New York State Assembly District 65 in State Assembly District 65, New York

2026 Primary Election

• Grace Lee — Member of the New York State Assembly, 65th District in New York, New York

  Grace Lee is a community organizer, businesswoman, and the first Korean American woman elected to the New York State government. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Prior to her election, she co-founded Nine Naturals, a toxin-free beauty company, and Children First, a parent-led coalition that successfully advocated for the cleanup of a toxic mercury brownfield in her community. She was elected to the State Assembly in November 2022.

• Illapa Sairitupac — Socialist Organizer and Social Worker in New York, New York

  Illapa Sairitupac is a social worker, climate organizer, and the son of Peruvian immigrants. His early experiences with his family's exploitation as new immigrants and his own time earning low wages radicalized him and informed his political views. He previously ran for the same Assembly seat in 2022, losing in the primary to Grace Lee. He is an active member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and is seeking their endorsement for his 2026 campaign.

• Jasmin Sanchez — Community Organizer and Non-profit Founder in New York, New York

  Jasmin Sanchez is a lifelong resident of the Baruch Houses (a NYCHA development) on the Lower East Side. She is a graduate of the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies and has a long history as a community activist and youth advocate. Sanchez founded a nonprofit organization focused on youth and community development and is the President of the Three Bridges Democratic Club. She has previously run for City Council and has been active with the Sunrise Movement and LES Mutual Aid network.

• Jacky Wong — Democratic District Leader in New York, New York

  Jacky Wong is a Democratic District Leader for Assembly District 65B. Originally from Hong Kong, he earned a bachelor's degree in Biology and later a Master's Degree in Real Estate from CUNY's Baruch College. For over a decade, he worked as a reporter focusing on the Chinatown and Lower East Side communities, winning awards for his journalism. He later served as Director of Operations at the Chung Pak Local Development Corporation and was the Chair of the Land Use Committee for Community Board 3. After the pandemic, he co-founded the Greater Chinatown Civic Coalition to advocate for public safety and against the clustering of homeless shelters in the area.

• Mariama James — Democratic District Leader in New York, New York

  Mariama James is a lifelong resident of Lower Manhattan and the first Black woman to be elected as a District Leader in the community. She has a professional background of over 22 years in accounting and finance. James is a prominent advocate for 9/11 survivors and their families, an experience rooted in her own family's health struggles after the attacks. She is the Vice Chair of the New York County Democratic Party and has served extensively on community and school boards, including as PTA President and a member of Manhattan Community Board One.

• Lilah Mejia — Candidate for the 65th AD in New York, NY

  Lilah Mejia is a Puerto Rican community organizer, emergency management professional, and bridge-builder born and raised in the Jacob Riis Houses in the Lower East Side. Known for her deep community roots, bold leadership, and unwavering social justice lens, she has dedicated her life to building systems of care, safety, and resilience for the communities that shaped her. Lilah is widely recognized across New York City as someone who not only shows up in moments of crisis, but someone who organizes, mobilizes, and builds long after the cameras are gone. Lilah currently serves as the Outreach & Engagement Manager for NYDIS’ Elements House Clubhouse, where she helps bring the international clubhouse model to the Lower East Side creating a healing, community-centered space for individuals navigating mental health challenges. She also worked as the Director of Outreach for the NYC Commission to Strengthen Local Democracy, where she led community engagement around civic power, budget transparency, and participatory governance. Her leadership has been shaped by years of organizing on the ground, particularly following major disasters. After Hurricane Maria, Lilah was hired to lead recovery efforts for New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS), where she brought her lived experience, cultural competency, and social justice perspective to the forefront of the city’s response. As a Puerto Rican woman with direct ties to the island, her work became personal standing alongside displaced families, advocating for their rights, and navigating the failures of federal and state systems with compassion and clarity. Her on-the-ground leadership made her a trusted voice for thousands of survivors struggling through a colonial, bureaucratic, inequitable recovery. Across her career, Lilah has championed initiatives that address food insecurity, housing instability, and community wellness. She is the founder of Bout My Community, an emerging nonprofit rooted in mutual aid principles and community-driven solutions. She created the Community Fridge Program in District 1, in partnership with GOLES placing refrigerators inside public schools to ensure children and families have access to healthy food daily. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she secured emergency funding and coordinated mass food distributions that fed over thousands of Lower East Side and Bronx residents. Lilah’s advocacy also extends to environmental justice and climate resilience. She successfully fought for and secured $350 million for the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR), helping protect NYCHA residents and low-income communities from future storms. Her work exemplifies how community voice must lead government planning especially in neighborhoods historically overlooked or underfunded. A cultural worker and storyteller at heart, Lilah is also the organizer behind the neighborhood’s annual Puerto Rican Day Parade and Festival celebrating Boricua joy, resistance, and heritage. She is known for weaving together activists, artists, parents, youth, elders, clergy, and policymakers often serving as the bridge that connects community members to the resources, organizations, and opportunities that transform lives. Lilah just completed her graduate studies in Emergency Management, building on her Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies. With training in disaster response, risk management, humanitarian standards, and crisis communication, she integrates academic knowledge with real-world organizing experience creating a unique leadership voice rarely seen inside emergency management, but desperately needed. Above all, Lilah is a mother of six, a proud Latina, a community advocate shaped by Loisaida, and a woman who believes that every family deserves safety, dignity, and access to opportunity. Whether she is hosting a community meeting, coordinating disaster relief, supporting mental health programming, or walking the blocks of the Lower East Side,

• Helen Qiu — Adjunct Professor in New York, New York

  Helen Qiu is an educator and community advocate. She immigrated to the U.S. and became a naturalized citizen. She attended Columbia University for her master's and doctoral studies. Before her academic career, she worked as a high-tech engineering manager. She has served as Vice President of the Community Education Council and has been an advocate for preserving community gardens and against vaccine mandates. She has previously run for New York City Council and for the same State Assembly seat in 2022.