Experience and Qualifications
As an immigrant workers’ rights attorney, union organizer, and democratic socialist, David has fought for and won real gains for working people. At Make the Road NY, he won numerous cases for immigrant clients facing wage theft and abuse from bad bosses. As an elected member of the bargaining committee of his union, UAW Local 2320 – NOLSW, he helped negotiate a first contract that secured $10k raises for the lowest-paid staff, a free healthcare option, and a 35-hour work week. Now, he’s running for Assembly to bring that same fight to Albany on behalf of all working-class people. In the richest city in the richest country in the world, New Yorkers deserve a representative who will put workers first. We can’t afford to wait.
Community Involvement
David has lived in-district in Ridgewood since 2019, where he has deep roots in the neighborhood’s LGBTQ+ and arts communities. Working at the Make the Road office just outside the district, he represented immigrant clients across AD-38, including in Ridgewood, Glendale, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, and Ozone Park.
Education
JD from CUNY School of Law (2022); BA from Vassar College (2013)
Party Endorsements
Endorsements here: <www.david4queens.com/endorsements>. As of 5/17, they include but are not limited to: Organizations: NYC-DSA, NY WFP, UAW Region 9A, CWA District 1, Desis Rising Up & Moving (DRUM) Beats, Make the Road Action NY, Latino Democrats of NYC; Elected officials: Senator Bernie Sanders, NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, NYS Senator Julia Salazar, NYS Assembly Members Claire Valdez & Sarahana Shrestha, NYC Council Members Shahana Hanif & Jennifer Gutiérrez.
Campaign Instagram
www.instagram.com/david4queens/
Campaign YouTube
1. Tax the rich. David would fight for a tax code that demands a fair share from New York’s wealthiest residents and most profitable corporations in order to win affordability and tackle the cost-of-living crisis. In addition to funding the programs and services working-class New Yorkers deserve, like universal childcare, this revenue would backfill the horrific federal Trump budget cuts that are about to hit New Yorkers.
2. Protect New Yorkers from ICE. David would champion legislation like New York for All to keep New Yorkers, immigrants and citizens alike, safe from the violence and abuse so many have borne at the hands of ICE.
3. Strengthen workers’ rights. Across-the-board protections for workers, including passage of the EmPIRE Act, would not only combat economic inequality, but would also confront inequality based on race/ethnicity, sex and gender identity, and other forms of marginalization, ensuring the dignity and inclusion of all New Yorkers in the life of the city.
The climate crisis is one of the major existential threats of our time, and the private sector has proven incapable of moving us away from fossil fuels at the scale required. The Green New Deal offers a vision for tackling climate change while advancing economic justice via large-scale public investment, union jobs, and expanded public infrastructure.
In NY, the Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA) empowers NYPA to build and operate renewable energy projects, with goals of 70% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% by 2040. But implementation has stalled due to lack of political will. David would make BPRA implementation a top priority and work alongside grassroots movements to pressure the Legislature and Governor to act.
David also opposes efforts to weaken the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The climate crisis demands accelerated action, not retreat. He would use his office to defend New York’s commitment to climate justice against corporate fossil fuel interests.
David has devoted his life to the immigrant rights movement, which is inherently tied to the fight for racial justice. In Albany, he would work to curb surveillance and data-mining practices that facilitate over-policing of Black and Brown communities, while championing policies like New York for All and Dignity Not Detention to prevent collaboration between local law enforcement and ICE.
He supports permanent investments to address decades of systemic racism, including policies aimed at confronting the racial wealth gap, housing inequities, and unequal access to financial services. David believes true public safety comes from care, not cages. He’ll work to address the root causes of crime and instability, which stem from systemic disinvestment in working-class communities–disproportionately communities of color. That is why David’s top budget priority is taxing the rich to fund universal childcare, permanent social housing, fully funded public education, and universal health care.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was effectively gutted by the shameful Louisiana v. Callais decision, which opened the door to racial gerrymandering. Tennessee Republicans quickly moved to redraw congressional districts to split up Memphis’s Black community and eliminate the state’s last Democratic-held seat. Other Republican-led states are pursuing similar mid-decade redistricting efforts to shore up House control despite the unpopularity of Trump and the MAGA agenda.
As a result, states like New York face pressure to respond in kind by redrawing districts to maximize Democratic representation. I support taking action given the stakes, but I do so reluctantly. Racial gerrymandering undermines fair representation,which is why the Voting Rights Act banned it, and gerrymandering of any kind is fundamentally anti-democratic. Both parties should instead support a truly independent redistricting system and broader voting reforms that ensure fair representation for all voters.
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