Democratic Candidates for State Assembly - 69th District

Danny O’Donnell
With a long list of endorsements, Danny O’Donnell is the likely frontrunner in the crowded assembly race. O’Donnell, who is the brother of actress and talk show celebrity Rosie O’Donnell, won the highly coveted endorsement of current 69th District Assemblymember Edward Sullivan, who has been re-elected to the position 12 times since 1976. O’Donnell’s impressive list of endorsements is also marked by The New York Times, U.S. Congressmember Jerrold Nadler, city Comptroller Billy Thompson, the Broadway Democrats, and many neighborhood activists.
A 12-year resident of the district, O’Donnell has been a member of Community Board 9 since 1995. Maintaining affordable housing and increasing funding for public education have been the major issues of O’Donnell’s platform. A smaller issue in the election—environmental justice—has also been a major focus of O’Donnell’s campaign, specifically concerning the unbalanced concentration of bus depots and the location of the marine waste transfer station in Harlem. O’Donnell, who lives on 111th Street, said his work as a tenant attorney has prepared him to work with housing issues in Albany.
“I have a history of public service in my work and volunteer life,” O’Donnell said. “I’ve devoted my free time to improving the quality of life for people in this community.”
Joyce Johnson
After five years as the executive assistant to Chancellor Rudy Crew, candidate Joyce Johnson said she knows that education is the most important issue for her and her neighbors.
“Education should be everybody’s first language. It should be the major drum beat in our community,” Johnson said. “Education, first and foremost, is what I am interested in.”
Specifically, Johnson seeks to increase funding for New York City’s public schools, using the money to improve classrooms while reducing administrative costs. If elected, she also plans to continue Sullivan’s activism in making higher education more accessible to residents by increasing student aid and reducing the cost of a college degree. Johnson, who lives in Mitchell-Lama housing on 96th Street, also plans to continue the struggle for affordable housing and preservation of the middle-income apartments.
“The guys in Albany, they don’t understand housing issues,” said Johnson, a 21-year resident of the district. “They seem to think of it as doing something for the poor people in New York City.” As the only minority woman running for the position, Johnson hopes to attract the minority and female constituency of the diverse 69th district in Tuesday’s election.
Ari Goodman
Though Ari Goodman is one of the newest residents of the 69th district among the candidates, his record of activism is just as substantial as his opponents. Co-chair of the Manhattan Borough President’s task force on housing, Goodman calls preservation of low- and middle-income apartments “the city’s most pressing issue.” Goodman has been a lobbyist in Albany for affordable housing for a decade and is a boardmember for the Mitchell-Lama Residents Coalition. If elected, Goodman plans to sponsor legislation that will encourage landlords to retain Mitchell-Lama and other affordable housing.
Endorsed by District Council 37 and the local division of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Goodman is committed to labor. “People need to make decent wages,” Goodman, a former union member, said. “That way people live better lives and we build a stronger tax base.”
A former public school teacher, Goodman has also witnessed the crucial need for increased funding for city schools. Cutting bureaucracy, reducing class sizes, and improving technology and resources are all a part of his agenda.
“Our students deserve the same allocations as students in school districts around the state,” Goodman said in a written statement.
Steve Strauss
For 104th Street resident Steve Strauss, there are many issues that the next 69th district assemblymember will have to face. But all those issues come down to one thing—political reform.
After 24 years as a local activist, Strauss said he has discovered that all the issues he’s fought for have are rooted in an unfair distribution of finances in Albany.
“That’s the crux of all these other issues—transportation, education, environment,” Strauss said. “It’s about getting New York’s fair share of the funding.”
If elected, Strauss said he will strive to make the political process in Albany more democratic and the political leaders more accountable for their financial decisions.
Strauss’s history of activism includes increasing community involvement in zoning and institutional expansion decisions. His work is highlighted by his work as vice-president of the Broadway Malls Association, which has improved the condition of the greenery lining the district’s main avenue.
Strauss’s environmental accomplishments earned him the endorsement of the New York League of Conservation Voters.
“I have a broad handle on the issues of the district,” Strauss said. “As one of the longer living residents of the district, I know the issues and the people of this neighborhood.”
Louis Nunez
Louis Nunez resigned as head of a health and beauty aids store to run full-time in this election. As the only Hispanic candidate, he is expected to have strong support among Hispanic voters. Nunez is the spokesman for the New York State Federation of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce. Two years ago, he ran against Sullivan in the primaries.
Like many other candidates, housing and education are major issues in his campaign. He has spoken out against luxury decontrol, a loophole in rent control laws that allows landlords to deregulate apartments that rent for $2,000 or more.
Nunez has proposed funneling more money into the education system by establishing a New York City lottery. He says the New York State lottery does not provide enough funds for the educational system although it was supposedly established for that purpose. Like many other Morningside Heights residents, Nunez is against the increasing prevalence of chain stores like Duane Reade and CVS in the area.
“New York City is not a mall,” he told the Gotham Gazette, “we were built on mom and pop stores. I don’t want to be New Jersey, I don’t want to be Long Island, I want to be the Upper West Side.”Cynthia Doty
Working in Sullivan’s office for eight years has given candidate Cynthia Doty a hands-on course in what being an assemblymember is all about. But even more important for Doty, the experience has shown her what issues are most pressing to the constituents of the 69th district and what needs to be done to fix them.
“Most of the issues I deal with in my office are with housing. I hear about it from all areas of the district,” Doty said. “There’s a lot that Albany can do in terms of regulation, laws, and funding to help housing, rent stabilization, and rent control.”
Doty, who has lived in the district for 25 years, has shown a commitment to increasing the power of neighborhood residents. She led a year-long boycott that eventually closed a CVS drugstore near her home on 103rd Street earlier this year.
“That was a way to empower the community, to have a voice in the development of their community,” Doty said.
Doty, endorsed by city Councilman Phil Reed and the Three Parks Club, named education as another important issue of the election.
She said more funding from Albany was necessary to improve technology and teacher training and to create smaller classes. Francisco Spies
Francisco Spies is a 20-year old student who hopes to complete high school by the end of this year. Spies was unavailable for comment.