Campaign Insiders: A Q&A with AD-65 Candidate Illapa Sairitupac

The campaign centers on making New York affordable and protecting residents from harmful federal actions. The platform calls for taxing the rich to fund services such as free childcare. It also proposes that New York State directly build affordable housing through a Social Housing Development Authority. The campaign emphasizes safeguarding neighbors from an out-of-control federal government, especially ICE. The candidate says the government is failing regular people, citing tenant struggles with high rent burdens, debt, unsafe working conditions, and housing conditions during storms. The plan is to elect officials who can organize regular people to pressure the legislature and address childcare costs, housing shortages, and displacement driven by the cost-of-living crisis.

"Taxing the rich to provide services for New Yorkers, e.g., free childcare Making NYS directly build affordable housing through a Social Housing Development Authority Protecting our neighbors from an out-of-control federal government, especially from ICE"

"I'm running because our government is not working for regular people. I'm a tenant organizer, and the tenants I help are drowning: figuratively, under pressure from huge rent burdens, massive amounts of debt, and terrible working conditions and literally, in basement apartments during storms. Our neighbors live in fear of an increasingly fascist federal government. We need elected officials who can organize regular people to pressure the legislature."

"New York has become unaffordable for regular people because the state is not doing enough for them. Parents are expected to pay at least $1,500/month for childcare. We are not building enough affordable housing and rents are sky high. Working-class New Yorkers are voting with their feet and leaving the city and state every day due to the cost-of-living crisis and displacement."

Read at Politics NY