Downtown Independent Democrats have held and been participating in candidate forums for the NY Congressional, State, Judicial, and Democratic Party offices for the Primary to be held June 28, 2022. These endorsements were made prior to the redistricting process. We will address any impact to these endorsements when the new district lines are finalized.
With the resignation of Lt. Governor Brian Benjamin, DID rescinded its endorsement. DID has subsequently endorsed Ana Maria Archila
View the May 9, 2022 Lt Governor forum video here.
View the January 9 State Legislative forum video here
- NYS Senate Districts 26 & 27
- NYS Assembly Districts 65 & 66
- NY Democratic State Committee AD 65
View the January 22 NY Statewide office forum video here
- NYS Attorney General
- NYS Lt. Governor
- NYS Comptroller
- US Senate
View the January 23 Congressional forum video here
- NY Congressional Districts 7, 10, & 12
- NY Democratic State Committee AD 65 & 66
View the January 29 NYS Governor forum video here
View the February 19 Civil Court and Surrogate Court forum video here
DID members have voted to endorse the following candidates for the June 28 New York State Primary Election:
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- NY State Senate District 27: Vittoria Fariello
- NY State Senate District 27: Brad Hoylman
- NY State Assembly District 61: Justine Cuccia
- NY State Assembly District 65: Grace Lee
- NY State Assembly District 66: Deborah Glick
- NY Congressional District 07: Nydia Velazquez
- NY Congressional District 10: Jerrold Nadler
- NY Congressional District 12: Carolyn Maloney
- NY Democratic District Leader AD 61(F): Vittoria Fariello
- NY Democratic District Leader AD 61(M): Dennis Gault
- NY Democratic State Committee AD 61 (F): Jill Goodkind
- NY Democratic State Committee AD 61 (M): AKM Mike Bhuiyan
- NY Democratic State Committee AD 65 (F): Kathryn Freed
- NY Democratic State Committee AD 65 (M): Joshua Goodman
- NY Democratic State Committee AD 66 (F): Rachel Lavine
- NY Democratic State Committee AD 66 (M): Benjamin Yee
- NYS Comptroller: Thomas DiNapoli
- NYS Attorney General: Letitia James
- NYS Governor: Jumaane Williams
- NYS Lt. Governor: Ana Maria Archila
- Manhattan County Civil Court, District 2: No Endorsement
- Manhattan County Civil Court, County-Wide Seat: E. Deronn Bowen
- Manhattan County Surrogate Court: Hilary Gingold
NY State Senate District 27 – Vittoria Fariello
Vittoria is running to bring affordable housing, universal health care and fair government that works for everyone to our Senate district.
Vittoria has lived in the district for more than 20 years. In 2017, Vittoria was elected as a District Leader for the Democratic Party downtown. Almost immediately she took on the the backroom dealing of the county political machine. She rallied other District Leaders to her side and got rules changed that had allowed the party bosses to abuse their power.
There’s an appetite among lawmakers in Albany to do things that weren’t possible a few years ago. But we need the right person to be at the table, we need a person who’s shown up for our fights, and who is ready to work with other lawmakers to get things done.
Vittoria will be a skilled Senator. She’s an advocate and a strong negotiator. She is not afraid to take on difficult and complicated issues.
It is for these reasons and more that DID endorses Vittoria Fariello for NY State Senate District 26.
NY State Senate District 27 – Brad Hoylman
Elected to the State Senate in 2012, Brad chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and represents New York’s 27th State Senate District, which covers much of lower and midtown Manhattan.
Brad champions a wide range of issues, such as housing, transportation, public education, environmental conservation, and seniors. He has passed over 100 bills and counting in the Senate, including the Child Victims Act, which enabled adult survivors of child sexual abuse to revive legal claims against their abusers; the TRUST Act, which permitted Congress to review the state taxes of elected officials like Donald Trump; GENDA, which extended human rights protections to transgender New Yorkers; and banning the practice of sexual orientation change efforts, or so-called “conversion therapy.”
It is for these reasons and more that DID endorses Brad Hoylman for NY State Senate District 27.
NY State Assembly District 65 – Grace Lee
Progressive Democrat Grace Lee is a community organizer, small business owner, mom to three children, and first-generation American proud to call Lower Manhattan home.
Grace has a proven track record for successfully mobilizing and organizing around local issues, from co-founding a coalition demanding the safe clean-up of a mercury brownfield in the Seaport, to empowering deaf tenants living in deplorable conditions on Forsyth Street, to stand up to their building’s management and demand repairs.
Grace also coordinated with community organizers to donate and deliver food to NYCHA residents throughout the pandemic, and has supported her fellow organizers in fighting for safe, healthy and strong communities in every neighborhood in the district.
It is for these reasons and more that DID endorses Grace Lee for NY State Assembly District 65.
NY State Assembly District 66 – Deborah Glick
Deborah Glick, a lifelong resident of New York City, has lived in Greenwich Village for over 40 years. As a representative of Lower Manhattan fueled by her grassroots activism, she has been a strong advocate for civil rights, reproductive freedom, LGBTQ rights, social justice, animal protections, and environmental preservation, funding for the arts, and tenants’ rights.
Deborah’s recent legislative accomplishments include the passage of the Reproductive Health Act, codifying Roe v. Wade in New York State law, for which she was the lead sponsor–steering its successful passage through the Assembly in multiple years before it was finally passed by the State Senate in 2019. She has been a staunch advocate protecting our communities, parks, and waterfront.
It is for these reasons and more that DID endorses Deborah Glick for NY State Assembly District 66.
Democratic State Committee AD 65 (M) – Joshua Goodman
Joshua Goodman, our candidate for State Committee (M) in AD-65, currently serves as Chair of DID's Grassroots Committee, helping to facilitate our direct campaign work and efforts to elect the best possible Democratic candidates up and down the ballot. He has worked in government, advocacy, and politics for the last 15 years, focusing on sustainability, social justice, and improvements to government service. He lives in Chinatown with his dog, Virginia Woof.
It is for these reasons and more that DID endorses Joshua Goodman for Democratic State Committee Assembly District 65 (M).
Democratic State Committee AD 65 (F) - Kathryn Freed
Kathryn is a long time Lower Manhattan resident and community activist. Among many other things, she has been an attorney in a practice centered on representing tenants, employment discrimination and election law. She used her expertise in tenant law to help write and pass the Loft Law and work with numerous downtown tenant groups. She served as: a member of CB 1 for over 15 years, serving two terms as its chair; City Councilmember for Downtown District # 1 for ten years; for seventeen years as a New York Judge, most recently as a NY State Supreme Court Justice.
Since retiring from the Judiciary last year, she has gone back to community activism: opposing the SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown up-zoning; working against climate destruction, especially in East River Park and is currently working for air monitoring and environmental safeguards for the Lower Manhattan Waterfront, especially at Lands End, 250 Water Street and the former East River Park site (all of which have tested positive for various dangerous heavy metals and/or volatile organic compounds), while calling for effective Resiliency measures and interim flood protection. She has spoken out against a 350 foot jail tower on White and Center Streets, and attended press conferences with the AAPI Community calling for additional measures for protection against vicious hate crimes especially against Asians, while also calling for a comprehensive plan to deal with Mental illness, homelessness and more affordable housing.