Karines Reyes

Karines Reyes earned an associate degree from Bronx Community College and a bachelor's degree from Baruch College. Her career experience includes working as a registered nurse.[1]

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a first term member of the New York State Assembly, running for my second 2-year term, to represent the people of the 87th Assembly District. Also, I am a registered nurse and a mother to two boys.

I am running for re-election to the New York State Assembly to continue the work that I started in 2018. I am fighting for equity in society. I have seen how inequities, especially in health care, can have a great impact on the lives of people in our society. I would like to use my position, as a public official, to improve the lives of New Yorkers, who suffer at the hands of the wealthy and the companies that are seeking profit. I want to fight for middle, working class families, like mine, and the impoverished, who are the folks who need someone to be on their side and to advocate for them and their interests the most.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Universal Health Care - Pass the New York Health Act and laws to mandate culturally competent care for patients.Economic and Racial Justice - We need to implement progressive taxation (raise taxes on the wealthy), eliminate police brutality and provide budget justice to minority communities (investing in education and health care)Quality and Affordable Housing - Protect tenants and homeowners, while holding landlords accountable for harassment and poor housing conditions.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As a registered nurse, by trade, I am very passionate about equity in health care. I have seen how a person's zip code or their bank account can impact the quality of care that they receive. This is why I started advocating for single payer health care, safe staffing ratios in hospitals and other progressive priorities, as a proud member of the New York State Nurses Association.

Additionally, I have seen how access to issues relating to housing and education can greatly impact patient's health outcomes. That is why I decided to run for office, because I believe that we need to fully fund our education system and promote the creation of affordable housing, so that we can see positive impacts on the children and working class families of our communities. These issues are very important to me as a mother raising two boys. I have seen how the addressing these problems, at the root, can impact the health and wellness of our neighborhoods.

Lastly, I care about issues impacting seniors in our area and I hope to be able to provide more funding and support to ensure that naturally occurring retirement communities, like we have in Parkchester and high senior populations in Castle Hill have the adequate services to help them maintain their quality of life.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

I believe that the core responsibilities of a person elected to the New York State Assembly are to legislate and provide constituent services on behalf of the people in your district. As a legislative position, it is incumbent on the legislator to pass laws and push budgetary priorities to benefit the people of your district. I believe that the COVID-19 crisis has shown the increased importance of legislators providing adequate constituent services and aid to people in need in our communities.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to leave a legacy of progressive activism and deep community involvement in my Assembly district and in the state legislature. I want to be known as someone who helped push our society and my constituents forward, while addressing many of their day-to-day, quality of life issues that they care about. Additionally, I hope to leave a legacy that encourages more women, mothers, Dominican-Americans and young people to get involved in politics and public service.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was as an associate at a bakery. This where I got the opportunity to channel my creativity and my passion for cooking, especially sweets! I would rise to become a manager of the store that I worked at and mandated that we pool tips to support workers in the front of the bakery and the back of the bakery. I worked there for about a year and a half to two years.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

"Engañemoslo" by Jenni Rivera and Mariachi Los Reyes

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?

I believe that the relationship between the governor and the state legislature should be balanced. it should be the job of the legislature, as the the representatives of the people of the State of New York, to pass laws that benefit residents of our state. The governor should be the executive, who signs laws and implements them. I believe that the central friction between the governor and the legislature is over the development of New York State's budget and the priorities enacted in the budget. The governor has an outsized role in the budget process, as the only authority that can amend the budget bills. This puts the legislature and myself in the uncomfortable position of having to negotiate a budget with the governor and having the governor amend the bills to reflect his interpretation of an agreement with legislative leaders, which would force the legislature to vote down or reject the budget (which could lead to a government shutdown, impacting state workers and services for constituents).

I proudly support a constitutional amendment to make the the powers of the governor and the state legislature even in the budget process.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

I am a supporter of independent redistricting. I believe that the way that legislative district lines are drawn should be in the hands of experts and not in the hands of legislators. I believe that sociologists, topographers and other experts should control the process, and based on accurate Census data.

If you are a current legislator, what appealed to you about your current committees?

I believe that the current committees that I serve on address deeply important issues that impact my district. I serve on the Aging, Housing, Labor, Social Services, and the Alcoholism & Drug Abuse committees. My district has a very diverse housing stock, between renters, coop/condo owners, homeowners, public housing residents, and tenants in rent stabilized housing. Having a seat on the Assembly Housing Committee allowed me to have the opportunity to help craft and enact the 2019 Housing Stability & Tenant Protection Act of 2019, which has established protections for tenants and has started to preserve affordability for working and low-income families in my district. My district has a very large, planned community, Parkchester, which happens to be a naturally occurring retirement community (NORC). There are many seniors in my district and in Parkchester that have aged in place, so serving on the Assembly Aging Committee gives me oversight over senior programs and allows me to fight for funding for my community. As a trade unionist, who represents many working people and union members in my district, a seat on the Assembly Labor Committee allows me to be able to fight on behalf of workers' rights and pass laws that protects workers. As a representative of a district in the Bronx, where poverty and the need for government services is a high, a seat on the Assembly Social Services Committee allows me to have oversight for those programs and provide poverty alleviation funding to nonprofits in my district. Lastly, as New York State faces an opioid epidemic, a seat on the Assembly Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Committee allows me to pass laws addressing the opioid crisis. As a registered nurse, I would hope to secure a seat on the Assembly Health Committee, so that I can put my experience as a registered nurse to influence public health policy.