The Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City — a citywide LGBTQ political club — endorsed candidates in several statewide and congressional primary races on May 1 after hosting a candidate forum on April 29 at Civic Hall at Union Square.
The club’s two-plus-hour endorsement meeting featured some more well-known candidates, including Brad Lander and Daniel Goldman in the race for NY-10, as well as several lesser-known candidates — including out LGBTQ candidates, such as Laura Dunn, Nina Schwalbe, and Micah Bergdale, who are all running in NY-12.
Endorsements
On the morning of Friday, May 1, the club announced it had endorsed all incumbents in statewide races — Gov. Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli — as well as former City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams in her bid for lieutenant governor.
In congressional contests, the club backed Rep. Grace Meng in NY-6, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in NY-7, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries in NY-8, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander in NY-10, Assemblymember Alex Bores in NY-12, Rep. Adriano Espaillat in NY-13, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in NY-14, Rep. Ritchie Torres in NY-15, and Rep. George Latimer in NY-16.
Stonewall’s political priorities
Club leaders at the endorsement meeting highlighted some of Stonewall’s top political priorities in the city and state, including support for the state-based New York for All Act, which aims to prevent state and local resources from being used for immigration enforcement, and the expansion of the Lorena Borjas Transgender and Non-Binary Wellness and Equity Fund, which delivers funds to organizations serving trans individuals in the state.
The club, currently led by president John Wahlmeier, also took issue with the City Council’s recently-passed “buffer zone” bills and expressed support for the mayor’s veto of one of those bills aimed at educational institutions.
“It has been a very, very important legacy of Stonewall, as an organization and as an LGBTQ community, to protect the right to protest at churches during the AIDS crisis,” Gabriel Lewenstein, the club’s executive vice president, said during the meeting. “And in the past year, we’ve had to rally outside the Department of Education to protect trans youth in schools and outside of teaching hospitals to protect gender-affirming care.”
Congressional candidates
In the race to succeed retiring Congressmember Jerrold Nadler in NY-12, Assemblymember Micah Lasher said the country is facing an “existential crisis” in the Trump era, and he made the case that he brings a years-long background of supporting LGBTQ causes. He vowed to “fight with everything I’ve got to roll back the hateful policies of the Trump administration and codify in law the protections that this community needs for the long term.”
“Democrats are failing to meet the moment,” Lasher said. “That has effects on issues across the board, and has a particular effect on LGBTQ New Yorkers, and the most vulnerable members of our population, our trans kids, and the people that need government to be standing up for them.”
Lasher subsequently faced questions from youth activist Lorelei Crean, who asked about the lawmaker’s public support for trans youth on his campaign website and whether he attended rallies in support of trans youth last year. Lasher responded in part by emphasizing that he has “written a great deal about all these issues, including in a lengthy piece I wrote well before I was running for Congress right after Donald Trump won the election, and talked about how the Democratic Party should not throw trans kids under the bus, which is what a lot of people were calling for at that time.”
When Lasher noted that he recently attended a protest against NYU Langone, Crean clarified that the event took place in 2026, not 2025.
“Respectfully, I have been involved in these issues, I think, for your entire lifetime,” Lasher said in response. “I know you’ve got a different candidate in this race, but I am not going to concede the issue that I don’t have a strong record on these issues. I do.”
Bores, who also addressed the club at the event, echoed other calls for passage of the Equality Act, saying it “should have been passed 20 friggin’ years ago.”
Bores listed several times he has, in his words, “showed up” for the community, such as when he protested at Trump Tower after the White House nixed a national LGBTQ youth suicide lifeline. He also discussed other LGBTQ issues, including calling for a national PrEP program and fighting against conversion therapy.
Three out candidates in NY-12 — Dunn, Schwalbe, and Bergdale — all made in-person appearances before the club. Dunn, a civil rights attorney and former public school teacher, said she has spent her entire career “fighting for the victimized and the marginalized” and protecting Title IX, and she stressed that she hopes to bring her legal experience to Congress.
“I have the Democratic establishment credentials, but I am not part of the establishment,” she said.
Nina Schwalbe, a public health researcher who founded Spark Street Advisors, recalled a history of being misgendered and added, “I am proud of being a dyke.”
“I’ve worked with trans sex workers in Thailand, I organized the first-ever gay film festival in Russia, and I’ve been on the board of numerous LGBT organizations,” Schwalbe said.
In the race for NY-7, which encompasses Brooklyn and Queens, Councilmember Julie Won of Queens said she has worked to support an annual Pride celebration in Sunnyside, Queens, and expressed her appreciation for the St. Pat’s for All parade in her borough. She also highlighted the importance of building housing in her district and creating housing solutions for homeless LGBTQ individuals.
Among other candidates in NY-7, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Vichal Kumar also addressed members, with Reynoso tuning in via Zoom. Reynoso and Won both spoke of the work of the Ali Forney Center, which provides housing and support for homeless LGBTQ youth, and Reynoso emphasized that he is “currently working on having Ali Forney own their sites” to help the organization better serve its clients.
NY-12 candidate Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, also appeared before the club, where he defended his approach to campaign finance and, at one point, opened up about his personal finances.
“I have a lot of relatives who died young,” he said. “They left me money. It’s in a trust. I can’t do anything about it, and so, I’m not sure what you want me to do, but I‘m not spending it on my campaign, and you can donate unlimited amounts of money to your own campaign.”
In the race for NY-10, former City Comptroller Brad Lander is challenging Congressmember Daniel Goldman, both of whom joined the meeting. Goldman, who introduced himself by noting that he uses he/him pronouns, attended via Zoom in Washington, where he stood by his record on LGBTQ issues and ripped the Trump administration’s anti-trans actions, though he also faced questions from members about his positions on foreign policy.
On LGBTQ issues, Goldman said he recently met with parents of trans youth who underscored their concerns about their children’s continuation of care at a time when some hospitals have restricted gender-affirming care for youth.
In listing some of his work in support of the LGBTQ community, Goldman said he aggressively opposed the administration’s erasure of transgender individuals from the Stonewall National Monument’s website and pressed Mount Sinai and NYU Langone after they restricted gender-affirming care for youth and some adults.
Lander, meanwhile, attended the event in person and wasted little time in criticizing the incumbent, labeling Goldman as an “establishment Democrat.” Lander was asked by audience members who he supported in the recent, hotly contested special election for City Council in District 3, where out gay candidate Carl Wilson declared victory. While Lander said he supported Lindsey Boylan in that race, he said he would support Wilson moving forward.
For his part, Lander has also been a consistent and vocal critic of NYU Langone and Mount Sinai over their restrictions on gender-affirming care for youth.
“What NYU Langone and Mount Sinai are doing is a violation of New York State and New York City’s civil rights laws,” Lander said. “We worked hard to pass laws. It’s illegal to discriminate against people in employment, in housing, or in public accommodations based on their gender identity or sexual orientation. We’ve got enforce the law in New York City and New York State.”
Lander said he had been endorsed by another LGBTQ citywide political club, the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, as well as by NYC Trans Youth, among others.
In NY-15, Torres, who did not attend the meeting, was represented by out former Councilmember James Vacca, who joined on Zoom. Another candidate in that race, former assemblymember Michael Blake, faced the club in person and vowed, if elected, to “show up and be consistent.” He emphasized that he was recently endorsed by the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club.
Among other candidates who appeared via Zoom were Espaillat, who is running in NY-13; Darializa Avila Chevalier, who is also running in NY-13; and Meng, who is running in NY-6. Another NY-6 candidate, Chuck Park, addressed the club in person.
State Comptroller candidates
DiNapoli, the incumbent comptroller, recalled his past work in support of the LGBTQ community — from his time in the State Assembly to his current work as state comptroller — but took some heat from the audience when he was asked why, as an incumbent, he only submitted a statement instead of the questionnaire that candidates are asked to complete before facing the club.
“A statement was what was accepted,” DiNapoli said. “I have no problem filling out a questionnaire; I was told that a statement was fine. That was Stonewall’s choice, not mine.”
When DiNapoli was asked about his support for transgender youth initiatives, he said, “Totally support healthcare. Spoken out against efforts to take that away. Absolutely supportive. That’s been my publicly stated record for many, many years… I am totally supportive of all healthcare for trans youth.”
DiNapoli’s challengers on hand at the meeting included former Kansas state lawmaker Raj Goyle; Drew Warshaw, a former co-CEO of the housing non-profit Enterprise Community Partners who brings non-profit executive leadership experience to the race; and Adem Bunkeddeko, a former Congressional candidate who serves on the board of House of SpeakEasy and previously served on Community Board 8 in Brooklyn.
Warshaw cited statistics about homelessness among LGBTQ youth before making the case that he is the “only candidate in this race who has a specific background, and more importantly, a specific plan to address the housing crisis, to treat it like it is.” Warshaw called for a $20 billion housing fund to “invest in homes that New Yorkers can actually afford.”
Election day for Democratic primary races — including statewide and congressional seats — is June 23. Early voting will begin on June 13. Read more about Stonewall’s 2026 endorsements here.
