We can be proud of our work to elect candidates committed to our agenda of equal access to quality care and to all facets of life that keep our communities healthy, safe, and vital. A strong majority of candidates we endorsed in New York State won their races.
First we acknowledge that our endorsed candidate for President, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was unsuccessful in her bid to become the first woman president of the United States. But in New York, many of our members joined other New Yorkers to give her 59% of the vote, making her the winner in NY State. It is also a fact that Secretary of State Clinton won the popular vote nationally.
We should also be proud of the efforts NYSNA members made on behalf of her candidacy, and we should strive to carry forward our platform of climate justice, labor rights and safe working conditions, quality healthcare for all in a Medicare for all system, and more.
Of the 159 candidates NYSNA supported in New York State Senate and Assembly races, 137 won office. This very strong showing will result in informed, committed voices in both Houses, knowledgeable about our programs and policies.
Click HERE to see a list of NYSNA-endorsed NYS legislative winners. In the New Jersey State Senate and Assembly, we won 12 of 14 endorsed races.
Our priority New York State candidates did very well. Thirteen won their contests, and we should be very excited about these victories. Many NYSNA members and staff worked diligently to get them elected — efforts that largely paid off.
In the New York State Senate, our very own Marisol Alcantara (D31) won her race in Upper Manhattan, and she is now the first Dominican woman to be elected to the New York State Senate, both a great honor and accomplishment. In Queens, Brian Barnwell, a brother, son and grandson of nurses, was elected to District 30 of the State Assembly. In the Hudson Valley, Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D35) won re-election to the Senate, as did long-time incumbent George Latimer and Terrence Murphy, for whom this was his first re-election.
In the Capital Region, three outstanding Assembly candidates won their contests: Phil Steck (D110), Angelo Santabarbara (D111) and Carrie Woerner (D113). They showed great commitment to our safe staffing bill, came to “Bomb Train” rallies and spoke with conviction at our Conventions and meetings.
Todd Kaminsky (D9), a former Long Island Assemblyman, won the Senate seat to which he had been elected in a special election in the spring. Our nurses were there for him for both Senate contests and for good reason: his work on the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act was exemplary, and we look forward to his continued support. Also on Long Island, Michaelle Solages (D22) was re-elected to the Assembly. Her close attention to our members and their hospitals in her district has made her very popular.
In Central New York, Addie Russell (D116), who walked the picket lines with our nurses, was re-elected despite being outspent many times over by her opponent.
In Assembly contests in Western New York, Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes (D141), the first African American woman to represent Buffalo in the Assembly, won re-election. Monica Wallace (D143), a lawyer on the faculty of SUNY Buffalo Law School, won her contest. She has pledged support to many community initiatives, as well as to our safe staffing bill.
Click HERE for an album of photos of these winning candidates.
