Abundance New York 2026 State Legislative Candidate Questionnaire
William Smith
State Assembly, District 68
Background
Please briefly describe your background and why you are running for this office.
I am running because working families in the 68th Assembly District—East Harlem, Yorkville, and the Upper East Side—deserve leadership that understands their struggles and delivers results. I grew up in Section 8 and Mitchell-Lama housing in East Harlem, so I know firsthand the challenges of housing insecurity, limited access to opportunity, and systemic barriers that affect families here. My mother passed away when I was six, and my father was incarcerated and later deported when I was 11; I didn’t see him again until I was 31. Navigating these challenges has shaped my commitment to fight for equity, stability, and opportunity for all families. I will fight to ensure affordable housing, fully funded schools, strong local services, and economic mobility for every resident in the 68th District.
How are you differentiated from your opponent(s)? What does your path to victory look like in your district?
I am differentiated by both lived experience and execution. I also bring a finance, investment, and compliance background, with experience overseeing large portfolios and MWBE/DBE businesses, which allows me to deliver results on housing, education, and economic opportunity. The needs of the 68th District are clear: affordable housing and NYCHA investment, strong public schools, and pathways to economic mobility. Our path to victory is grounded in turnout math: in a projected 10,500–11,000 voter primary, we need ~3,400–3,500 votes. We will achieve that by securing ~1,200 votes from the Upper East Side and ~2,200 votes from key East Harlem clusters through a disciplined, field-first operation—door-to-door outreach, early vote and absentee targeting, and bilingual, community-led engagement. This race is not about messaging—it is about executing a targeted turnout strategy that converts trust into votes.
Government Delivery Reform
SEQRA reform: New York should reform the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) to reduce the time and scope of environmental review for housing, transit, renewable energy, and resilience projects.
Agree
Civil Service Reform: New York should make it easier for the government to hire the staff they need by making exams more job-relevant, allowing work experience to count instead of degrees, and enabling temporary appointments.
Agree
Capital Project Procurement Reform: New York State should give NYC more procurement flexibility (such as expanded challenge-based procurement and "other transaction authority" style contracting) in order to speed up the delivery of capital projects.
Agree
Additional context
I support reforming SEQRA to make it more efficient and predictable—especially for housing, transit, renewable energy, and climate resilience projects—but not at the expense of environmental protections or community input. The goal should be to streamline process, not weaken standards. That means setting clear timelines, reducing duplicative reviews, and prioritizing projects that advance affordability and sustainability, while maintaining rigorous environmental safeguards. In the 68th District, where we need both more housing and climate resilience investments, SEQRA reform should help move critical projects forward faster without compromising air quality, public health, or environmental justice.
Housing
Expanding Housing: Addressing the housing affordability crisis requires increasing production of all kinds of housing, including market-rate units.
Agree
Homelessness/Expedited permanent supportive housing: Addressing the homelessness crisis requires a housing-first solution such as expedited permanent supportive housing for those in need, because shelters are not a permanent solution.
Agree
Transit Oriented Development: New York should allow for more housing to be built near existing transit stations including near commuter rail stations, even if that requires changing zoning.
Agree
Build Code Reform: New York, at the city and state level, should embrace building code and licensing reforms (e.g., smaller elevator size requirements, modular construction, mass timber) that make it cheaper to build housing while maintaining safety.
Agree
Additional context
(No response)
Transit
Transit Cost Containment: New York should act in a coordinated fashion to reduce the cost of building new transit projects, including reducing the size of stations and allowing the temporary disruption of street traffic to more quickly complete projects.
Agree
Busway Expansion: New York City should: 1) expand the number of busways (routes where private cars are banned); and 2) eventually pursue bus rapid transit lines to increase bus speeds throughout the city.
Agree
Automated Camera Expansion: New York should allow New York City to expand automated camera enforcement, including red light cameras, bus lane cameras, and bike lane cameras, to make streets safer.
Agree
Parking: New York City should charge more for parking and reduce or eliminate free street parking.
I support a balanced approach to parking reform. As we work to address affordability and raise revenue, we should modernize parking policy by reducing excessive free street parking and better aligning pricing with demand. However, this must be done carefully to avoid placing additional burdens on seniors, people with disabilities, and those with limited mobility. Any changes should include targeted exemptions, accessible parking protections, and affordability safeguards. The goal is to improve efficiency and fairness in our system while ensuring vulnerable residents are not disproportionately impacted.
Additional context
(No response)
Clean Energy
Solar Energy: New York State should preempt local regulations that effectively ban solar projects by establishing a ceiling on restrictions and should streamline solar permitting by adopting automated systems in order to enable more solar energy.
Agree
Nuclear Energy Development: New York should expand its nuclear energy capacity by building new reactors and extending the life of existing plants in order to hit the goal of 100% zero-emission electricity generation by 2040.
I support a measured, safety-first approach to nuclear energy as part of achieving 100% zero-emission electricity. Extending the life of existing plants can play a role in maintaining grid reliability, but any expansion must meet the highest safety, regulatory, and environmental standards, with strong oversight and community input. At the same time, we should not rely on nuclear alone—we must also reduce overall energy consumption, invest in energy efficiency, and accelerate renewable energy and grid modernization. A balanced strategy ensures we meet our climate goals without compromising safety or affordability.
Additional context
(No response)
Candidate Statement
Abundance Examples from Your Work: Please describe a specific example from your record (legislative, professional, or community work) where you championed a project or policy that is aligned with our agenda. What obstacles did you overcome, and what was the outcome?
I support the goals behind the Abundance Agenda—making it easier to build more housing, infrastructure, and clean energy to address affordability and expand opportunity. Too often, delays, high costs, and overly complex processes limit supply and drive prices higher.
In my role in MTA Compliance, I worked to move capital projects forward by monitoring contracts and conducting on-site visits for MWBE/DBE businesses, including Latino-owned firms. I saw firsthand how bureaucratic delays and fragmented oversight stall projects and increase costs. I focused on improving coordination, enforcing accountability, and removing unnecessary bottlenecks so projects could move faster without compromising standards—resulting in more efficient delivery and stronger participation from small businesses.
This experience reinforced my view that New York’s affordability crisis is, in part, a systems problem—we make it too difficult to build. We need to streamline permitting, reduce delays, and improve coordination so we can deliver more. At the same time, this must be done with discipline—maintaining environmental standards, labor protections, and meaningful community input, especially in districts like the 68th where affordability and environmental justice must go hand in hand.
The goal is simple: build more, faster, and smarter—without lowering standards or shifting burdens onto working families.
Legislative Priorities: If elected (or re-elected) to the State Assembly/Senate, what are your top three legislative priorities? Please be specific about the policies you would advance and what you hope to achieve.
My top three legislative priorities will focus on building more, lowering costs, and expanding opportunity:
Housing Production & Affordability
Advance policies to accelerate housing development, including streamlining approvals while maintaining environmental and tenant protections.
Increase NYCHA investment and support community-based models like community land trusts to prevent displacement.
Education & Workforce Development
Fully fund Foundation Aid and expand support for bilingual and multilingual learners.
Invest in career pathways, workforce training, and partnerships with local employers to connect residents to good-paying jobs.
Economic Opportunity & Small Business Growth
Expand access to MWBE/DBE contracts and capital for small businesses.
Reduce barriers that slow down business growth while maintaining strong labor and consumer protections.
These priorities are focused on delivering results—more housing, stronger schools, and real economic mobility.