Yuh-Line Niou has served as an Assembly Member since 2016, filling the seat once held by Sheldon Silver, and was the first Asian American to represent the district, which encompasses Chinatown. Chair of the Subcommittee on Catastrophic Natural Disasters and Co-Chair of the Asian Pacific American Task Force, she held a number of positions as an activist in and around government before being elected to office. A proudly progressive legislator, her priorities include housing equity, ethics reform, and racial justice. Niou has used her office to advocate for reform issues since her election and supports Citizens Union’s reform agenda. She actively worked to help pass election reform, most recently vote-by-mail for all New Yorkers in the coming election and was unabashed in calling the legislature back into session during the COVID-19 pandemic and critiquing the expansive powers given to Governor Cuomo. Niou is both passionate and knowledgeable about reform issues and has been a vocal advocate for Citizens Union’s reform agenda. Citizens Union prefers Yuh-Line Niou in this race.

Grace Lee is a community activist, business owner, and firstgeneration Asian American who has lived in lower Manhattan for 15 years. She co-founded Children First, a group which organizes parents who are opposed to the development at 250 Water Street and advocates for safe cleanup of toxic sites in southern Manhattan. Lee supports Citizens Union’s reform agenda, and also prioritizes funding for public schools, environmental sustainability, and funding for NYCHA families. Lee emphasizes her advocacy work, the need for Albany lawmakers to convene and hold hearings, and the steps that must be taken to ensure food and healthcare needs of constituents are met. She also supports an independent regulatory body for the Board of Elections and eliminating outside salaries earned by the legislature. While Lee’s community activism is commendable and she supports our reform issues, her opponent has been a proven champion in the legislature. Citizens Union does not prefer Lee in this race.