By Bobby Eustace
The Forum rarely endorses a candidate for any public office. However, our fraught political climate and circumstances necessitate a call to action.
The race for Assembly District 23 is a crucial one for this community. Incumbent Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Howard Beach) and Republican challenger Tom Sullivan have previously tussled on the stump and at the ballot box. In January 2023—two months after election night and following a manual recount and several court filings—Pheffer Amato prevailed over Sullivan and was re-elected to represent the 23rd District. The assemblywoman secured another term in Albany by just 15 votes.
This election cycle feels different. These times, and this campaign to represent Howard Beach, Broad Channel, and parts of Ozone Park and the Rockaways, ARE different.
Pheffer Amato won the seat in 2016 and was easily re-elected in 2018. The 2022 marathon will largely be remembered for its legal back-and-forth. In 2024, she’s clearly running on her record, all while fending off wholly unnecessary—and, at times, tasteless and infantile—mud mortars slung from certain corners of the district.
That legislative record, and her grace under heavy fire from seasoned borough political figures, has impressed The Forum.
Pheffer Amato has:
- Passed the bill that requires all insurance companies in New York to cover reconstructive surgery or aesthetic flat closure (a flat chest option) after a mastectomy
- Ensured that all the widows/widowers and domestic partners of fire fighters will always have health insurance
- Removed the fees for any State civil service exam
- Codified heart disease protection for any and all uniformed officers, meaning that if at any point a uniformed officer has a heart-related illness (on the job or retired), it will be assumed to have occurred due to work-related-business and treatment will be covered
- Changed the State law to give judges back the authority to set bail by removing the “least restrictive clause” meaning judges have full authority when sentencing a criminal
- Provided a final salary increase for NYPD officers, and a 24-percent increase in the budget of State Troopers
- Since 2017 has been responsible for the annual increase in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) funding for nonpublic schools, increased security funding for nonpublic schools, and created the first ever arts reimbursement program for nonpublic schools
- Helped to secure $13 billion for NYC public schools, the largest investment ever in public education
- Fought to stop childhood drowning by creating the first-ever commission to prevent childhood drowning
- Passed the law to require parents of newborn children to watch a brief video on the dangers of childhood drowning
- Expanded the State Child Tax Credit
- Passed the bill that secured that survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attack will be able to apply for unlimited line of duty sick leave from work
- Passed the bill that requires a moment of silence on Sept. 11 in every public school in New York to honor the lives lost
- Revived the New York State 9/11 Task Force which focuses on the health impacts of exposure to the chemicals and toxins, regulations for accidental disability retirement benefits, and protects pension benefits for first responders who participated in the rescue, recovery and cleanup efforts at the World Trade Center
- Helped to prevent State property taxes from increasing in 2023 and 2024
- Expanded the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge Rebate program to all Queens residents with an EZ-Pass
- Resolved over 10,000 constituent cases since 2017
- Protected IRMAA (Income Related Monthly Adjustable Amount) reimbursement with Medicare
- Stopped cuts to Medicare and increased Medicaid reimbursement
- Allocated over $200 million for wage increases for home service workers and $10 million for expanded in-home services
For all of the above, The Forum is endorsing incumbent Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato.
