Instagram
@samraforsenate
Party Endorsements
Democratic, Working Families
Campaign Instagram
instagram.com/samraforsenate
Senator Samra Brouk is dedicated to representing the diverse voices of Senate District 55. She understands the unique challenges and opportunities our community faces and is committed to bringing about meaningful change. Senator Brouk has a proven track record of advocating for education, mental health, maternal health, and economic development.
Samra supports the work of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, one of the most ambitious climate laws in the country, setting aggressive targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
She successfully fought for increased funding for the Environmental Protection Fund, which supports conservation, clean water, and green infrastructure projects.
Samra champions renewable energy projects, including solar and wind initiatives, to reduce our carbon footprint and create green jobs.
Samra co-sponsored legislation to implement automatic voter registration, making it easier for all eligible New Yorkers to participate in the democratic process.
She has championed reforms to reduce the influence of big money in politics, including lowering contribution limits and increasing transparency in campaign finance.
Samra has worked tirelessly to expand voting access through measures such as early voting, mail-in voting, and same-day registration, ensuring that every voice is heard.
Everyone deserves to feel safe and welcome in their community. We respect the rights of people to be who they are, live their lives with dignity, and have an equal voice in community decision-making. We will work to ensure policies are inclusive and that all people have the same rights, access, and protections.
Samra has helped pass the New York’s Equal Rights Amendment that would prohibit discrimination based on a person’s ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex, including their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes.
Experience and Qualifications
I am a legal immigrant from Cuba and a proud American Citizen. I have a Masters in Counseling from the Univ of Delaware and began my career as a mental health counselor. Moving to Human Resources, I served in top level positions in multinational manufacturing, healthcare, and business consulting organizations, including Xerox, the Lehigh Valley Hospital system in PA, and the US Dept of Commerce. I am a landlord and small business owner. I am not a politician. I bring my experience from the business world: a deep understanding of budgets, of balancing priorities, and negotiating agreements in difficult situations. I know how to provide people skills and resources for career success. My work in mental health counseling taught me the methods and resources needed to effectively help people in need. I am a bilingual member of the local Hispanic and immigrant community. As a family man, I bring a passion for the safety of our citizens, education of our children, and health of our communities
Community Involvement
Former Board of Directors, National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI Rochester; Former Board of Directors, Southeast Family YMCA; Current Elder at First Presbyterian Church of Pittsford
Education
M. Ed, Counseling, University of Delaware, SPHR, CCP
Party Endorsements
Republican, Conservative
Taxes – New York has the highest per capita tax rate of any state. Residents are struggling and people are leaving. In 2023 our state had the highest population loss. We are especially losing high income Millennials – a sad loss for New York.
Regulation – The state is creating more and more mandates that take choice out of the hands of the people. Too often, the cost/benefit analysis does not reflect the cost to the residents or the small business owners who are the backbone of our economy.
Public Safety – Crime is at an unacceptable level across New York. Offenders need to suffer the logical consequences of their actions so that our residents no longer live in fear nor small businesses suffer losses that threaten their solvency.
It is critical that we protect New York’s environment, but when we speak of climate change, we must be very cognizant of the rule of diminishing returns. There are some changes that can be made in a situation that have a significant impact. However, once the big gains are achieved, incrementally smaller gains tend to have an inflated cost with minor impact. Unless China and India change their practices, Americans can make great sacrifices that will have no measurable global impact.
New York’s elected representatives have a responsibility to monitor all information and advances in this field and do a non-partisan cost/benefit analysis that includes the cost to our citizens against the measurable amount of benefit gained.
I’ve served for many years as a poll inspector in my community. I believe that NY has taken significant process & technology steps to ensure the security of our elections. The missing piece is the requirement to show ID in order to vote. This is not a hardship; everyone now has ID, which is necessary for many other everyday purposes. With that added step, citizens can feel confident that those casting a ballot are indeed the individual registered to vote at that address.
I believe early voting has removed most prior access challenges to voting from work commitments, transportation, and weather. I do want to see more systematic efforts on voter registration. NY ranked 47th for registered voters per capita during 2016 and we must do better.
NY is one of the most diverse US states. I am a Hispanic, Cuban immigrant who seized the American dream, benefitting from opportunities available to all. We must be one community that wants to see all succeed as I did. We must not focus on groups people put us into, but look at what individuals need, helping them where they are.
For example, we know good early childhood nutrition builds a strong, healthy body. For some, it means educating parents. For others, it means assistance in sourcing the foods.
The single most important impact on a child’s future is education. Some NY schools are failing to deliver even basic skills in reading, writing, and arithmetic. We need to fix this – now! – because a solid education is the key the future.
