Democratic View: Our priorities in a pandemic

In just a few short days, I will be stepping into a new role as the District 125 State Assemblymember. I am deeply honored and humbled by the community support and will put my heart and passion into every moment of the work ahead. I enter this role with eyes wide open knowing that these continue to be deeply troubling and unsettling times for all of us.

Now that classes are online, many children spend much of their days isolated behind a computer or tablet. For children without broadband access, this means remote passive learning.

Adults confront chronic job layoffs and pay cuts and struggle to pay their bills and keep their homes. An unprecedented number of small business owners have lost their businesses.

Homelessness is on a perpetual rise, and the number of New Yorkers considered “food insecure” has increased from 2.2 million to 3.1 million due to the pandemic. With almost 38,000 COVID-19 deaths in New York, many families mourn the deaths of loved ones.
With all of this struggle in our communities, the pandemic has caused us to shift our priorities and expectations.

Right now, the first responsibility of policymakers is to work together to meet basic needs, stabilize households and stabilize our economy. Most importantly, our task is to do this without dismantling the systems that serve as our very foundation, like health care and education.

A knee-jerk reaction of governments in response to significant budget deficits is often to prioritize cuts. These austerity measures have been found over and over, however, to balance the immediate budget, but they significantly prolong economic recessions. More importantly, they cripple families’ abilities to access quality education, stabilize household incomes and build wealth.

Austerity measures make it harder for entrepreneurs to enter the business sector, stunt social services and reduce access to quality health care, ultimately exacerbating public health issues. Austerity measures also promote the consolidation of wealth.

I plan to focus on measures that will create wealth equity and generate smart revenue policies to help bring our state back from this recession. New York has the largest number of billionaires of any state, and this number has increased during the pandemic.

The collective wealth of these 119 individuals has increased by over $566 billion, while over 2 million New Yorkers have lost their jobs. I will advocate for reinstituting the stock transfer tax, which is a 0.25% tax that will have the greatest impact on high-speed automated trades. I will support an ultra-millionaires tax on the highest income earners and the pied-à-terre tax on additional luxury homes.

I believe that the legalization of marijuana through the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act is both a human rights issue as well as a revenue generator and as currently written would emphasize aid to marginalized communities that have been most negatively impacted by current laws.

Health care should be a human right, and the NY Health Act would ensure universal coverage. By scientific analyses at the state and, most recently, at the federal level, it is also economically prudent and, as a progressive tax, would save most individuals, families, businesses and the state money compared to our current health care system.

On Dec. 28, the State Assembly and Senate passed The Eviction and Foreclosure Moratorium Act that was signed that evening by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. This law prevents evictions and foreclosures until May 1, buying time for the state to set in place both tenant and small landlord relief, critical measures that I will support to stabilize our local economy.

Last year, New York state passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), which will serve as the foundation for green infrastructure development and job growth.

I will fight for programs to emphasize weatherization and incentivize development with no new natural gas infrastructure, invest in innovative systems of electric public transportation, and support programs that help farmers invest in sustainable farming practices, improve soil quality and increase carbon sequestration.

Finally, criminal justice efforts are not only about human rights but also are about equal access and participation in our economy and society. I support existing bills such as the Halt Solitary Act, The Elder Parole Act, the Walking While Trans Ban Act as well as efforts to require Medical-Assisted Treatment in all jails and prisons.

Regardless of how you voted in this year’s election cycle, I am honored to be serving as your representative in the State Assembly. The promises I made to you during the campaign — of universal health care and child care, of racial and climate justice, of criminal justice reform — will continue to define my work.

Assemblywoman-elect Anna Kelles served on the Tompkins County Legislature for five years before being elected to represent the 125th District of the New York State Assembly.