Brooklyn Borough President Race: Jo Anne Simon Seeks Office

BROOKLYN, NY — As early voting begins in New York City, the stage is set for voters in Brooklyn to choose who will become their next borough president.

The June 22 primary will feature 12 Democratic candidates vying to replace Borough President Eric Adams, who is running to become New York City's next mayor.

Among them is Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon, who has served in Albany since 2015. She was the first female District Leader and State Committeewoman for the 52nd Assembly District.

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

Age (as of Election Day)

68

Position Sought

Brooklyn Borough President

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Neighborhood of residence

Boerum Hill

Family

My husband is Bill Harris, my stepsons are Trevor and Bevan, and my daughter-in-law is Paola Vita. My grandchildren are beautiful and brilliant.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

no

Education

Iona College, BA Communication Sciences (Speech pathology)
Gallaudet University, MA, Education of the Deaf
Fordham University School of Law, JD

Occupation

NY State Assemblymember, 6+ Years (2015 to present).
Disability Civil Rights Lawyer (1991-present).
I was also a teacher of deaf and deaf-blind children, a Disability Services Director in higher education, an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law, and a Staff Attorney at Hofstra University Law School Disabilities Law Clinic.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Member of Assembly, 2015 - present.
Democratic State Committee Member AD 52 (2004-2014).

Campaign website

www.simonforbrooklyn.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I love being the Assemblymember for my district. However, the portfolio of the Borough President returns me to my roots in community empowerment around the charter mandated issues of land use, appointments to bodies such as Community Boards, Community Education Councils, and the Panel for Education Policy.

Throughout my career - from working as Boerum Hill Association President in the 90’s to being an Assemblymember - I’ve always worked on issues that went well beyond my neighborhood or district, including education equity, gun violence reform, and COVID recovery. The big ticket issues facing Brooklyn, such as climate justice, racial justice and gender equity, and displacement of people -- transcend district lines, as do their solutions.

My experience working with other neighborhoods as a community activist was great training for the Borough Presidency and whets my appetite to work for all of Brooklyn. Doing so as the first woman Borough President allows me to show women and girls that their voices and their lives matter.

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

The number one priority is COVID recovery - and building back Brooklyn even better and more equitably. Any successful plan must be rooted in on-the-ground engagement with stakeholders, so I intend to make this a central piece of my work as Borough President (BP). I intend to resurrect the stakeholder task force approach of Howard Golden, combined with my own framework of climate justice and shared leadership rooted in community work.

We need to forge ahead with an economic recovery program that benefits all New Yorkers. Brooklyn has the most seniors of any of the boroughs, and I will ensure they are not forgotten.
I’m pushing several of my specific initiatives and bills, including reforms to unemployment insurance, subsidies for individuals and small businesses so they can make payroll, rent and mortgages, and revenue raising measures to help fund the social services that we need.

As a legislator, I helped pass COVID rent relief, an eviction moratorium, provided death benefits for frontline workers who died from COVID-19, ensured more people could access SNAP (a/k/a food stamp) benefits, and provided a significant amount of food support and $1 billion in small business relief.

As BP, I will pressure the federal government to provide additional relief, and for NYS to enact additional revenue raising measures such as those proposed by the Revenue Justice Group of which I have long been a member.

Education equity and environmental justice are also critical issues that I will tackle.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am a disability civil rights attorney, teacher of deaf students, community activist, and progressive Assemblymember for 6+ years. I am running to become the first ever woman Brooklyn President (BP). Not only is it time for a woman to lead Brooklyn, but I have substantial experience in the community, legal, and political arenas.

As an experienced activist on progressive transportation and environmental projects, I have seen first-hand how the voice of the average person is rarely at the table on decisions that impact their lives. I want to change that. Because I was often one of those people sitting in an auditorium late at night trying to impact change - I will put the voice and the intelligence of the community first with Brooklyn’s COVID recovery.

The BP is in a unique position to build a coalition that can guide and implement real change. As Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm said, if there’s no seat at the table for you, pull up a folding chair. As your BP, I will work towards a more vibrant and inclusive Brooklyn, regardless of race, class, age, gender or sexual orientation...so folks won’t need a folding chair.

My entire career has been about fighting for the rights of those who have been historically marginalized. I will listen to Brooklynites, harness the energy of a strong coalition of citizen experts, and use the visibility of this position and capital dollars to make a difference in our children’s education, our small businesses, environmental justice, housing, health care, transit, gun violence prevention, and an overhaul to our land use policy.

I am a fierce advocate for Brooklyn and I have never shied away from standing up to powerful interests like the NRA or big developers. I am an extraordinarily accessible legislator, with a storefront office and frequently host public meet and greets.

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

For the most part, local elected officials took the COVID crisis seriously, worked hard to protect their constituents and deliver as much relief as they could. My staff and I worked around the clock to help people with unemployment, access to city, state, and federal relief programs, access to COVID testing, hand sanitizer and masks, food and rental assistance, and protection from eviction. I advocated for policy and legislative changes that would keep people healthy and safe, aid small businesses and for a budget that invested in our people. We also supported mutual aid networks and others that sprang up throughout the borough, providing food to essential workers and others while also helping local shops, bars and restaurants, and arts organizations.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Education equity, land use reform that includes community input, climate justice, and ensuring more affordable housing in local projects are key issues.

1. Education. One of my top priorities is to ensure that every child in Brooklyn can read. According to national data, only 38% of 4th graders read fluently. We are failing too many students. As a former teacher of deaf students, I know education can be a great equalizer, but education hasn't been equal in our City. Every child should be screened for dyslexia and other related learning disabilities when they are in early elementary school because reading is fundamental. With early identification, we will be better able to target needed interventions before kids fall behind.
2. Land use reform. I also will work to overhaul the land use process to ensure the community has a seat at the table from the onset.
3. Climate Justice. Climate Justice and resiliency are central issues in my campaign. I have been working with environmental and climate justice leaders in NYC for over 20 years.
We have to quickly move away from fossil extraction, invest in renewable energy, community owned solar, use our industrial sectors to build for resilience adaptation, mitigation and food security, dismantle Peaker plants and replace with battery storage to reduce co-pollutants hurting BIPOC communities, develop a workforce development protocol that honors the principles of a just transition to ensure thousands of green jobs, revamp procurement policies that are inconsistent with climate change needs, and build solutions from the ground up. It is our responsibility as elected officials to work closely, support and help operationalize the recommendations coming from local experts.

In the Assembly, I have been a staunch supporter of a variety of initiatives that would significantly forestall and reduce climate change, including divesting our state and city pension funds from fossil fuels, and initiating a carbon fee to offset the harmful costs of fossil fuels. We must ensure that those funds assist impacted communities and mitigate the effects of climate change, which disproportionately impact BIPOC communities.

Additionally, we need to modernize our infrastructure to mitigate the effects of rising tides and a changing climate. Brooklyn has 30 miles of shoreline, including two navigable waterways that are designated Superfund sites - the Newtown Creek and the Gowanus Canal, which are particularly susceptible to storm surges. Canarsie Creek may join them.

As climate change continues, storms will continue to increase in frequency and ferocity and NYC will be increasingly vulnerable. A resilient coastline is key, and the City has delayed serious action for too long. I intend to partner with all levels of government and prioritize the development of resiliency projects throughout the borough.

We must also focus on electrifying our vehicles and improving the associated infrastructure, like charging stations. I am proud that the state budget provides millions of dollars for publicly accessible charging stations, which will be needed to achieve our climate goals.

Planting trees in every neighborhood not only does it make a neighborhood more attractive, it aids in decarbonization. My neighborhood in the 1970’s looked like a barren wasteland - no trees, no gardens. The City provided free trees in the mid-70’s and the change is remarkable. We still have more to do - for instance, all the trees have been removed by NYCHA from Red Hook houses, making it a heat island and ultimately making people sicker and forcing those who have air conditioners to use them more frequently, adding to the climate crisis.

Resiliency is also a matter of education; parks and gardens allow families to work and play together; horticultural curricula and STEM education. We have a few wonderful programs - like hydroponic gardens in some schools and the Billion Oyster Project piloted by the Harbor School - and as BP I’ll support the replication of these programs. Families can adopt and care for a street bioswale. We can study, call attention to and spread the message of the East New York Farms, for example. And of course, increasing Park Department funding and staffing helps this cause as well.
4. Affordable housing. Additionally, we need to address the Borough’s Housing Crisis. I have long advocated for not just more affordable housing, but more deeply affordable housing and for more housing support for those who need it. We need to support approaches in land use that prioritize more supportive housing - a model that we know works.

The City’s housing subsidies need to target people with lower incomes. We need to ensure that folks making low wages who are underemployed, retired or on PA/SSI/SSD can remain in their homes. I also support setting aside a substantial number of units created in new state or city subsidized affordable housing projects for homeless families and individuals and setting in motion their eventual moving to permanent housing.

The role of the borough president with NYCHA must involve working with stakeholders to engage and support better allocation of resources to repair and upgrade NYCHA housing. NYCHA needs massive federal investment as well as state and local investment and honesty in communicating with residents, securing funds to provide jobs and workforce development to residents within NYCHA. I will commit to engaging all relevant stakeholders, from the TA Board, NYCHA, HUD and NYCHA residents to ensure that every public housing resident in the borough of brooklyn is treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I am a longtime community activist, a disability civil rights attorney, and progressive Assemblymember.

I litigated a landmark disability rights case that went to the Supreme Court. I started my own small, Brooklyn-based business in a cutting edge area of civil rights law.

I helped enshrine Roe vs. Wade into state law, enacted equal pay for equal work, strengthened sexual harassment laws, and paid family leave. I have spoken out against discrimination, hate and inequality, and enacted groundbreaking legislation on LGBTQ rights, education equity, climate change, and gun violence prevention.

I have been at the forefront of progressive change in transportation and environmental issues. I worked with the community to start a coalition that successfully brought a significant amount of affordable housing to the Hoyt-Schermerhorn project. I helped initiate the city’s first traffic calming study to make our streets safer.

Creating systems and advocating for change, equity and empowering of marginalized groups in coalition with others is my lifelong passion and I am eager to get to work for all of Brooklyn.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I’m thrilled to be endorsed by the NY Amsterdam News, one of the nation’s oldest Black-owned and operated papers. I have support from many others like the UFT, Planned Parenthood, Congressman Jerry Nadler, Dr. Una Clarke, Sen. Andrew Gounardes, & Assemblymember Bobby Carroll to name a few. Most importantly, I am asking the community to support me because I am ready and excited to take on this role, and will put the community first as your BP.

Lastly, in the early 1990’s, I volunteered to draft wills for HIV+ clients of GMHC and won the first succession rights case in DHCR in 1992 for a man whose partner had died of AIDS, thus saving him from eviction. I was glad to help, and I have long been a strong ally to the LGBTQ+ community.

Read More:

• Brooklyn Borough President Race: Where Things Stand