my entire life and so this bill isn’t political to me, it’s personal. When I was growing up my parents worked hard to keep us housed, but we were always on the move looking for a permanent home. Now that I’m grown and on my own, I’m facing the same insecurity. In my 9 years on the Bowery I’ve seen my district rapidly gentrify, replacing working people and family owned small businesses with luxury towers and big box stores. Everyday I wonder when a developer is going to buy my building and kick me out.

We can and must create a system where permanent housing is affordable and accessible to all. This bill would guarantee all tenants the right to lease renewal and protection against unfair rent increases. My campaign will be knocking on tens of thousands of doors in the next few months and we’ll be talking about how important this bill is at every single one of them. Once in office I plan to continue to use my office to organize our district around this and similar landmark legislation that will greatly improve the lives of everyday working people.

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 to both, homelessness is not a personal failure, but a structural, policy failure. And it requires a policy solution. Providing housing and housing assistance is the answer to ending homelessness and I’m dedicated to doing so. Queer and trans youth are a disproportionate percentage of the homeless population in New York. We must provide supportive housing options for homeless queer youth and housing insecure queer New Yorkers, with free access to health, education, and employment services.

43. What should happen to 421-a? Would you end it, mend it, continue it?

I support repealing 421-a. In order to create new social housing, we must end giveaways to private developers and redirect those resources to create a robust Social Housing Acquisition Fund and to increase funding for the conversion of hotels and distressed commercial properties. We must also give tenants the tools to convert their homes to decommodified, tenant-controlled housing.

44. Do you support legalizing accessory dwelling units?

Yes, single unit & exclusionary zoning laws are suppressing our housing supply and making homeownership increasingly unattainable for everyday working people. The current criminalization of ADU’s has led to an unregulated black market and to unsafe and inhumane living conditions. We should bring these units into the light so that we can apply proper safety and living standards.

45. Do you support more state funding for NYCHA? If so, how much?

Yes, federal funding for public housing has declined significantly over the last two decades and the political terrain at the federal level is unlikely to shift in our favor for at least the next 8 years. This lack of funds has forced NYCHA to operate on a starvation diet and has left residents living in deplorable conditions. The status quo is absolutely unacceptable. As deferred maintenance costs compound over time, the capital repairs deficit grows exponentially.

Something must be done to set NYCHA on a path to stable and reliable funding. I am deeply committed to fighting for funding at the State level and am proud to be running as part of a growing socialist bloc in the legislature that’s working to massively increase taxes on the rich to raise the necessary funds. I look forward to organizing alongside NYCHA tenants to build the power we need there to win.

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, as an Indigenous person, and someone whose district is surrounded by water, fossil fuel pollution isn’t some abstract political issue for me, it’s personal. I will enthusiastically support and push our legislature to pass the Climate and Community Investment Act. The CLCPA mandates decarbonizing the electric grid by 70% by 2030, and requires that considerable portions of this investment benefit the communities who have been most harmed by environmental racism and injustice.

Unfortunately, the CLCPA does not have a clear mechanism for implementing these mandates, and the history of climate measures in New York State is a history of broken promises and missed targets. Governor Hochul and her administration have done everything to demonstrate that they will continue Cuomo’s failed agenda of relying on private market investments to spur renewable energy development. Currently there is an enormous backlog of renewable generation projects that are held back because of the state’s inability to coordinate with a huge number of renewable developers. Wind and solar still account for only 4-6% of the energy generation in the state.

FDR started the NY Power Authority in the 1930s to use the power of public investments to build state-owned energy generation which still accounts for 25% of the electricity produced in NY. That’s why I support the Build Public Renewables Act, which will allow NYPA to own and build renewable energy, using union labor which can create new constituencies for progressive policy all over NY State, including upstate crucially.

Private energy companies will always prioritize profits for their investors before climate justice. The NYPA is accountable to the people of NY first, and is not required to prioritize investor profits first and foremost and therefore is the most appropriate vehicle to plan and coordinate green economic development for all New Yorkers. This can provide a blueprint to replicate at the federal level when the left is ready to contest power nationally once more.

I also support a robust Green New Deal agenda for New York. As part of that agenda, I support the New York Build Public Renewables Act and the New York Utility Democracy Act, a bill for which I have been organizing for years, and investing in a just transition to green energy and jobs. I support the Climate and Community Investment Act (CCIA) (S4264A/A6967), but we also must fight to pass the All Electric Building Act (S06843/A08431), the Clean Futures Act (S05939/A06761), the cryptocurrency mining ban (A7389), the bill to require Public Service Commission programs to provide job training funds to priority populations (A03996), the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Elimination Act (S7438/A8483), the Proposed Actions on Environmental Justice Communities (S1031/A2103), and the Teachers’ Fossil Fuel Divestment Act (S4783/A6331).

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?

Yes, New Yorkers need and deserve a public banking alternative that democratizes credit, considers and responds to social costs of investment, and empowers everyday people into the decision making of how their money is used.

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, as I mentioned above, this is a priority issue in our campaign and in my office.

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?‘

I support removing the Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus Circle. I would love to see something in its place that not only honors and celebrates the heritage and struggles of local indigenous groups, but also something that allows for more vibrant public use of the space -- for rallies, protests, performance, socializing! Whereas the commercial shopping center, car-centric street design, and permanent police barricades around Trump Tower nearby currently make the area less inviting and open.

51. Do you support reducing the budget of law enforcement throughout the state, and if so, by how much?

Yes -- although I haven’t yet examined the state law enforcement budget as closely as I would like, I would support a goal of reducing the state law enforcement budget by half, and investing all of that money in programs that meaningfully re-invest in communities that have been negatively impacted by criminalization and over-policing. Investments in health, education, proactive community safety like violence interrupters and de-escalation training, supportive

re-entry programs, environmental justice and public access to green space, child care, permanent affordable housing, harm reduction and access to stigma-free drug treatment programs.

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 to all.

53. Should law enforcements "Vice Squads" be eliminated? Yes.

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?

Law enforcement officers should be penalized through regular workplace discipline channels, but more importantly, for public health and safety, and occupational health, officers who refuse to wear masks should be taken off of any duties that require them to interact with the public or with co-workers who they would be putting at risk.

55. What reforms would you make to the Civilian Complaint Review Board? Would you support state legislation to make CCRB disciplinary determinations binding?

Yes, I would support legislation to make CCRB disciplinary determinations binding.

56. What will you do to support nightlife in New York State?

Outdoor dining, open streets, and to-go drinks have been a liferaft for New York City nightlife during the COVID-19 pandemic. I will fight to ensure that these projects are made permanent, which will envitalize our streets, increase foot traffic, and improve the quality of life for our residents. Complex and lively streets make our neighborhoods safer, more interesting, and more enjoyable. New York City can and should reclaim this space from cars and give it back to everyday people.

57. Do you commit to speak with restaurant and nightlife industry representatives before taking a position on any policies that affect their businesses?

Yes

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?

Yes

59. What are the top 3 issues you aim to address locally and legislatively?

1. Enact a Green New Deal for New York through the Build Public Renewables act

2. Establish Housing as a Human Right through the Right to Remain

3. Provide universal healthcare to all New Yorkers regardless of income or immigration status through the New York Health act

4. Remove tuitions from our CUNY system and ensure all students are able to pursue a higher education

60. How much money do you presently have in your campaign account?

$25,000

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 grew up in various small towns in New York, so it was hard for me to come into my own as a gay person. By the time I was in college I proudly began to embrace my identity, and I am so fortunate to have had parents who supported me.

As a legislator I hope to continue to support queer and trans youth, and will use all the powers of my office to protect & empower our community.

questionnaireJim Owles Liberal Democratic ClubFebruary 26, 2022nys assembly 2022