Do the candidates on your primary ballot support tenant power? Read below to see how candidates for the state legislature stack up on our TENANT POWER SCORECARD. We also endorsed two tenant champions running to represent renters upstate, Mo Brown and Adam Bojak, read more about them here.
Tenants are a powerful voting bloc. We represent half the state and make up the majority in every major city in New York. With over 9 million of us in the state, we have the ability to elect leaders who represent us and stand up to real estate interests. We have an opportunity to reshape Albany this year to deliver for tenants from Brooklyn to Buffalo.
We rated candidates across the state in key races on their support for tenants to help guide you as you head to the polls. We looked at races where there is a clear choice that could shift the balance of power away from real estate and towards tenants in the state legislature. Candidates were rated based on our determination of how much they will fight for policies that make rent affordable, crackdown on slumlords, house the homeless, and invest in permanently affordable social housing.
Read more about our methodology here, check out how the candidates stack up below, learn about our endorsed candidates here, and make your plan to vote!
TENANT VOTERS MATTER
Right now, landlords and developers hold disproportionate power over our lives and even our democracy. They use their money and influence to impact legislation and politicians’ priorities. Meanwhile, they ignore the repairs we need, unjustly evict us from our homes, and enact extreme rent hikes to pad their pockets with our rent.
Tenants are fighting back through organizing in our buildings and neighborhoods. We’ve fought for legislation that has kept thousands of tenants in rent stabilized apartments, and passed historic Good Cause Eviction protections. We came together as a voting bloc and elected a Rent Freeze Mayor, showing that when we organize together we can change the lives of tenants for the better. Now, we’re harnessing that energy to expand rent stabilization and social housing so that we can have the safe, stable, and affordable housing that we deserve.
Tenant Power Scorecard
The TENANT POWER SCORECARD rates candidates on key issues that impact tenants. We researched candidate positions, assessed incumbent legislative history, reviewed campaign materials and public interviews. We grouped our assessments into five categories: Make Rent Affordable, Fund Social Housing, Crack Down on Slumlords, House the Homeless, and Reject Real Estate Money.
Legend:
✅ Champion
✔️ Supports some but not all of NYS Tenant Bloc’s priorities
❌ Does not support NYS Tenant Bloc’s priorities
⬜️ No public statements, not enough information available
* Candidate is an incumbent
Assembly District 37
| Samantha Kattan | Melissa Orlando | Pia Rahman | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Make Rent Affordable | ✅ | ⬜️ | ⬜️ |
| Fund Social Housing | ✅ | ⬜️ | ✅ |
| Crack Down on Slumlords | ✅ | ⬜️ | ⬜️ |
| House the Homeless | ✅ | ⬜️ | ⬜️ |
| Reject Real Estate $$ | ✅ | ⬜️ | ⬜️ |
Assembly District 38
| Jenifer Rajkumar* | David Orkin | |
|---|---|---|
| Make Rent Affordable | ❌ | ✅ |
| Fund Social Housing | ❌ | ✅ |
| Crack Down on Slumlords | ⬜️ | ✅ |
| House the Homeless | ❌ | ✅ |
| Reject Real Estate $$ | ❌ | ✅ |
Assembly District 54
| Erik Dilan* | Christian Celeste Tate | |
|---|---|---|
| Make Rent Affordable | ✔️ | ✅ |
| Fund Social Housing | ❌ | ✅ |
| Crack Down on Slumlords | ✔️ | ✅ |
| House the Homeless | ❌ | ✅ |
| Reject Real Estate $$ | ❌ | ✅ |
Assembly District 56
| Eon Huntley | Stefani Zinerman* | |
|---|---|---|
| Make Rent Affordable | ✅ | ❌ |
| Fund Social Housing | ✅ | ✔️ |
| Crack Down on Slumlords | ✅ | ✔️ |
| House the Homeless | ✅ | ❌ |
| Reject Real Estate $$ | ✅ | ❌ |
Assembly District 65
| Mariama James | Illapa Sairitupac | Jasmin Sanchez | Wei-Li Tjong | Jay Jacky Wong | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Make Rent Affordable | ✔️ | ✅ | ✔️ | ⬜️ | ✔️ |
| Fund Social Housing | ✔️ | ✅ | ✅ | ✔️ | ⬜️ |
| Crack Down on Slumlords | ⬜️ | ✅ | ✔️ | ⬜️ | ⬜️ |
| House the Homeless | ⬜️ | ✅ | ✅ | ⬜️ | ⬜️ |
| Reject Real Estate $$ | ⬜️ | ✅ | ✅ | ⬜️ | ⬜️ |
Assembly District 69
| Eli Northrup | Stephanie Ruskay | |
|---|---|---|
| Make Rent Affordable | ✅ | ⬜️ |
| Fund Social Housing | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Crack Down on Slumlords | ✅ | ⬜️ |
| House the Homeless | ✅ | ⬜️ |
| Reject Real Estate $$ | ✅ | ❌ |
Assembly District 70
| Conrad Blackburn | Jordan Wright* | |
|---|---|---|
| Make Rent Affordable | ✅ | ✔️ |
| Fund Social Housing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Crack Down on Slumlords | ✅ | ✔️ |
| House the Homeless | ✅ | ✅ |
| Reject Real Estate $$ | ✅ | ❌ |
Assembly District 106
| Didi Barrett* | Sam Hodge | |
|---|---|---|
| Make Rent Affordable | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Fund Social Housing | ❌ | ✅ |
| Crack Down on Slumlords | ❌ | ✔️ |
| House the Homeless | ✔️ | ⬜️ |
| Reject Real Estate $$ | ❌ | ✔️ |
Assembly District 123
| Dan Livingston | Dan Norton | |
|---|---|---|
| Make Rent Affordable | ✅ | ❌ |
| Fund Social Housing | ⬜️ | ⬜️ |
| Crack Down on Slumlords | ✔️ | ❌ |
| House the Homeless | ✅ | ✔️ |
| Reject Real Estate $$ | ✅ | ⬜️ |
Assembly District 129
| Maurice “Mo” Brown | Bill Magnarelli* | |
|---|---|---|
| Make Rent Affordable | ✅ | ❌ |
| Fund Social Housing | ✅ | ❌ |
| Crack Down on Slumlords | ✅ | ❌ |
| House the Homeless | ✅ | ❌ |
| Reject Real Estate $$ | ✅ | ❌ |
Assembly District 149
| Adam Bojak | Kevin Deese | Karen Hoak | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Make Rent Affordable | ✅ | ✅ | ⬜️ |
| Fund Social Housing | ✅ | ✅ | ⬜️ |
| Crack Down on Slumlords | ✅ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| House the Homeless | ✅ | ⬜️ | ⬜️ |
| Reject Real Estate $$ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
Senate District 25
| Jabari Brisport* | Marlon Rice | |
|---|---|---|
| Make Rent Affordable | ✅ | ❌ |
| Fund Social Housing | ✅ | ⬜️ |
| Crack Down on Slumlords | ✅ | ⬜️ |
| House the Homeless | ✅ | ✅ |
| Reject Real Estate $$ | ✅ | ❌ |
Senate District 39
| Lisa Kaul | Gay Lee | Evan Menist | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Make Rent Affordable | ✅ | ✔️ | ✅ |
| Fund Social Housing | ✅ | ✔️ | ✅ |
| Crack Down on Slumlords | ✔️ | ⬜️ | ✅ |
| House the Homeless | ✔️ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Reject Real Estate $$ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
*Note: All three are competing to run against incumbent Senator Rob Rolison in the general election.
Methodology
We researched candidate positions, assessed incumbent legislative history, reviewed campaign materials and public interviews. We grouped our assessments into five categories: Make Rent Affordable, Fund Social Housing, Crack Down on Slumlords, House the Homeless, and Reject Real Estate Money. View the legend.
MAKING RENT AFFORDABLE
Does the candidate support tenant friendly legislation that would improve rent affordability including supporting Good Cause Eviction, the Rent Emergency Stabilization for Tenants Act, and other forms of rent regulation? Do they support the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act including opposing changes to bring back vacancy decontrol or passing costs on to renters?
SOCIAL HOUSING
Does the candidate support funding public or democratically controlled, permanently affordable, social housing, including the creation of a Social Housing Development Authority, tenant takeovers through the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act or the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act or community land trusts, and increasing funding to public housing?
HOUSING THE HOMELESS
Does the candidate talk about housing as the solution to the homelessness crisis and support measures such as expanding rental assistance through the Housing Access Voucher Program, and oppose laws that criminalize homelessness?
CRACKING DOWN ON SLUMLORDS
Does the candidate call out predatory, discriminatory, or neglectful landlords, support tenant protections in housing proceedings like fully funding right-to-counsel, support tenant unions and tenant organizing?
REJECT REAL ESTATE MONEY
Does the candidate reject money from the real estate industry including members of REBNY, New York Apartment Association, and other real estate affiliated PACs, real estate lobbyists, and landlords on the 2025 Worst Landlord List?
DISCLAIMER
This scorecard represents The NYS Tenant Bloc’s independent evaluation based on publicly available information. If you disagree with our assessment, you are welcome to reach out to info@tenantbloc.org.
Paid for by NYS Tenant Bloc Inc and not expressly authorized or requested by any candidate or by any candidate’s political committees or any of its agents.