I am a public defender, policy advocate, and community leader who has spent my career fighting for justice and standing up for people. I’m running to represent the 69th District in the New York State Assembly because I believe this community must continue to stand as a bulwark of progressive values against the numerous threats our state and country currently face. I’m uniquely prepared for what this moment requires. Fighting for people is what I’ve done my entire career. Now I’m running to defend our community and our values in Albany.

While unorthodox for a questionnaire, I’m including this video because it captures who I am more completely than written answers: https://youtu.be/XOm-TLiu2yo.

For over a decade, I’ve represented New Yorkers who can’t afford an attorney in criminal court, standing with them through some of the hardest moments of their lives. Being a public defender means showing up for people when things are at their most dire. It means listening when few others will. It means picking up the phone at odd hours. And it means fighting even when the system is stacked against you. As Policy Director for the Criminal Defense Practice at The Bronx Defenders, I’ve led statewide coalitions to advance justice reforms, protect due process, expand opportunity, and ensure fairness and dignity for all New Yorkers. One thing I’ve learned in that work is that listening—truly listening—is a super power. It’s how I’ve earned trust and fought effectively for people. It’s how I live my life. 

I believe in acting with integrity, empathy, courage, and resolve. My father, who worked for the Nature Conservancy for almost 40 years, taught me the importance of standing up for what’s right and never backing down in the face of injustice.

I will commit myself to making this office and our state government work for people, not for special interests. That means fighting to make New York a place where working families can afford to live, raise their children, and retire with dignity. I’m running to take on this job and deliver for our community with the same integrity, reliability, and resolve that have defined my career.

I want to ensure that New York remains vibrant and livable by tackling the affordability crisis that touches every part of people’s lives. Families are being priced out of their neighborhoods; families are struggling to afford quality housing; and too many New Yorkers are one medical bill away from financial calamity. I believe everyone deserves a safe and stable home, accessible healthcare, affordable childcare, and a dignified wage that allows them to thrive.

These are not separate issues; they are all part of building communities where people can live with security and dignity. That means expanding tenant protections and building more housing, including investing in truly affordable housing. We must also ensure that housing development projects include strong labor standards and create good-paying, union jobs, so that working families can afford to live and thrive in the communities they help build. I will also fight for universal childcare and fair pay for childcare workers; ensure that healthcare is treated as a right, not a privilege; and work to guarantee fair wages and safe working conditions for every worker.

What distinguishes me is my experience. Over the past seven legislative sessions, I have been instrumental in passing and defending transformational legislation in Albany. I have built trusting relationships across the capital, drafted and revised legislation, led coalitions across differences, and turned ideas into real change. On the other hand, my opponent has not held political office and does not have the kind of legal nor policy experience I have from my ten plus years as a public defender in Bronx Criminal Court. I know how Albany works, and I know how to get things done. 

Additionally, I also have a proven campaign infrastructure. I ran for this same seat in 2024, finishing second in a field of five with 34% of the vote and 4,839 votes. This time, I am building from where I started, running for an open seat with greater name recognition, a stronger team, and the enthusiastic support of the progressive coalition that powered Zohran Mamdani's mayoral campaign in our district. 

Our path to victory is centered on people-power. I was the first to enter the race and have already assembled an incredible team with three full-time staff since January to make sure we can execute our campaign plan. I was the first candidate in the race and have already qualified for the maximum public matching funds from New York State.

We plan to raise a minimum of at least $420,000 for this campaign. We are already off to a strong start and have met some of our targets earlier than expected, including meeting the threshold to qualify for public matching funds before our launch in November. In my 2024 campaign, we raised $350,000, so we are confident that this time we can reach $420,000. We have currently raised over $330,000, meaning we are now less than $100,000 away from our goal. We also have more in-district donations and a lower average donation size than our opponent, demonstrating our grassroots and people-powered campaign.

Our campaign was the first State Assembly campaign to receive the endorsement of the Working Families Party for this cycle. Since then, we have received endorsements from a diverse coalition of elected officials, organizations, unions, and community leaders, which you can find at eli4ny.com/endorsements.

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I support modernizing our government processes and cutting the bureaucratic red tape that slows down New York's ability to deliver for its residents. On SEQRA specifically, I have pledged to cosponsor the Sustainable Affordable Housing and Sprawl Prevention Act which would streamline environmental review for housing and clean energy projects without compromising genuine environmental protections. More broadly, I believe the government should be efficient, accountable, and responsive, which means removing barriers that delay the delivery of housing, transit, and infrastructure that New Yorkers need.

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I believe New York needs more homes of all kinds to address the crisis—deeply affordable, social housing, and market-rate—because a low vacancy rate hurts everyone, including the most vulnerable. I will be a strong advocate for more housing, but especially truly affordable housing. I support transit-oriented development, the Social Housing Development Authority, and faith-based affordable housing as tools to meet the scale of what we face. On homelessness specifically, I believe housing stability is foundational to public safety, health, and economic mobility, and that permanent supportive housing is far more effective and humane than shelter-based approaches. Research shows it costs the city $1.4 billion annually to incarcerate people on Rikers who need supportive housing, while providing that housing would cost less than 8% of that amount. We must make smarter investments that keep people stably housed.

I am also supportive of and would like to be a part of the push to build around more transit hubs upstate to support commuters into the city. New York City is not the only municipality that New Yorkers live and work in, and as such we need to build more transit-oriented housing and rezone not only downstate, but upstate as well.

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I believe New York must make it faster, cheaper, and less bureaucratic to build and operate transit infrastructure. I support expanding protected bus lanes and bus rapid transit lines, as well as all-door boarding, shelters and countdown clocks at every stop, and six-minute service as a target for our subway system.

On parking, I believe New York City should prioritize pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders over private car storage on public streets, and I am open to reforms that reduce car dependence and free up street space for better uses. At the same time, I recognize that any changes must be implemented equitably and with sensitivity to residents, particularly working-class New Yorkers, who rely on their vehicles.

Working in the Bronx for the past decade-plus, I know that many outer-borough and lower-income neighborhoods rely on their cars because public transportation is either incredibly unreliable or impossible to get to for older folks and people with disabilities. While I am in favor of the above policies, I want to make sure that the impact is not disproportionately felt by communities who have fewer resources.

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Expanding solar energy is one of the most effective tools we have to address the climate crisis while lowering costs for New Yorkers, and something I would like to see our state kept up to speed on before exploring nuclear energy options. New York’s solar infrastructure is incredibly behind other states like Texas and California, that’s why I want to strongly champion measures to make solar more accessible and affordable. I support solar permitting and expanding the residential solar tax credit and making it refundable for low- and moderate-income households. I also support accelerating solar deployment on public buildings and the SUNNY Act to promote plug-in solar.

On nuclear, I oppose expanding nuclear energy capacity in New York. Nuclear is too slow to deploy, too expensive, too dangerous, and produces toxic radioactive waste that perpetuates environmental injustice. New York's climate investments should prioritize truly renewable technologies like solar, wind, geothermal, and long-duration battery storage.

As a public defender, I have worked to keep people off the streets and safe in their homes. I have represented clients in eviction hearings and have seen firsthand how having counsel can drastically improve outcomes. One tangible action I took was when a client of mine, Shamika Crawford, a survivor of intimate partner violence, was rendered homeless by a senseless order of protection. I fought not only to ensure that she could get back in her home, but that every New Yorker in her position had the right to a hearing when forced out of their home or separated from their children. Those hearings—now called Crawford hearings—are happening every day in courts across this state (you can learn more about Ms. Crawford and her story here: https://youtu.be/qMs-9WSn4sA). That is what it looks like to turn a single injustice into lasting, systemic change and exemplifies my commitment to holistic social and racial justice.

First, New York for All. Attacks on immigrant New Yorkers from the federal government will only grow more aggressive. New York must make clear that it will not allow its resources to be used in the service of the mass deportation efforts being ordered by the Trump Administration. This legislation prohibits state and local agencies from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement and is one of the most urgent measures New York can take to protect our neighbors.

Second, affordability. New York is already unaffordable for many working families, and it is getting worse. I will champion the New York Health Act and universal childcare to ensure that the state is providing necessary resources. 

Third, Sentencing Reform through the Communities Not Cages package. I am a founding member and steering committee member of this campaign. New York's sentencing laws are racist and draconian, and there is enormous human potential languishing in our prison system. The three bills in this package—the Earned Time Act, the Second Look Act, and the Marvin Mayfield Act to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences—would dramatically transform New York's approach to incarceration and begin to repair decades of harm.