By Claire Davenport
It was a full house at Goddard Riverside Community Center Thursday night. Over 250 people, including many Upper West Siders, came out to meet the Democratic contenders for the House seat being vacated by Jerry Nadler, the longtime representative of congressional district 12.
The free “Meet the Candidates” forum, hosted by political club West Side Democrats, was so crowded at the start that at least 60 attendees were relegated to standing room, and Christine Annechino, president of the group, told the Rag over email that some people stood outside in the hallway after the room overflowed.
Neither the crowded space nor the intermittent clanging sounds from an adjoining electrical room deterred the sometimes boisterous audience.
“Get rid of Trump!” one attendee yelled in the middle of candidate Matthew Shurka’s speech. At another point, moderator Pablo Zevallos, a leader of West Side Democrats, asked about the high cost of utilities, prompting someone in the front row to sigh, “Oh, Jesus!”
The format introduced the candidates, one at a time, giving each three minutes to speak, followed by nine minutes of questions and answers, where Zevallos asked them a mix of questions written by West Side Democrats and collected from other audience members. The candidates did not debate each other; in fact, most left the event as soon as their time on stage was over.
The tenor of the audience questions highlighted how dire many in attendance feel the current political moment is. “ What should Congress do post-Trump to restore democratic norms?” asked one. “How should the governor and legislature handle intimidation by the federal government?”
Zavallos asked: “ Under what circumstances would you vote for an authorization for use of military force or a declaration of war?” Later, he said, “Given all this saber rattling [by the Trump administration], I thought it was important to ask the candidates about war powers.”
Zevallos said these concerns helped drive turnout for the forum. “It’s not very often an Upper West Side seat becomes vacant, and a lot of folks are really worried in this moment,” he said.
“It’s a really important election,” longtime Upper West Sider Nina Streich agreed. “A really important seat. A really important moment. I mean, with ICE, Trump, the midterms, democracy.”
State Assemblymembers Micah Lasher and Alex Bores bookended the forum; Lasher, who already has landed endorsements from prominent Upper West Side politicians and is expected to be endorsed by Nadler, was the first on stage.
Lasher got particularly raucous applause when he responded “yes” to a listener’s question about whether he’d pack the Supreme Court with more justices. Though he added, “That’s probably not how I would package it. That probably wouldn’t be the ad that I’d run.” (Several other candidates also endorsed the idea of expanding the Supreme Court.)
Issues that came up repeatedly were ICE immigration raids, affordability, and government corruption. Calls to dismantle ICE got the loudest applause from the audience, along with promises to play hardball with the current administration.
Multiple candidates called for ending ICE, including Nina Schwalbe and Jack Schlossberg. Bores was more diplomatic, saying “ I wish I could be the deciding vote on … abolishing ICE. It’s probably not gonna happen.” Candidate Jami Floyd praised New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s approach to the Trump administration, saying, “That’s how a moderate gets shit done.”
Some candidates also focused on issues where they claim particular expertise. Bores, for example, has an advanced degree in computer science and speaks frequently about the need to regulate AI.
Some district-specific issues surfaced as well. One listener’s question, directed at civil rights attorney Laura Dunn, inquired whether she would “continue Nadler’s work to ban non-essential helicopters over Manhattan.”
“I’m less worried about helicopters than drones,” Dunn said. “But sure, that raises some questions.”
Nadler announced his retirement in September before his 18th term, giving the Upper West Side an open congressional seat for the first time in more than 30 years. In an interview with The New York Times about the decision, he cited a need for generational change in the party, something that a number of candidates nodded to — most notably Schlossberg, a Kennedy family scion with a strong social media presence.
“ You need to basically run a mini production company to get your message out there. And I know how to do that,” Schlossberg told the audience.
There were originally eight candidates slated to speak, but candidate and finance executive Alan Pardee was a no-show [his office later told the Rag he didn’t appear because he was feeling ill]. A ninth candidate, activist and survivor of the Parkland High School shooting, Cameron Kasky, dropped out of the race the week prior.
Also absent was George Conway, a former Republican turned Trump critic and frequent face on the cable news circuit, who moved to Manhattan from the suburbs of Washington, D.C., and registered as a Democrat to run for the seat.
No single candidate appeared to stand out among attendees interviewed after the forum. Friends Felix Stetsenko and Austin Celestin were excited by State Assemblymember Alex Bores’ chops for AI regulation. A number of people the Rag spoke with said they were leaving more interested in Schlossberg than they had expected.
Steven Barall was one of those who said Schlossberg was more impressive than he had anticipated. But, like many others, Barall said it’s assumed Lasher is already the frontrunner. “In his mind, Micah already has the job,” he said.
Some seemed excited by the prospect. “I want somebody good who is going to make America moral again,” said lawyer Chaim Steinberger. “Micah’s a homeboy,” he added.
“Micah Lasher is the obvious choice for a lot of people,” agreed high schooler and lifetime Upper West Sider Sadie Alvarez, who had come out with her friend Ryan Gold to check out the candidates even though they were both too young to vote.
But that hadn’t deterred Alvarez from taking extensive notes. And her favorite candidate after the assessment? Nina Schwalbe. “She felt down-to-earth. Like someone I knew,” she said.
At the end of the forum, members of West Side Democrats were invited to vote on which candidate should win the group’s formal endorsement. The group said results of the endorsement vote would be released on Friday.
For more on the candidates, the Rag has a rundown on them all, including links to their campaign pages, here.
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And you can Support the Rag here.
The blind leading the blind.
People seem to forget the reason “Sanctuary” cities came into being. It started with a movement in the church, an institution so many revile, as a means to house and feed illegals. It then expanded to government to protect illegals when they report or are victims of a crime so that they would not feel threatened interacting with police. This was to combat crime in these neighborhoods where crime gangs of illegals were preying on people. This has now been expanded to actually protecting criminals. Instead of abolishing ICE, they should simply end the ridiculous sanctuary rules that prevent police from handing over Illegals who have now been arrested for another crime and that have a detainer. It is that simple. For everyone who thinks that Trump and ICE are terrorizing people, let me remind you that President Obama not only deported far more people than Trump but he also had Tom Holman as his head of ICE enforcement and gave him the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Executive!
As for the Supreme Court, instead of rewriting a law that has been in place since 1869 because they lost elections perhaps Democrats should do a better job at getting people elected.
I think you need a bit more clarification and information here. Sanctuary cities were NOT created to “house and feed illegals.” They were created in the aftermath of the Reagan era when he refused to consider asylum for immigrants fleeing civil wars and violence, mostly in Central America.
The original “goals” of creating sanctuary cities were: (i) to shield undocumented immigrants from deportation and foster trust so they would report crimes; (ii) to let local governments, not federal immigration enforcement, decide how to prioritize resources and (iii) to advocate for broader immigration reform.
Essentially, it was a movement to challenge federal immigration policies under Reagan (and in general), and broaden them to protect vulnerable immigrants. It was not, as your comment suggests (wittingly or not) an attempt to “hide” illegal immigrants from federal law enforcement. It was an attempt to force the federal government to look at more humane ways of dealing with the immigration issue, particularly in light of what was going on in Central America at the time.
If sanctuary cities have “become” something else, then what you are actually “against” is the broadening or widening of the ways in which sanctuary cities have chosen to deal with a variety of immigrants, and the immigration issue in general. The question then is: would these immigrants be “safer” and/or treated more humanely if sanctuary cities did not exist, and the federal government “controlled” ALL immigration? I think the current DHS, and issues with ICE, answer that question quite clearly.
Then Republicans should not be gerrymandering all over the country but just do a better job at getting elected.
The census counts residents not citizens. Increased population means more house seats and more federal funding. This is about money and power. If Democrats weren’t gaining money and power they wouldn’t care about noncitizens. It’s not complicated. Calling everyone you don’t agree with a Nazi or racist has lost meaning. Perhaps taking a hard look at how Trump was elected twice would be a better idea the screaming about white supremacy.
Why isn’t ICE in Florida or Texas, Bill ? Where the illegal immigration population is significantly higher than Minnesota and even NY without sanctuary city status?
I wonder hmmm…maybe because they are states that voted for Trump????
Who do you recommend to vote for in the 12 district. Always complaining with no solution.
We did, and now Mamdani is mayor. So stay on Long Island if you hate it.
Any Church that is Political should lose tax exempt status.
People revile the church? Nah, we love it. So much so that we continue to reward it with tax-free status for its main achievement in the last few decades – the systemic sexual abuse of children.
But they sure can pack a mean brown bag of canned soup for “the less fortunate” to make up for it.
I don’t like the current Supreme Court, but it is one of the few institutions even partially checking our would be dictator in chief. If Dems pack the court in 2029 (by whatever name they call it), the next Republican president will do the same in 2033 or 2037. And, in that case, the court will be full of Presidential loyalists, making it significantly less likely to oppose anything the President wants.
Trump’s Presidency is demonstrating the incredible importance of limiting Presidential power and maintaining the independence and strength of other institutions. We should take that lesson to heart.
When the Democrats had full control of the government in 2020-2022, they really didn’t take the possibility of a fascist President seriously and did almost nothing to prepare for it. If we continue on that path we should not be surprised at the result.
Ok so they are running to defund ICE and get rid or Trump. No ideas how to make the city safe and more affordable. The only thing they will do is let more free loading illegals come and raise tax’s . We will look like a third world country before 2036.
I will be so happy if Nadler endorses Micah Lasher. Michah has been involved in local issues and Politics since he was 12. I used to call him Governor back then. I believed, and still believe, that he will be just that someday soon.
I don’t live in the district anymore, but if I did, I would only ever vote for him.
Good Luck Micah.
President Trump and law enforcement agencies like ICE are NOT the enemy. Socialist, left-wingers like Mamdani and the NYC Politburo, who want tax-paying, law abiding citizens to feel the warmth of collectivism, are the problem. Mental patients and criminal recidivists who create havoc on our streets and subways are the problem. No cash bail and the “raise the age” laws are the problem. Wake up and smell reality and shake off your TDS!!
Two things: 1) it would be great if the Rag would do a spectrum aligning the candidates from right to left so we can make sense of this over-populated field. 2) I do hope the Democrats have enough sense not to embrace “abolish ICE” as a slogan: completely reform policies and procedures, yes, but don’t adopt another counter-productive slogan like “defund the police” that will only help the right.
Please decrease crime, arrest and hold people accountable.