Candidate Answers to JOLDC: Latrice M. Walker for NY Assembly District 55
Candidate Name: Latrice M. Walker
Office Seeking Election for: NY Assembly District 55
1. Based upon your life experiences and accomplishments, why do you believe you are best qualified to represent your district?
I was born and raised in the Prospect Plaza Houses of Brownsville, Brooklyn — one of the city’s most underserved communities. That lived experience is what drives everything I do. I am a practicing attorney who fought unconstitutional stop-and-frisk policing in court, defended NYCHA tenants facing eviction, and worked alongside advocates to preserve affordable housing. As counsel to Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, I mastered the legislative process from the inside. Since 2015, I have represented the 55th District and built a record that speaks for itself: I am the engine behind New York’s landmark 2019 bail reform law and the Assembly sponsor of the John
R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York. I chair the Election Law Committee and serve on Ways and Means, Housing, Judiciary, and Codes. When bail reform rollbacks were being pushed through the budget, I went on a 19-day hunger strike to fight back. I am also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Medgar Evers College, a union member, and a dedicated single mother. I bring my whole self to this work — and I believe the people of this district deserve a representative who has walked in their shoes.
2. What LGBTQ+ organizations have you been involved with, either on a volunteer basis or professionally?
I have been proud to work with the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club and consider Allen Roskoff a valued ally. I have also worked closely with Pride Center and collaborated with Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a leading champion of LGBTQ+ rights in the Legislature. In 2019, I spoke passionately on the Assembly floor in support of GENDA — the Gender Expression
Non-Discrimination Act — which extended civil rights protections to transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers. I am committed to deepening these relationships and remaining a strong legislative ally for the LGBTQ+ community.
3. What press conferences, demonstrations, rallies, and protests in support of LGBTQ+ issues, pro-choice legislation, racial justice, and criminal justice have you attended, including rallies specifically against Donald Trump and his policies?
I have attended the NYC Pride Parade and rallied alongside LGBTQ+ advocates on multiple occasions. I have gone on hunger strikes to defend bail reform, protested the threatened closure of SUNY Downstate, rallied for the Governor to close the Medicaid Coverage Gap, and joined press conferences calling for sentencing reform. In 2025, I joined colleagues on the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus to urge passage of the Robert Brooks Blueprint for Justice and Reform, addressing human rights abuses in New York’s jails and prisons. I have also participated in actions defending reproductive rights and immigrant protections in the face of the Trump Administration’s attacks.
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?
New York must be a firewall against the Trump Administration’s assault on civil rights. As Chair of the Election Law Committee, I am working to protect voting access and ensure every New Yorker can participate in our democracy. I am fighting for passage of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act to strengthen preclearance protections. I am pushing the New York for All Act to prevent state and local resources from being used to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. I am defending reproductive rights through state legislation and working to ensure New York remains a safe harbor for transgender individuals, immigrants, and all vulnerable communities. Organizationally, I am working with progressive caucuses in the Legislature, community organizations, and grassroots groups in my district to build the kind of ground-level resistance that can withstand federal overreach.
5. Will you seek or accept endorsements from individuals who oppose LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights?
No. I would not seek the endorsement of any individual or organization whose mission is to undermine LGBTQ+ rights or reproductive freedom. My legislative record — including my vote for GENDA, my support for reproductive rights legislation, and my consistent advocacy for equality — makes my values on these issues clear.
6. Do you support the unrestricted right to reproductive care and abortion?
Yes. I support a person’s unrestricted right to reproductive care and abortion. I have worked on legislation in the Assembly to protect and expand these rights, and I believe New York must continue to lead in ensuring that reproductive decisions remain between a patient and their healthcare provider, free from government interference.
7. Have you hosted, funded, or otherwise supported Drag Story Hours in your community?
I support Drag Story Hours as joyful, community-building events that celebrate diversity and inclusion. All families deserve spaces where they are seen and affirmed.
8. How will you work to enhance protections for immigrants and uphold New York’s role as a “Sanctuary City”?
I supported the New York for All Act, which prohibits state and local officers from inquiring about an individual’s immigration status and prevents the funneling of people into ICE custody. I have advocated reducing wait times for work permits, providing stable public housing — rather than hotels and tents — for recently arrived individuals, and creating a simpler path to citizenship. I will continue to fight for legislation that ensures New York remains a sanctuary for all, and I will oppose any effort to use state resources to cooperate with the Trump Administration’s cruel immigration enforcement policies.
9. Do you support New York becoming a Transgender Sanctuary State?
Yes. Transgender individuals across the country are under unprecedented attack. New York must step up as a refuge. I voted for GENDA in 2019 because I believe in protecting the most vulnerable among us, and I will support legislation to make New York a Transgender Sanctuary State — ensuring that our state will not cooperate with other states’ efforts to criminalize gender-affirming care or penalize transgender individuals and their families.
10. If elected, will you commit to supporting legislation that raises taxes on the richest New Yorkers and large corporations to fund the services and investments our communities need?
Yes. Communities like those in the 55th District — Brownsville, Ocean Hill, Bed-Stuy, East Crown Heights, and East New York — have been disinvested for generations. I support progressive revenue measures, including raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and large corporations, to fund affordable housing, healthcare, education, and the social services that my constituents need and deserve. I serve on the Ways and Means Committee and will continue to fight for budgets that reflect our values.
11. How will you represent the most vulnerable, including individuals experiencing homelessness and asylum seekers? Have you ever opposed any shelter in your district?
I have never opposed a shelter in my district. I represent communities where homelessness and housing instability are daily realities — I grew up in NYCHA housing myself. I have fought for the right to shelter, advocated for building more affordable and supportive housing, and pushed for every New York State community to share in the responsibility of sheltering recently arrived people. I have also supported legislation mandating that municipalities outside New York City help fund shelter efforts, and I have fought to ensure that shelter placements are dignified and paired with access to services.
12. Will you sponsor and support legislation that 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 have supported the New York for All Act and will continue to sponsor and advocate for this legislation. No state or local entity should be acting as an arm of federal immigration enforcement. Our communities are safer when all residents — regardless of immigration status
— feel safe reporting crimes, accessing healthcare, and sending their children to school without fear.
13. To advance safety and justice, New York must address its archaic sentencing and parole laws. Do you support the following key legislation: 1) Second Look Act; 2) Earned Time Act; 3) Marvin Mayfield Act; 4) Elder Parole?
Yes to all four. I am a co-sponsor of the Assembly versions of each of these bills. (1) I am the Assembly sponsor of the Second Look Act (A.1283), which would allow incarcerated individuals to petition for sentence reduction after serving at least ten years or half their sentence. This bill is backed by the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Racism, Social Equity, and the Law. (2) I am a co-sponsor of the Earned Time Act, which strengthens and expands good time and merit time programs. (3) I support the Marvin Mayfield Act to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences and restore judicial discretion. (4) I am a co-sponsor of Elder Parole, which would provide incarcerated individuals aged 55 and older who have served 15 years the opportunity to appear before the parole board. Sentencing reform is central to my legislative agenda and has been since I entered office.
14. Do you oppose the death penalty?
Yes. I oppose the death penalty. It is a morally indefensible, racially biased practice that has no place in a just society.
15. Do you support outlawing solitary confinement?
Yes. I support ending solitary confinement. It is a form of torture that causes lasting psychological harm and is disproportionately inflicted on Black and brown individuals. I joined colleagues in the BPHA Caucus in pressing for the Robert Brooks Blueprint for Justice and Reform, which addresses human rights abuses in New York’s jails and prisons, including conditions like solitary confinement.
16. Do you commit to visiting 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 have visited Rikers Island to speak with incarcerated individuals and witness conditions firsthand — that visit was a catalyst for my 19-day hunger strike in defense of bail reform. I will continue visiting incarcerated constituents and fighting for the legislative tools — the Second Look Act, Elder Parole, and Earned Time Act — that would allow those who have demonstrated genuine transformation to earn a path back to their families and communities.
17. Do you commit to making applications for clemencies available to your constituency, including a link to an application in a constituent newsletter? Will you submit it to our club?
Yes. I am committed to making clemency information accessible to my constituents through newsletters, community events, and my district office. I will also share these resources with the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club.
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?
Yes, I supported Andrew Cuomo in 2025. I want to be straightforward about my reasoning.
My support for Governor Cuomo was rooted in what he delivered for the people of my district, not in agreement on every issue. When Interfaith Medical Center and Brookdale Hospital were on the verge of closing, it was Governor Cuomo who intervened with $700 million through the
Health Care Facility Transformation Program and created the One Brooklyn Health system that saved both institutions. For my constituents in Brownsville, East New York, and Bed-Stuy, those hospitals are not abstract policy — they are where families go in emergencies, where babies are delivered, where my own brother was taken after he was shot. Losing them would have been catastrophic.
Governor Cuomo also launched the $1.4 billion Vital Brooklyn Initiative, the single largest targeted investment in Central Brooklyn in a generation. That initiative brought affordable housing, new community health centers, playgrounds, access to healthy food, and
violence-prevention programs directly to the 55th District. He charged me with convening a Community Advisory Council to shape those investments, and I took that responsibility seriously. The Rise — 68 units of affordable supportive housing on East New York Avenue in Brownsville — was a direct product of that work.
And critically, Governor Cuomo signed the landmark 2019 bail reform law that I authored in the Assembly — legislation I fought for, went on a hunger strike to defend, and that I consider the most important work of my career. He also signed criminal justice reform bills that have changed lives across this state.
I understand that reasonable people disagree about Governor Cuomo, and I am not asking anyone to share my view. But I represent a district where hospitals nearly disappeared, where healthcare deserts are real, and where the state’s investment literally built the affordable housing my constituents live in. When someone delivers for your people, you remember that — and I owed it to my constituents to support the person who showed up for them. My record on LGBTQ+ rights, criminal justice, reproductive freedom, and every progressive cause this club cares about has not changed and will not change.
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 were blatantly racist, would you support and sponsor a bill to rename the former Queensboro Bridge?
Yes. I support renaming the former Queensboro Bridge. Koch’s record of inaction during the AIDS crisis and his documented racism are stains on his legacy that should not be honored with a public landmark.
20. Do you support naming the soon-to-be-reconstructed 42nd Street bus terminal the Bella Abzug Port Authority?
Yes. Bella Abzug was a trailblazing champion of civil rights, women’s rights, and LGBTQ+ equality. Naming the reconstructed 42nd Street bus terminal after her would be a fitting tribute to her legacy.
21. What is your legislative remedy to secure the building of low and moderate-income housing around the state?
Housing is one of my core legislative priorities. I am a co-sponsor of Good Cause Eviction and a member of the Assembly’s Housing Committee. I support increasing state investment in public housing — including NYCHA, where I grew up — expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and passing legislation requiring every community in New York State to contribute to affordable housing development. We also need to hold landlords accountable for the conditions
in existing affordable housing and ensure that new developments include a meaningful percentage of affordable units for low- and moderate-income families.
22. Will you refuse donations from AIPAC, SolidarityPAC, police and corrections associations, the fossil fuel industry, and the charter school industry?
I do not accept contributions from AIPAC or SolidarityPAC. My legislative record speaks to my independence — from my hunger strike defending bail reform against law enforcement opposition, to my consistent advocacy for criminal justice reform, environmental justice, and public education. I judge every contribution by whether the contributor’s interests align with my district's needs, and I have never let any donor influence my votes or values.
23. 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).
Yes. I support the decriminalization of consensual sex work between adults. I have previously proposed legislation to remove the law that allows possession of condoms to be used as evidence of prostitution. Criminalization drives sex work underground, increases violence against workers, and disproportionately harms women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people of color.
Cecilia’s Act would protect workers while maintaining all existing felony statutes against the trafficking, coercion, and exploitation of minors.
24. 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. January 6, 2021, was an attack on American democracy. Our students deserve to learn the truth about what happened that day. Public education must include an honest accounting of threats to our democratic institutions, and I support making this history mandatory in the curriculum.
25. What additional information would you like the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club to consider when we are making our endorsement decision?
I would ask the Club to consider the totality of my record. I have spent my career fighting for people who are overlooked and underserved — from the courtrooms where I defended tenants and challenged stop-and-frisk, to the Assembly floor where I championed bail reform, voting rights, and sentencing reform. I went on a 19-day hunger strike when my colleagues tried to gut bail reform. I voted for GENDA. I sponsor the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Second Look Act. I am rooted in my community — I still live in Ocean Hill-Brownsville, worship at Wayside Baptist Church, and teach at Medgar Evers College. I bring the fight every single day because the people of the 55th District deserve nothing less. I would be honored to have the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club’s endorsement in this race.
26. If you receive our endorsement, do you agree to identify the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club on all appropriate literature and electronic materials?
Yes.