Vanessa Aronson is a former diplomat, NYC public school teacher, and nonprofit professional running for office for a third time, having earned Citizens Union’s preference in her 2025 City Council race, where she finished second with 47% of the vote. She fully supported Citizens Union’s reform agenda and identified campaign finance reform as her top legislative priority, drawing directly on her prior candidate experience, when she was outspent by super PAC donors in her 2025 race. Citizens Union found her idealism and focus on reform to be strong assets. As the only candidate in the Democratic primary, she committed to running a full campaign regardless.