Democracy 101
What office is this? What does this person actually do day-to-day? New York State Assembly Member. They write and vote on state laws, help shape the state budget, and direct state funding into the district: schools, hospitals, infrastructure, social services. A big part of the job is constituent services, helping residents navigate state agencies (unemployment, housing authorities, the Department of Labor) and fighting for line-item funding in Albany for local priorities.
What district/area does it cover? District 90, the only state legislative district wholly contained within Yonkers.
The Candidates
Frank Jereis
Democrat. Chief of staff to outgoing Assemblyman Nader Sayegh for over two years; previously worked at the Yonkers Commission on Human Rights; law degree from New York Law School, undergraduate from Hunter College.
Campaign Website: https://www.frankjereisforassembly.com/
Why running: Says his office experience means he can "hit the ground running on day one" without a learning curve, and frames the race around pushing back against the Trump administration's effect on state and local resources.
Policy positions:
- Wants to shift authority over Con Edison utility rate hikes from the Public Service Commission to the state legislature
- Supports expanding the STAR property tax rebate program to offset rising property values for fixed-income homeowners
- Backs a single-payer health care system and wants to fully fund Yonkers's two safety-net hospitals, St. John's and St. Joseph's
Jeanette Garcia
Democrat. Attorney for 15 years; union organizer for 12 years representing nurses, healthcare workers, and public sector workers across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, including at St. John's and St. Joseph's hospitals in Yonkers. Why running: Says decisions affecting working people are made without their input, and that the district needs representation "that comes from the lived experience" of renting, commuting, and struggling to afford groceries and health care. Policy positions:
Campaign Website: https://www.garciaforyonkers.com/
- Wants to raise the minimum wage to an actual living wage tied to cost of living
- Pushes for a Community Benefits Agreement requirement tied to IDA tax breaks given to developers in Yonkers
- Wants to expand same-day voter registration and
- Create affordable homeownership pathways (co-ops/condos) rather than more market-rate rental development
The Issues
Central disagreement: Garcia frames the race around transparency and accountability — who benefits from development deals, IDA tax breaks, and state funding decisions. Recently launched a website alleging insider kickbacks her opponent benefits from. Jereis frames his candidacy around his position as a "natural progression" and that his two years inside the Assembly office means he can deliver results immediately, citing the $40 million in state aid he says was secured for Yonkers schools as evidence state funding is already transparent.
What's at stake for Yonkers (quality of life):
- Housing: Garcia argues new development in Yonkers (citing waterfront and Warburton Avenue projects) is mostly market-rate rental, not pathways to homeownership or generational wealth. Jereis counters that Yonkers already carries a disproportionate share of Westchester's affordable housing stock and the fix is increasing supply statewide.
- Schools: Both candidates cite the same $40 million in emergency state aid that prevented teacher and CSEA layoffs. Jereis wants to fix what he calls a broken funding formula that shortchanges Yonkers relative to similarly sized upstate cities. Garcia wants stronger guarantees that funding reaches classrooms directly.
- Taxes/utilities: Both candidates singled out Con Edison rate increases as a shared concern across the district. Jereis' specific proposal is moving rate-hike approval power to the legislature.
- Public safety/health: Both support expanded healthcare access; Jereis emphasizes single-payer and safety-net hospital funding, Garcia emphasizes preventive care and stronger hospital staffing after describing conditions she witnessed as a nurses' union rep.
The Campaign
Notable moments: Notable exchange: when asked about public trust and transparency, Jereis used his rebuttal to push back directly on Garcia, saying he wouldn't "throw out sound bites like transparency or accountability" but would work with elected officials directly. Garcia closed by explicitly rejecting the framing that the race is about national politics, saying "this election is not about Donald Trump... it's about Yonkers."
Endorsements worth noting:
- Jereis: Outgoing Assemblyman Nader Sayegh, County Executive Ken Jenkins, Mayor Mike Spano, State Senator Shelley Mayer, the Yonkers Democratic Party, NYSUT/teachers, CSEA, police and fire unions, 1199SEIU, 32BJ, New York League of Conservation Voters
- Garcia: Working Families Party, Latino Victory Fund, New York Immigration Coalition, Citizen Action of New York, Hispanic Democrats of Westchester, Eleanor's Legacy, former Yonkers City Council President Chuck Lesnick, former Congressman Jamaal Bowman, IBEW Local 3, UNITE HERE District 9, North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters
The Takeaway
Frank Jereis is running on Albany experience and execution. The law school graduate says his two years inside the Assembly office means he already knows how to deliver state funding to Yonkers.
Jeanette Garcia is running on lived experience as labor lawyer that centers accountability and she says representation should come from people who've struggled with the same rent, healthcare, and wage pressures as the district's working families.