By Gus Saltonstall
It is a rare occurrence for West Side Rag to cover a political figure best known for his work representing the Upper East Side. But that is what we are doing today in our continued coverage of the political race underway in New York’s 12th Congressional District.
There are nearly 20 candidates running to succeed longtime Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler for the seat that — after the redistricting in 2022 — now includes both the Upper West Side and Upper East Side.
West Side Rag will profile as many of these candidates as we can; our first interview was with Nina Schwalbe.
Next up, the Rag had a conversation with Upper East Side New York State Assemblymember Alex Bores, who is considered one of the frontrunners in the NY-12 congressional race, and who has been in the headlines recently for his work on regulating artificial intelligence, which made him a target of attack ads funded by a Super PAC.
Bores worked as a data scientist for five years at the beginning of his career at Palantir, a software and AI company that intersects with government and commercial enterprises. During his time in the New York State Assembly, Bores used his technology background to pass legislation on the regulation of artificial intelligence.
In response to that work, along with his candidacy announcement in the NY-12 congressional race, a Super PAC has inundated mailboxes and television screens, including on the Upper West Side, with attack language, such as alleging Bores is an “expert in hypocrisy.”
WSR interviewed Bores earlier this week about the race and his stance on central issues, including the world of AI.
The interview has been edited lightly for clarity.
WSR: In the past few years, you’ve represented the Upper East Side in the State Assembly. It is generally done in jest, but the Upper East Side and Upper West Side are sometimes pitted against one another. I was wondering what similarities you thought the neighborhoods shared?
Bores: I did enjoy, when the Upper West Side and Upper East Side were different congressional districts, every 10 years or so, the two sides would get together and talk about how these neighborhoods are entirely different. But one of the best and funniest things I ever saw Jerry Nadler say is, after he won in 2022, he came over to speak at an Upper East Side political club and someone asked him this exact question.
He had been giving really long answers on all of the previous questions, but on that one, he simply said, ‘No difference.’
There is truth to that. NY-12 is a district where both the east and west side of it have real pride of place, have a real neighborhood feel, and even though it is the smallest geographic congressional district in the country, it feels much larger because there are so many hyperlocal neighborhoods where people have huge pride in their local places and establishments.
WSR: How much did the fact that you’re from NY-12 inspire you to run for this seat?
Bores: It’s the district I was born and raised in, and lived in almost my entire life. It’s where I’m now raising my newborn son. I had a lot of success in Albany. I passed 28 bills through the State Assembly, which I think is four times more than the rest of the field combined. I was ranked by the Center for Effective Lawmaking as the most effective new legislator for New York City. I had every reason to stay and keep doing that work, which is really important. But ultimately the things keeping me up at night, other than my newborn son, were not coming from Albany, they were coming from [Washington] D.C.
WSR: What are some of those things?
Bores: We are facing a threat in Donald Trump that is unlike any before. We need people who know how to stand up to him and have taken him on and won. People who don’t just talk about beating Donald Trump or write about Donald Trump, but who have actually beat him.
Trump specifically targeted one of my 28 bills last year, the RAISE Act, [legislation that requires AI developers to have a safety plan to protect against automated crime, bioweapons, and other potential harms to public safety] with an executive order trying to prevent it from going through, along with a number of other AI bills across the country, but our bill was the only one in the country that has been enacted into law. I know how to stand up to Trump. It’s not theoretical. And I want to take all of that work from the Assembly, on AI, along with housing, healthcare, childcare, and all of the things that I’ve done, and make sure I can serve the community from Congress.
WSR: You mention AI there. One of the most discussed and written about topics in the NY-12 race so far is your stance and work on AI, and the amount of money being spent both against you and in support of you, on the topic.
On our end, it seems as readers are almost confused about what exactly is going on. They get mailers about it. They see advertisements. How would you explain the current situation, and then could you speak to why AI regulation is such a crucial part of your platform.
Bores: It is absolutely confusing that a Super PAC has become so interested in me and the subject. What happened is that a number of Trump mega-donors really don’t want there to be any AI regulation. That includes people like Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz from a prominent venture capitalist firm, and Greg Brockman, the president of Open AI, who in the second half of 2025 was one of Trump’s largest mega-donors.
What they got in exchange for that support was this executive order to try to limit any AI regulation development, but then, as we discussed, I managed to get my bill through, which was the strongest AI safety bill in the country. That is terrifying to them. It’s not because I have the ideas that are the most anti-AI, but it’s because I’ve been effective at actually getting a bill passed aimed on its regulation. So, they created a Super PAC that ran ads against me that were really targeted at Gov. Kathy Hochul to try to convince her to not sign my bill. But when she did, they decided they had to make an example of me.
So, they have committed to spending $10 million against my campaign. You say you’ve seen some confusion over what is happening. Yeah, that amount doesn’t make sense in most circumstances, but for them, me winning is the biggest threat to their unbridled control over our kids’ minds, over the American workforce, and over our climate. So, they’re willing to go all in for it. It’s notable that in a race where we are all promising to fight Donald Trump, I am the only one that Trump mega-donors are fighting back against.
Bores began his professional career as a constituent services representative for then-City Councilmember Jessica Lapin. He went on to join Palantir Technologies in 2014 for five years as a data scientist, which he then says he left because of the company’s controversial work with ICE. In 2022, he was elected to Assembly District 73.
WSR: If elected, do you have a first bill you would look to sponsor, and would it relate to artificial intelligence?
Bores: The first priority has to be restoring faith in government and ending the corruption in government. We’ve seen previous bills focused on campaign finance reform, banning congressional stock trading, ethics reform for the Supreme Court, and establishing separation between the Department of Justice and the presidency. A package on corruption and restoring faith has to be the top priority, and those are the causes I would look to first back.
But many other members have proposed versions of that. The thing that I will bring, that nobody else in the race will bring, and frankly nobody else in Congress, is my knowledge of tech and AI. We are absolutely missing the boat on this new technology, in the same way that we missed it on social media, and the consequences can be dire. I released an AI framework that has eight points and 43 sub-points for what we can do as a country to address a number of issues that I’d want to address in this area.
WSR: Immigration and the role of ICE continue to be a leading subject within political discourse nationally. If elected, what would you look to achieve on the immigration front?
Bores: We should abolish, dismantle, and prosecute ICE. ICE is only 23 years old and Donald Trump has created such a rot in that agency that I don’t think it can be recovered. That doesn’t mean we don’t have any immigration or safety enforcement of immigration, but absolutely, ICE needs to go.
We should have a proper asylum system; we have underfunded that part of immigration for so long. The asylum system is supposed to take two to three months, but because of backlogs and limits on judges, it currently takes around eight years. We can do comprehensive immigration reform that is focused on a pathway to citizenship for those who are here peacefully, and redirect enforcement to those who have committed violent crimes, and develop a system that actually recruits and invites the best and brightest to America, instead of sending them away.
WSR: How would you look to balance the work you have in D.C., like the country’s immigration system, with the more local issues in the NY-12 District?
Bores: That balance is absolutely vital. Some of my best legislative ideas have come from engaging with people locally. I am well known for greeting New Yorkers at subway stops. It’s something I’ve done nearly every Friday since I was elected to the State Assembly three years ago, and it’s something I plan to bring to this congressional campaign. There are 54 subway stops in District 12, and I’ve made a pledge to visit every one of them and greet people.
I frequently am at street fairs and local neighborhood events. Each year, I also host a town hall where I stand up in front of my constituents and take nearly two hours of completely unvetted or unscreened questions on any topic and make sure that I answer them. I also maintain a very robust constituent service operation where we do mobile office hours, participate in our local community groups. It’s absolutely vital and our work has to be grounded in the community where we’re from and representing.
WSR: Continuing on the local front, and despite your Upper East Side roots, do you have any favorite spots on the Upper West Side?
Bores: I’ve been going to Friedman’s at West 72nd Street a number of times. My dad’s partner is Celiac, so it’s great that its gluten-free. I’m not, but the food is delicious. This is going to get me in trouble, but the Museum of Natural History is my favorite museum in the city and always has been. That subway stop has been one of my favorites to go to in the mornings. Part of my introduction to activism was my dad picking me up in second grade and bringing me to the picket line at ABC Studios, when he and his union were locked out for fighting for better healthcare, and that is the old ABC Studios, just north of Lincoln Center. I spent a lot of time there as a kid fighting for the rights of workers.
WSR: Finally, if someone came up to you on the street and said, ‘Tell me in 30 seconds why I should vote for you,’ what would you say?
Bores: Well first, I’d start talking really fast. But the quick version is that we need legislators who are devastatingly effective to paint a positive vision for Democrats beyond fighting Donald Trump. On the Trump front, though, everyone else in this race is theoretical in their opposition, or they were doing it in support of someone else. I’ve proven that I can move bills in the legislature and have done it across a wide variety of issues.
If you need a fighter against Trump I’m your guy. If you need an effective position vision, I’m also your guy.
You can learn more about Bores’ campaign — HERE.
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Not voting for someone who worked on Peter Thiel’s panopticon.
Please be tough on crime, increase police and cameras, hold and arrest criminals.
Alex Bores is the candidate that happens to get all the support from moderates in this district and a lot of super progressive people who would normally be at odds.