Candidate Answers to CU: Tamika Mapp for NY Assembly District 68 – 2020 Primary

Name:  Tamika  Mapp
Office Sought: New York State Assembly District 68
Party Affiliation(s): Democrat
Age: 44
Education: BS Paralegal Studies
Occupation/Employer: Small Business Owner/East Harlem Tax Service
Previous Offices, Campaigns and Community/Civic Involvement:

  • City Council Candidate 2013, 2017
  • State Assembly Candidate, 2014,2016,2018
  • County Committee Woman for 85th ED/68 AD

Website:  www.mapp.vote
Twitter:  friendsoftamika
Facebook:   friendsoftamika

 

 

CANDIDATE QUESTIONS

Please state whether you support or oppose the following reform measures. If you wish to elaborate on your answers, you may do so in the provided space at the bottom of this page.

 

Ethics

  1. Replace the Joint Commission on Public Ethics and the Legislative Ethics Commission with an effective and independent enforcement body (S594A/A1282A).
    Support
  1. Limit outside compensation earned by state legislators and statewide officials to 25% of their salaries and eliminate stipends.
    Support

 

Elections and Voting

  1. Do you support or oppose the following changes to the state’s current registration and voting system?
    1. No-excuse absentee voting (second passage of constitutional amendment)
      Support
    2. Election Day voter registration (second passage of constitutional amendment)
      Support
    3. Re-enfranchisement of people on parole automatically through legislation, without requiring a Certificate of Good Conduct or Relief
      Support
    4. Automatic voter registration, unless the potential voter opts out
      Support
    5. Mandating poll sites on college campuses
      Support
  1. Reform the special election process, utilizing a nonpartisan special election for state legislative seats and eliminate delays in filling vacancies.
    Support
  1. Reduce the vote threshold to become a registered party back to 50,000 votes and keep the gubernatorial election as the qualifying election, and reduce the petition requirement for independent candidates back to 15,000 signatures.
    Support

 

Campaign Finance

  1. Amend the state’s public campaign financing system, approved in the 2021 budget, by
    1. Drastically reduce campaign contribution limits
      Support
    2. Set even lower contribution limits for registered lobbyists and those who do business with the state
      Support
    3. Move the campaign finance matching program to be administered by an independent, nonpartisan body outside of the NY Board of Election
      Support
    4. Simplify the matching system by making both in- and out-of-district donations eligible and by eliminating the three different tiers for matching
      Support

 

Budget Process

  1. Require full disclosure of grants and contracts issued by the state, including the budget lines from which the spending is made and reporting on the results of each grant or contract over a certain amount.
    Support
  1. Provide for effective online disclosure and itemization of spending from elected officials’ lump sum appropriations, including reporting on potential conflicts of interest and how the funds are spent.
    Support

 

Police Accountability

  1. Repeal Civil Rights Law, Sec. 50-a, which shields from public view the disciplinary records of police officers, correction officers, and firefighters.
    Support

 

Election Administration

  1. Restructure the state Board of Elections to abolish the strict two-party division of governance and operation and put in place professional, nonpartisan administration.
    Support
  1. Empower the attorney general to investigate and prosecute election law malfeasance and cases of public corruption.
    Support

 

Home Rule

  1. Make mayoral control of city schools permanent, with a governance system that provides for accountability, transparency, parent engagement, and democratic participation.
    Support

 

Court Reform

  1. Simplify and consolidate New York State’s court system by passing the Chief Judge’s proposed constitutional amendment to modernize the courts.
    Support

If needed, you may elaborate below on your positions on the previous questions. You may also provide additional information on any actions that you have taken or plan to take to advance your positions on these issues.

 

RESPONDING TO THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK

Government under the COVID-19 outbreak

  1. Adopt technological solutions and provisions that will allow the New York State legislature to convene and vote remotely if needed.
    Support
  1. Provide public access to observe and participate in government proceedings, in meetings that would be public under the New York Open Meetings Law, via live and recorded video available on government Website:
    Support
  1. Implement immediate programs to facilitate absentee voting for all New York voters as long as the widespread contagion risk of COVID-19 continues, under current state constitutional limitations. This includes electronic submission of absentee ballot applications without a wet signature and a public information campaign.
    Support
  1. What are your concerns regarding the use of emergency powers during this crisis, and how do you think NY government can maintain public accountability standards at this time?
    The only concern I had was all the cuts on the budget line and no relieve for renters, owners or small businesses on their rents and mortgages. I think they can maintain public accountability by legislating remotely and having the public view those sessions to get the things we need for our community such as rent relieve, and a better unemployment system to ensure people’s answered are answered.

 

Serving the public under the COVID-19 outbreak

  1. What are the biggest challenges in your district in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak?
    Rent
    Gun Violence
    Food (spoilage, outdated, lack of food pantries)
    Healthcare (COVID-19 testing, access to medical providers)
    Clean Clothing
    Education (lack of educational devices or instruction)
    Summer Job Programs and Camps
  1. What are the appropriate roles of city, state, and federal governments in a crisis such as this?
    In my opinion the role of all elected officials are supposed to be accessible and able to give their constituents the help they need before they even ask for help. Be a vocal voice to the Governor to ensure the community is taken care of and no cuts on the systems and institutions we rely on.
  1. How will you help your future constituents, residents and businesses, access potential funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, or any other future government relief funds?
    As the State Assemblywoman, providing timely information to each constituent to ensure they know what they are entitled too instead of passing the buck and hoping the federal elected officials to pick up the slack. We as elected officials are appointment by our community and we need to ensure they get the tools they need to stay in our community during and after any crisis.

 

CAMPAIGN PROMISES MADE TO VOTERS

What are the top five promises you are making to the voters during the campaign?

 

Campaign Promise 1
Housing For All
No family should have to uproot their lives because they can no longer stay in their neighborhood because of high rents and lack of permanent housing.

Solutions
Funding Community Land Trust

Every resident to have access to affordable housing in our neighborhood and adjust the median income to reflect the neighbor

Repairing all NYCHA buildings and bringing it back to code so families can live in a mold and pest-free home

Making sure our tax abatement/exemption programs don’t expire

Supporting Homes Guarantee

 

Campaign Promise 2
Criminal Justice
More than 50,000 people are held in jail as we speak. It’s time to re-invest in our communities, instead of sending our youth, parents, and grandparents to jail. We need to be spending our money on the community and making sure they have the services and job training they need to help our families live a prosperous life in our community.

Solutions
Open, Early, Automatic and Mandatory discovery

Eliminate money bail and implement a transparent pretrial process

Ensure everyone gets a speedy trial, especially those who are represented by 18B lawyers (Assigned Counsel Plan)

Legalize marijuana

Ensure we have a quality re-entry program and services they need to come back to the community

 

Campaign Promise 3
Quality Education for all
Each and every child in our community deserve the opportunity to grow up to live a successful life. So every child needs excellent schools and professional teachers. Smaller class sizes help children learn because they allow the teachers to spend more one-on-one time with each student, providing the individualized instruction they need. My opponent’s education policies would help only a few students and abandon the rest. I guarantee you, I won’t give up on the American Dream for any of our kids.

Solutions
Ensuring our teachers get paid for what they are worth

Fully-funded, quality education for all New York Families

Fully-funded, quality home daycare for all New York Families

Less standardized testing

Bringing back Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics back into the curriculum

Bringing Civic back to ensure our students learn about the election process

Bring back Cultural Studies to ensure our students learn about their history year-round

Quality after-school programs to help our kids grow outside of school hours

Campaign Promise 4
Small Business
Small businesses are the backbone of the community. Therefore, we need to make sure each small business has the tools they need to stay in business so they can pass it down to the next generation.

Solutions
Re-employment insurance funding to get our neighborhood back to work

Fight to enact the Small Business Survival Act, to create a small business lease program for fair negotiations in the commercial lease renewal process

Help small business owners understand and comply with City and State regulations

Help small business owners doing a crisis where they can suspend paying rent until the crisis is over

Education for all small business owners on how to get funding and market their small business

Campaign Promise 5
Wage Equality
Minimum wage workers earn less than $500 a week. No matter where you live, that’s not enough money to make ends meet. This is about people who show up every day and work hard so their employer can make a profit. At the very least, they deserve to be able to pay their bills.

Solutions
Getting every New York a pay raise to $20 per hour with inflation.
Making sure women get equal pay in the state of New York

 

ETHICAL REPRESENTATION OF CONSTITUENTS

Citizens Union believes that all New Yorkers deserve to be represented by officials who work for the public interest and honor the public trust. With the corruption conviction of recent legislative leaders, we seek to endorse a candidate who will demonstrate that she/he will honor the full commitment of the oath of office, and always represent the public interest above all else.

Please tell us how you have and would continue to conduct the political affairs of this office in an upright manner, and maintain the public trust.
I have learned from various organizations in my neighborhood the power of being transparent even when it’s not popular to do so. I will fight for legislation that bring transparency in Albany in government and government spending. I will support the public matching funds program for assembly and senate to keep big money out of politics, and for our community members to have have a real say on how our government resources are to be used in our community.

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