The Year of Younger Candidates in New York
Young Candidates on the Ballot in NY State This Year - Who They Are and What They Stand for
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This edition is written by Eytan Saenger and Gabi Stern was the senior editor and researcher for this article and Idan Fierstein contributed to the research for this article and Kira Pollard also edited.
In 2021, there are no federal, state-level elections in New York. However, there is no shortage of important elections in New York this year. Across New York, there are impactful elections occurring for executive and legislative positions on both the municipal, town, and county levels.
Elected officials continue to be older individuals. In New York State, the average age in both the State Assembly and State Senate is 55 years old1. On the federal level, that number is even greater, with the mean age of congress members being 58.4, and the average age of a senator being 64.32. Only 20 percent of United States citizens are 55 or older, so elected officials tend to be much older than the people they represent. This age disparity places elected officials out of touch with their constituents.
In recent years, an increasing number of people younger than 50 years old have run for public office. Some notable officials include Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (39), Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio Cortez (32), Senator Jon Ossoff (34), and a growing number of others.
This year in New York, there is expected to be a shift towards younger representation. A significant number of candidates in their 20’s or early 30’s will be on ballots across the state in November. Young candidates are running for a range of positions, ranging from city council in NYC to council clerk in Broome County.
Many younger city council candidates in New York City won the democratic nominations for their positions and most are projected to win in November. While the current average age of the City Council is 52, that number is expected to decrease by nearly 10 years3 in January, when the new council is sworn in.
The people responsible for bringing down the average include the following candidates aged 36 or under: Amanda Farias, Kevin Riley, Pierina Sanchez, and Oswald Feliz, from the Bronx, Christopher Marte, Shaun Abreu, Kristin Richardson Jordan, and Carmen De La Rosa, from Manhattan, Tiffany Cabán, Julie Won, and Nantasha Williams, from Queens, Chi Ossé, Jennifer Gutiérrez, and Shahana Hanif, from Brooklyn. The fact that there are so many younger council nominees in NYC displays the desire and motivation to have a younger and more representative legislative body.
Four of the democratic nominees for council are 30 or younger. Shaun Abreu (30), a tenants rights attorney, is running to represent District 7. Abreu has made his personal story of being evicted as a child a central part of his campaign which many voters in his district can relate to. Oswald Feliz (30), a tenant’s lawyer, was elected to represent the 15th district in a March special election and is currently the youngest Councilmember, succeeding Ritchie Torres who was the previous youngest councilmember until becoming a congressman. Shahana Hanif (30), Director of Organizing and Community Engagement for councilman Brad Lander, is running to succeed Lander as a council member for District 39. Hanif would be the first Muslim and first woman to represent the 39th district, and will also be the youngest of the at least 2 dozen women set to serve on the council next January. Hanif has made her identities an integral part of her campaign. In an interview with Teen Vogue4, she stated, “I’d like to see a city that is looking out for people with disabilities; a city that is looking out for women, young women; a city that is capable of providing adequate health care, paired with mental health services, with language access.” Chi Ossé (23), an organizer and Black Lives Matter activist running for the 36th district. At 23, Osse is set to be the youngest member of the next council. When asked about his age and inexperience in a June interview with NBC5, Osse said, “I am 23 years young, I’m energetic and ready to get the job done… when we look at the statistics we are seeing that solutions presented by the old guard are harming communities such as ours”(NBC). Osse has centered his campaign around his activism and youthfulness and his ability to come up with new ideas and solutions to the problems facing the city.
On Long Island, candidates aged 30 or younger include; Peter Fishkind (29), a Nassau Democratic County Committee member running for North Hempstead Council’s 5th district, Olena Nicks (29), a non-profit CEO and municipal board member, running for Hempstead Clerk, and Robert McCarthy (25), a former elementary school teacher running for Nassau County’s 14th legislative district. In the Hudson Valley, young candidates include; Giselle Martinez (24), an activist running for Newburgh City Council’s 1st Ward, Genesis Ramos (29), a healthcare administration professional running for Orange County’s 6th legislative district, Shanae Williams (29), a Yonkers Councilwoman running for Westchester county clerk, Alex Flood (26), a senior staffer in Albany running for Rensselaer County’s 4th legislative district, Brandon Holdridge (25), an NYS senate staffer running for Chester’s town board, and Destiny Hallenbeck, a member of Chatham's school board running for Chathams town board. At 21, Hallenbeck is one of the youngest people running for office this year. Hallenbeck feels that her young age makes it easier for her to connect with voters. In an interview with Union College6, where she is currently a senior, she said that she connects to voters by telling them that, “I’ve been your babysitter, your server in a restaurant or your house cleaner…”.
Finally, young candidates running in the Southern Tier Region and Central New York include; Harris Weiss (27), a Communications Director for Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo running for Broome County clerk, Stephon Williams (31), Chair of the Cost Containment Committee for Molina Healthcare of New York Inc running for Onondaga county legislature’s 6th district, and Matt Johnson (20), a Vice President of non-profit Tillie’s Touch, who’s running for the 3rd legislative district. At 20, Johnson appears to be the youngest candidate running for office this year. Johnson told NY17 that he’s, “doing this for the opportunity to make history; to prove that younger people can run for office. They should be taken seriously while doing so, to hopefully have a chain effect,”. Johnson would like to be the first of many 20 year-olds in elected office and show that despite being less experienced young people can be very effective and impactful leaders.
A significant number of younger people are running for local office in New York this year. Younger elected officials are important because local officials often have the greatest impact on one’s day-to-day life. Whether it be a broken lamppost making it difficult to see when driving at night, a pothole on your street, or the renovation of the local park, the person elected to represent you can dictate or directly influence your quality of life. In addition, local elected officials typically make decisions regarding schools and other children's activities making a person who can relate to the lives of school children can be very beneficial for the community. The shift towards electing younger people this year in New York is reflective of a statewide and nationwide push for younger officials in public office which can be seen as a positive change to a system that has historically elected older individuals.
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Gabi Stern was the senior editor and researcher for this article and Idan Fierstein contributed to the research for this article and Kira Pollard also edited.
https://cypp.rutgers.edu/new-york/
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46705#:~:text=Statistical%20information%20is%20included%20on,foreign%20birth%2C%20and%20military%20service.&text=Senators%2C%2064.3%20years.
Current and future Council age is based on Independent research which was done by Idan Feirstein
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/shahana-hanif-new-york-city-council-running
https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/meet-chi-osse-the-queer-blm-activist-running-for-new-york-city-council-114448453973
https://www.union.edu/news/stories/202110/passion-public-service-part-students-destiny
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2021/10/27/meet-the-20-year-old-running-for-onondaga-county-legislature
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