Primary Day is June 23 and there’s a ton on the ballot, including our US Rep seat, state senate and assembly seat and state comptroller. Follow along to see mini profiles of each of the candidates. First up: David Siffert for Assembly District 66. Deborah Glick held the seat for the past 36 years.

My stock question for all the candidates is always what triggered their decision to run. In this case, Jeannine Kiely got a call from Deborah Glick before Deborah had announced her retirement publicly. At that point, Jeannine had been on Community Board 2 in several leadership roles for 13 years, so she was well-known to the longtime assemblywoman.

“I had been thinking about what to do next — you can always make change on the community board, but I was ready for more,” Jeannine said. “I was honored and delighted that she asked me — it all started there.”

Jeannine, 59, left her job at the organization she co-founded, Literacy Academy Collective, to run for office full time. And by then she already had a working list of issues she wanted to work on, among them the redesign of West Street/Route 9A, traffic enforcement, affordable housing and of course, literacy. (In fact, she worked for years alongside Tribeca Tricia Joyce on District 2 issues.)

The collective’s mission is to create a network of schools for children with dyslexia and other reading challenges. And it all started with a 2019 city competition for creative new public schools. Her team made it through three rounds when covid hit; but they kept plugging, and when they did not get a green light from the de Blasio administration, they started approaching each of the mayoral candidates in 2020. As it turned out, Adams was dyslexic himself. (An ABC News producer made a documentary about the effort.)

“We have a ‘wait to fail’ system for readers,” Jeannine said. (Her own children went to private and public elementary schools, Catholic and private high schools.) “And we said, we need to change the system.” The first school opened in 2023 in the South Bronx; the second in 2025 in Central Brooklyn.

“We were determined to do this in a public setting,: she said. “We worked with everyone – city, state, unions, experts – you have to build a broad coalition to make change happen.”

Jeannine is currently the district leader for Assembly District 66 — a volunteer role — along with Tribecan Richard Corman. In her 14 years at CB2, she chaired the Schools & Education Committee, chaired the full board in 2021 to 2023, and is now chair of Transportation.

She and I spoke on Sunday evening, so of course the conversation turned to the Knicks. A restaurant near her house in Noho put a TV on the street, and she stopped while walking the dogs at halftime. Her campaign team ended up joining her on the street for the rest of the game.

“New York is just alive with energy,” she said. “And this is why I love living in this city. I didn’t plan on staying here – but I fell in love with it. I’ve been here ever since.”

How long have you lived in the district? Where are you originally from?
I’ve lived in the district for 31 years and NYC for 36 years. I moved to NYC to attend Columbia Business School. I was born and raised in Northern California, attended UCLA for college but when I moved to NY, I fell in love with the city, raised my family here and never left.

Kids? Pets?
I am the parent to 18 and 20 year old sons and two rescue dogs, Willy (almost 2) and Firecracker (almost 12). Anyone who played little league with my boys will know Firecracker.

Where do you live?
Just off the Bowery on Great Jones Street.

What do you do for a living? Or, what did you do before you decided to run for this office?
I co-founded Literacy Academy Collective, successfully opening the first two district public schools for students with dyslexia in NYC. To put this in perspective, there are only two other public schools nationwide that serve these students.

I previously worked in tax-exempt healthcare finance and advisory. These worlds collided when Beth Israel was on the brink. I joined the Save Beth Israel and New York Eye & Ear Campaign and led the Financial Services Workgroup. We produced two major reports — one valuing the property at up to $1 billion depending on zoning, and another detailing Mount Sinai’s systematic dismantling of Beth Israel. When Mount Sinai seeks to monetize that property, I want to ensure that a portion of those proceeds supports healthcare downtown and affordable and supportive housing on that campus.

What are the first three issues you will tackle if you win the election?
On day one, I will get to work tackling the affordability crisis with a focus on housing, improving street safety and fighting for our public schools.

Who is the first person you will hire?
I’ll hire my chief-of-staff first, who will work hand-in-hand with me to fill out our district and Albany offices. This person also will be a social worker who can lead on constituent services – one of the most important parts of the job.

As community board chair [CB2], serving local constituents in regard to their daily quality-of-life issues has been an essential part of my own public service. My office will reflect that deep commitment to meeting constituents’ needs.

What are the three most important issues for New Yorkers right now?
The first existential issue New Yorkers face every day is affordability, including housing. Raising my family in this district, I know first-hand that housing, healthcare, grocery and energy costs are through the roof. We must start by building more deeply affordable housing, preventing displacement, offering tax abatements for climate law compliance and stabilizing healthcare coverage—including by lowering prescription drug costs and supporting the New York Health Act.

I also see public safety, and the perception of safety, as a key issue. Real safety means addressing the root causes of crime and danger through evidence-backed strategies like focused deterrence, violence-interruption programs, and crisis-response teams. It also means safe street designs that protect seniors, children, and people with disabilities.

And as a long-time advocate specializing in literacy, education remains among the most pressing issues facing families in our state. Every child deserves a world-class public education. We must prioritize equitable, data-driven funding, support science-backed literacy curricula, and ensure schools are inclusive and accessible environments that protect civil rights regardless of race, disability, or background.

Why are you running for office? What do you hope to change, or do better?
I’m running for the New York State Assembly because I believe our community deserves a representative who doesn’t just promise results but has a proven record of delivering them. My parents, both public school teachers, instilled in me that if you see something broken, you don’t just complain — you take the initiative to fix it. That value has guided my 14 years of public service on Community Board 2 and as a Democratic District Leader.

I see a disheartening level of inertia in Albany. Despite a Democratic majority, we often see around-the-edges action that fails to meet the urgency of the moment. I’m running to change that dynamic. I want to move us toward institutional change that makes transparent, progressive governance a sustainable reality in this state.

I’m running because I know how to build the coalitions necessary to get hard things done. My office will be a true site of service, mirroring the serious follow-through and accessibility that our community has come to value. I’m ready to fight the hard fights every day to deliver the results you deserve.

Most-frequented restaurants: Fanelli Cafe, Oscar’s Place, Cowgirl NYC, Hudson Clearwater, Thai Diner, Benares Tribeca Indian Restaurant, LOS TACOS No.1

Sweet-tooth satisfaction: Flourless Chocolate Cake.

What’s your drink order? Oat draft at La Colombe (am). Mezcal margarita on the rocks, spicy not sweet, no salt.

How I stay fit: Cycling – indoor, Citibike and my road bike.

Where I get beautiful: Lovemore & Do. While getting my haircut, I discuss politics with Sue, who is a volunteer marshal for NYC-based pro-democracy events.

What’s the district’s best-kept secret? The views and quiet on the western end of Pier 45 at Christopher Street in Hudson River Park

I take out-of-towners to: Watch the sun set in Hudson River Park, Washington Mews tucked between 8th Street and Washington Square Park and Elizabeth Street Garden.

Pet peeve: Littering.

My most memorable celebrity sighting: Anderson Cooper. During petitioning, I was out on my Citibike and saw him sweeping his sidewalk. I hurried over after parking my Citibike, which held a large bag with all of my materials. My bike promptly toppled over into a puddle in the gutter. I hope I made a splash!

Tribeca could use better bus/public transportation along West Street north to Pier 40 and Chelsea Piers and less Holland Tunnel traffic.

A business I miss: El Teddy’s on West Broadway

Proof that change is good: The development of Hudson River Park, especially Pier 25 that opened in 2010 and Pier 26 in 2020 – my oasis during Covid.

A new building I admire: 70 Vestry. A new building I don’t: The Dominick (formerly Trump SoHo.) The best new building is often one you barely notice because it fits the neighborhood. The worst is often the one everyone notices because it ignores it.

Best reason to go above 14th Street: I love to visit the Museum of the City of New York’s Activist New York exhibition that documents our city’s long history of leading the charge for change on immigration, gender equality, political and civil rights, religious freedom, environmental advocacy, global issues, and economic rights. This is where my kids first learned about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire — that galvanized our nation to enact occupational safety and child labor laws long before the Triangle Fire Memorial in Greenwich Village opened in 2023.

I wish you had asked me about: My entry into the workforce! When I was 16, I played the Amazing Alfredo at my local amusement park. My job was to guess age within two years, weight within three pounds or month of birth within two months. I used a corded mic and was expected to work the crowd on quiet days to solicit players. It cost $1 to play and the prizes (if I guessed wrong) cost less than 20 cents. Believe it or not, this was one of the most coveted summer jobs (at the amusement park) and I was hired because of my experience in community theater.