NYC Council District 26 Election: Steven Raga Seeks LIC Seat

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — Democratic voters in New York City's 26th Council district, which includes Sunnyside, Woodside, Long Island City, Dutch Kills, and parts of Astoria, will see 15 names on their ballots when they vote in the June 22 primary election — making it one of the most crowded primary races in the city.

One of those names will be Steven Raga, Northeast Regional Manager of State Policy & Advocacy at Susan G. Koman.

Patch reached out to all candidates in the election to create these profiles. Raga's responses are below.

<b>Age (as of Election Day)</b>

37

<b>Position Sought</b>

City Councilmember, District 26

<b>Party Affiliation</b>

Democratic

<b>Neighborhood of residence (i.e., East Village, Astoria, etc.)</b>

Woodside

<b>Family</b>

N/A

<b>Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?</b>

No

<b>Education</b>

I am currently enrolled at Cornell University S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management’s and Weill Cornell Medicine’s Dual MBA/MS Healthcare Leadership program. I have an MPA from the Baruch School of Public Affairs via the National Urban Fellow Program, a Masters in Public Policy & B.A. in Political Science from Stony Brook University. I was a Kriegel Fellow for Public Service Leadership at the CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance and an Emerging Markets Fellow at the Cornell S.C. Johnson College of Business. I also completed the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government's Senior Executives in State and Local Government program. I also hold a Graduate Diploma in International Human Rights Law from the American University in Cairo.

<b>Occupation</b>

Northeast Regional Manager for Policy & Advocacy at the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

<b>Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office</b>

United States Civil Rights Commission, Queens Democratic County Committee, Queens Community Board 2

<b>Campaign website</b>

www.ragaforqueens.com

<b>Why are you seeking elective office?</b>

In the last year, we’ve found ourselves in the midst of a global pandemic. A year later, and we’re still at the hands of reactive political leadership. We’ve lost family, friends, and community leaders in the fight against COVID-19.
Today, we need comprehensive relief plans for small businesses, tenants and homeowners, our schools, and community organizations. We need a a bold and equitable platform that places our district first - a recovery not just for now, but a recovery for the future.
As we fight for more economic resources for the residents of City Council District 26, we deserve our next City Councilmember to have firsthand in-district government and advocacy experience.

<b>The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.</b>

Housing - The City needs to take an active role in housing its citizens, and our campaign seeks to advocate for the rights of our residents; this includes ending the privatization of public lands. Public lands should be used for conservation, community spaces, or public housing projects that can house our homeless and low-income citizens. Properties like Hudson Yards serve as playgrounds for the rich and are massively undertaxed. New York City needs this revenue to fund social welfare programs and public housing projects directly. The City should raise taxes on these existing properties to increase its revenue in these trying times.

<b>What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?</b>

As a Woodside resident of over 17 years, I'm the only candidate with the extensive and necessary in-district advocacy, non-profit leadership, and everyday government management experience needed to fight for our community’s needs in City Hall.

<b>If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)</b>

N/A

<b>How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?</b>

It started off great, but the follow up from our elected officials has been extremely lacking, and at times, hypocritical. For instance, the frontline hospitals workers who they clapped for at 7pm last year are still without safe staffing ratios at hospitals. Likewise, the restaurants that fed our communities are being fined because of outdoor seating. I would have pushed for safe staffing bill specific to NYC and also advocated for not fining reasonable outdoor seating structures so small businesses can retain customers.

<b>Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.</b>

- Provide a true economic recovery for tenants, small businesses, and homeowners.
- Fully fund NYCHA.
- Establish a living wage of $22.
- Guarantee housing justice for all.
- Expand public healthcare access for all New Yorkers.
- Ensure safe streets and an accessible transportation system for all.
- Invest in an equitable public education system.
- Create more green space across the district.
- Codify International Human Rights Law within NYC Policy Making

<b>What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?</b>

- 4 years of in-district government leadership and legislative experience as Chief of Staff for Assemblyman Brian Barnwell
- Has successfully passed healthcare legislation across the Northeast for cancer patients.
- 15+ years of non-profit leadership and board management
- Proud CUNY and SUNY graduate. Holds a Masters in Public Policy, Masters in Public Administration, and a Graduate Diploma in International Human Rights Law.
- Current Board Member of Woodside on the Move, Queens Pride, National Urban Fellows Alumni, & National Federation of Filipino American Associations
- Founding President & Executive Director of civic organization Pilipino American Unity for Progress (UniPro)
- Only Queens resident to be appointed to the United States Commission on Civil Rights under President Obama
- Led the Northeast’s Successful Congressional Gold Medal Push for WWII Veterans
- Queens Community Board 2 Member since 2016

<b>The best advice ever shared with me was:</b>

"Don't ever miss an opportunity to either make yourself more interesting or to help others".

<b>What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?</b>

What will you do to help small businesses rebound from the devastating impacts of the pandemic? Please give a concrete example.
- Oftentimes, we hear small businesses are the foundations, the backbones, and the heart of our local economy. Through the COVID-19 pandemic alone, thousands of small businesses were forced to close due to the lack of support, the lack of relief, and the lack of attention that they needed to survive. The most marginalized businesses within the community are MWBEs. Research has shown that these businesses are far more neglected as compared to other demographics. We need to create better services that defend, advocate, and engage with these businesses. In accordance with this, we need to provide immediate relief to small businesses – extending and increasing the grants and subsidies that the government already provides. This is the time to directly invest in our community for the long term. Secondly, we need to stabilize commercial rent to defend our small businesses from rising rents and gentrification within communities.
What will you do to tackle rising rent costs and access to affordable housing in your district?
- First and foremost, we need to put a hold on gentrification or at the very least, slow down the process so that existing communities can transition to afford to sustain in the very same community. Oftentimes, we have seen gentrification push existing communities, almost always minority communities, away due to the rising costs of housing and living without better accommodating them. We need to create a Community Task Force to curb over development that harms families who can not afford the rising costs of gentrification – secure a database and be a network/training service for job market opportunities – be a safety net for families being pushed out due to gentrification – and more. More so, we need to raise the Minimum Wage for New Yorkers to $21.77 which is the estimated reflectance due to inflation over time. How do we ask our residents to accommodate for raised living when we do not even accommodate them. We need to lower the Area Median Income so that Upper Middle Class Income Average Families do not influence the Median Incomes of lower income communities which ultimately create an unsustainable environment for existing communities to live in. We must lower the maximum income levels which qualify for affordable housing and put a stop to individuals who make over certain thresholds from qualifying for it takes away from families who truly need the program. We need to end the privatization of NYCHA now and sustain efforts to invest capital into NYCHA Developments. In short, we must invest in quality of living.
What would you do to address the rise in reported hate crimes citywide and in District 26 specifically? What do you think the NYPD’s role should be in hate crime response?
- To address the rise in reported hate crimes, we must first address the root causes of racism. This includes revolutionizing community mindsets and embarking on immediate structural change. As a community, we must change the stigma of rhetoric that has plagued each and every minority community and has demolished the system that has marginalized them. There needs to be transparency in regards to the statistics of hate crimes within the community. Repeat offenders must be investigated and any threat must be taken with intent. Reporting this data is key in changing the structure of racism within our communities because it opens the ability to track and analyze the data needed to prevent future crimes. The NYPD should have minimal roles in hate crime response. The NYPD is not trained to handle nor respond to racially motivated issues and will not be ready until the inherently racist structure of the NYPD is demolished. We need to create a separate agency and task force which reviews hate crimes and investigates them. – Culture Task Force. This is the very same task force whose purpose is to program culturally relative and educational events for New York City. New York City needs to change the structure of enforcement and education to better reflect the and encompass the various ethnic communities that reside in the City. We need to shift to a more holistic and human centered approach that places people first. New York City needs to become the People’s City.