Steven Raga announces he is running for N.Y. State Senate
Assemblymember Steven Raga officially announced on February 21 that he is running for New York State Senate District 12. He released the following statement:
“After talking with neighbors across Western Queens and listening closely to what our communities need right now, I’m officially announcing my candidacy for New York State Senate District 12. I’m running to deliver on day one with leadership shaped by this community and accountable to working families in Woodside, Astoria, Sunnyside, Elmhurst, Long Island City, Maspeth, Ridgewood, Glendale, and Jackson Heights.
“I’m grateful to Senator Gianaris for decades of principled leadership for tenants, working families, and progressive change. As he begins his next chapter, we have a responsibility to carry that work forward with urgency and care.
“This race is personal. I was raised in Queens by a Filipina immigrant single mother who was also a proud Teamsters union member. We lived in basement apartments, faced eviction notices, and carried the constant instability of living paycheck to paycheck. I know what it means when your future depends on whether your family can stay in the neighborhood you call home.
“For over two decades, I’ve organized in this community through local organizations and coalitions, and as a member of Community Board 2, long before I ever ran for office. In the Assembly, I’ve proven we can win real results by building strong coalitions, passing impactful policies, delivering resources back home, and showing up every day for constituent services. And as a proud PSC-CUNY union member, I know what it means to fight for educators, students, and a people’s university that working-class New Yorkers can truly count on.
“Affordability ties everything together: housing, healthcare, childcare, and economic stability. We will protect and expand rent stabilization, fully fund HAVP, advance social housing through SHDA, pass the New Deal for CUNY, defend immigrants with NY4All and Access to Representation, expand care through the NY Health Act and universal childcare, and pay for it by fighting for Invest in Our NY so that the ultra-wealthy and corporations finally pay their fair share.
“Western Queens is home, from Little Manila in Woodside to Astoria and Sunnyside, and from rent-stabilized apartments and NYCHA to the street vendors and small businesses that keep our streets alive. I’m proud of what we’ve delivered together as your Assemblymember, and I’m ready to keep delivering and fight even harder as your next State Senator.”
Meanwhile, Nepali American Somnath Ghimire who is supposed to challenge Raga for the Assembly primary issued this statement: “It was widely known that Steven Raga and I were preparing for the same Assembly race. At the end of the day, we both care deeply about Queens and working families. I respect his continued commitment to public service and wish him the very best as he runs for State Senate. I look forward to working alongside him in Albany and proudly calling him my Senator.”
