New York’s Socialist Bench Just Got Even Bigger
Democratic Socialists of America now boasts eight representatives in New York’s state government and an ambitious legislative agenda focused on working-class issues like childcare, transit, and housing.
Kristen Gonzalez speaking at a rally in support of the Unemployment Bridge Program, New York, January 11, 2023. (Kristen Gonzalez / Twitter)
As of last week, when new elected officials were sworn in and began their jobs in the Albany, New York state has a total of eight socialists serving in its Assembly and Senate — more socialist representation than any other state in the country, and more than New York has seen in over a century.
This year the legislative group, which calls itself Socialists in Office, has ambitious plans, building on the recent legislative achievements of New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA).
The newcomers are Kristen Gonzalez, a twenty-seven-year-old Queens-born tech worker and community organizer, in the state Senate, and Sarahana Shrestha, a Nepali immigrant and climate activist in the Hudson Valley, in the Assembly.
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