Dianne Morales (D)

Dianne Morales (52) - former Non-profit Executive, who supports de-funding the police and a guaranteed minimum income,

On Ms. Morales platform, read about her Gender and Sexual Equity Commitments, including:

Working closely with the NYC Small Business Administration, develop grants for small businesses run by women of color and the LGBTQ+/TGNCNB community;

Invest in our nonprofit and community based organization ecosystem, which consists primarily of women of color and are trusted, culturally competent information centers for their communities and vulnerable populations;
Aggressively monitor pay equity throughout the city.

STRENGTHENING WORKERS RIGHTS

Labor rights are human rights. As New York City pushes toward recovery, we also must contend with the hard truth that our working community was struggling before the pandemic. Standing in solidarity with the city that literally never sleeps means ensuring that those working, entering the workforce and returning to work are able to make a livable wage to support themselves, families and communities. From the freelancer to the union member to the undocumented laborer, the Morales Administration is committed to making sure the needs of the People are a priority. Here’s how we’re committed to protecting our diverse workforce:

Prevent citywide work layoffs and create solutions in collaboration with union leadership;
Ensure mass public employment by working toward a green municipal jobs guarantee that provides employment and apprenticeship opportunities, including work for low-income, disabled, LGBTQ+/TGNCNB and marginalized New Yorkers;
Affirmative human rights protections of undocumented, domestic and low-wage workers;
Aggressive monitoring and enforcement of pay equity laws in accordance with New York State and New York City Human Rights Commission laws, to ensure women of color, workers with disabilities, LGBTQ+/TGNCNB and all protected communities are compensated equally, fairly and equitably;
Establish a Pool Benefits Fund for informal and domestic workers to better provide healthcare and other benefits;
Decriminalize sex work;
Expand the Freelance Isn’t Free Act with increased protections for gig, domestic, nail salon, for hire and street vendors;
Expand Just Cause employment protections;
Ban Waivers of Workplace Rights and allow for Qui Tam Enforcement;
Require labor standards and prevailing wages of all city contracts;
Protect all workers against wage theft;
Ensure higher compliance of worker safety on job sites by increasing fines for violations, leading up to sites with a record of violations losing their license;
Better enforce protections for independent contractors and freelancers;
Protect digital workers and democratize the gig economy through a platform cooperative and digital democracy agenda.

SMALL BUSINESS AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMY

Coming soon.

We are reaching out to Ms. Morales for her position on Business and Professional Women, and will post the response(s) we receive.

Women’s Leadership
How will you ensure that women’s participation and leadership are fully integrated across New York City government and that every decision made is considered through an anti-racist, gender-focused lens?

My policy platform is built on the belief that politics should work for all the people and that we are stronger and better positioned to grow when every New Yorker is prioritized, oppressive systems are eliminated, and barriers are removed. The people who help keep New York City afloat, in and out of a pandemic, are the same ones struggling because our system was designed for them to struggle—women, Black and Brown people, immigrants, and working class and poor New Yorkers. Anything that is designed to hold us back can be undone and redesigned. We need the will and the right leader.

As Mayor, I will work to build an environment that fosters equity both in New York City government and the city as a whole. It is time that we center the voices of people who have been systematically disenfranchised by bad policies, and ensure that they are leading the way forward. I believe that making decisions at the top through the lens of equity at the top will enable us to reimagine and rebuild the systems that have held us back. Additionally, when choosing people for appointed positions, I will be looking at it through an anti-racist and gender-inclusive lens. I am running to create a new social contract that centers and elevates communities that have been left behind. I am not promising to get NYC back to the status quo, I am promising to help us build an NYC that has never existed, but is urgently needed.

Affordable and Safe Housing
Some women and families live in New York City’s homeless shelters for over a year because they cannot find safe, affordable places to live with the current rate of NYC rental subsidy. As mayor, how will you address this reality and help families build their lives outside of the shelter system?

As a former non-profit leader who worked within and helped expand the supportive housing system in the city, I understand how inadequate housing for homeless families is. New York City must reorient our homelessness policies towards supportive housing and, if we are serious about reducing homelessness, dramatically increase funding for this type of housing. Within the first 100 days of taking office, my administration will provide more secure pathways toward permanent residence, including the prompt conversion of hotels into permanent support housing and services for families of our 100,000 unhoused school-aged youth, many of which are headed by women.

I will also fight to increase the CityFHEPS voucher to reflect market rents. I would organize closely with the new Council to ensure the pending bill to raise the voucher amount passes. I will simultaneously fight income-source discrimination, one of the many terrible side effects of profit-driven housing. My administration will not allow for this practice to continue, and I will act swiftly to evaluate the enforcement funding needs of the Commission on Human Rights.

But vouchers alone cannot fix the problem. As Mayor, I would bring together c within a reasonable timeframe. We will work at the state level to renew the ESSHI and integrate its services into our Housing for All platform. This consists of bringing a substantial part of housing development out of the speculative for profit market and instead centering development for need through a mixed income social housing initiative and adequate rent stabilization and tenant protections to avoid displacement. We will ensure that the city’s supportive housing works side by side with an expansion of public healthcare services and other vital supportive services to ensure struggling families and individuals have the stability they need.

Fair Wages
While all women continue to earn less on average than men in New York City, women of color and immigrants, who are more likely to work in low-paid jobs in the public and private sectors, face significantly larger gaps and higher poverty rates. What are your plans for eliminating these disparities in New York City?

The gender wage gap that exists is further informed by race, imigration status and generational poverty. The pandemic has hugely shifted female representation in the workforce, particularly among women of color who have lost their jobs or been forced to care for their families during lockdown. Women, especially women of color, have faced further pay dicrimination, harassment, and mistreatment at their jobs.

My administration plans to address this issue by pushing for strong gender equity legislation, and know-your-rights campaigns about protections in the workplace — especially for women vulnerable to workplace harassment and mistreatment. We will aggressively monitor and enforce pay equity laws in accordance with New York State and New York City Human Rights Commission laws, to ensure women of color, workers with disabilities, LGBTQ+/TGNCNB and all protected communities are compensated equally, fairly and equitably. My administration will require labor standards and prevailing wages of all city contracts. Further, my administration will expand 3K and Pre-K, alongside EarlyLearn and other accessible childcare options available from birth. I will also make sure the City provides universal afterschool programs. I envision these programs as a way to reduce childcare-related barriers to women re-entering the workforce.

Accessible Caregiving
This pandemic has exacerbated the big holes in our caregiving systems, including childcare and long-term care. How do you propose addressing these issues and creating a fair and equitable system both for families and the caregiving workforce?

We are committed to building a care and solidarity economy that spans all aspects of public life. We believe the conventional model of growth does not work. My campaign and my future administration are committed to building a city where healthcare, child care, parental leave, quality and accessible public transportation, broadband, green spaces, the arts, support for the disabled, and a basic living income are rights. These are rights that serve as the fundamental infrastructure for the common good. These are rights we need to begin approaching justice.

Under a Morales Administration, we will finally acknowledge the value of a care economy. My administration will create a network of integrated community health clinics across the city to provide primary care, as part of a citywide plan to boost the care economy, which will also include investments in elder care, affordable and quality childcare, early childhood education, homecare, disability and long-term care. Black women make up 26% of personal care aides, home health aides, and nursing assistants, and women of color make up a large portion of early care and education. The fight for higher wages and more protections in the care economy is deeply connected to the fight for racial and gender equity. We must push for higher wages in the care workforce. I will also invest in education and training for care jobs, including support and training for primary caregivers and strengthening the CUNY School of Medicine. Having higher wages and more skilled workers can result in a longer-term workforce and help fight the shortage of care workers. My administration would also seek to pilot a program providing access to free prenatal care for expecting mothers; this is especially critical for Black mothers who are much more likely to die in childbirth than white mothers.

Ending Gender-Based Violence
There has been a significant uptick in reports of sexual harassment and violence against women and gender expansive people during the pandemic. What is your plan to address gender-based violence in New York City in both the private and public sectors?

Despite increased attention in the past few years, sexual assault and harassment are pervasive. No workplace, community group, or organizing space is immune to creating an environment where this behavior is possible, and we must all remain vigilant and committed to continually learning and improving. Sexual education, including learning about consent, harassment, and bodily autonomy, can and should begin at a young age. As Mayor, I would require age-appropriate sexual education to begin as early as possible in our schools. I would also review, update, and improve the current sexual harassment training for city employees. A two-hour presentation once a year is not enough time to impart this critical information. I will work with educators and advocates to evaluate the current training’s success and revamp the program to improve efficacy. Further, I will not hesitate to hold senior leaders accountable to these standards. As Governor Cuomo has taught us, bad behavior at the top, even when it is masked behind the right public stances, can create a toxic environment.

Education
Cities across the country, including several in New York, have begun to take steps to remove police from schools. As mayor, would you remove police from schools in New York City, and if so, would you reinvest the money toward educational programs and support resources?

Policing in schools represents the inception of the school-to-prison pipeline and has been proven to disproportionately harm, violate, and criminalize Black and Brown youth— particularly Black girls. Not only are Black students expelled three times more than white students, they are also three times more likely to face the juvenile justice system. In choosing to police our schools, public officials have abdicated their responsibility to meet the social and mental health needs of our youth. We must treat our students with the utmost dignity and provide the necessary counseling, developmental, and conflictive management support, including restorative justice measures, in order to reject the brutal and inhumane school to prison pipeline. To begin to build a more equitable school system we must eliminate admissions screenings, redraw school zones and prioritize centering the voices of BIPOC parents and students in these conversations. With the right vision and the political will, we can guarantee a quality education that changes the lives of our children and their families for the better.

I will remove police from schools and use that funding (about $450 million) to hire more teachers, counselors, social workers, and support staff. Schools should be staffed with mental health professionals who are available to provide initial, low-level interventions and support to students in need. These personnel should have established relationships with students, staff and parents, increasing the likelihood of successful intervention. In higher need, crisis situations, Community First Responders Department (CFRD) could serve as a partner and provide additional support. This department will be staffed by trained professional first-responders, including social workers, crisis response workers, medics, mental health counselors and others, all of whom would be trained in crisis intervention and de-escalation. They will connect people to healthcare, social services, mental health services and other critical supports.

Maternal Health
How will you use city agencies, the budget, and your role as a public figure to address the crisis of maternal mortality and specifically the disproportionate impact on Black women in NYC?

I’m committed to increasing public health access, education, and support, especially considering the disgracefully high maternal health rates for Black mothers. In NYC, we’re 12 times more likely to lose a Black mother during pregnancy (worse than the national average), and that’s unacceptable. I will ensure funding for programs that continue to increase reproductive and maternal healthcare, especially in our communities of color. Such services include guaranteed universal access to doulas, midwives, physicians and nurses, as well as free prenatal care. I will also continue the funding for the Abortion Access Fund started by our city in 2019 to increase abortion access. Our healthcare facilities are among the best in the world, but access to those hospitals and resources is not equitable. As Mayor, I would move to ensure that all people have safe and easy access to both abortion and reproductive health care, regardless of their ability to pay. I will fight to ensure that maternal mortality rates decline drastically.

I will also move to develop and expand access to local integrated community health clinics. These clinics should provide primary care to local residents, including a wide array of preventive and intervention services to decrease illness and reduce the incidence of emergency room care/hospitalization. These services should be available to all residents, regardless of status, employment or residence. I have seen the level of care that patients receive based on their racial, ethnic, or cultural identity time and time again. I believe that the root cause lies within our education system and internal biases must be addressed head on in the process of becoming a medical professional. Often when these biases are not addressed mortality rates are much higher for marginalized groups. I would work with our delegation to pass Sha-Asia’s law establishing a maternal mortality review board.

Legal Justice
Low income New York City families, many headed by single mothers, continue to be impacted negatively by the lack of early civil legal representation in their interaction with City entities, such as the Administration for Children’s Services and Family Court. How would you reform the NYC civil justice system so that all NYC families have access to timely, competent legal assistance to protect their families, homes and livelihoods?

My lived experience as a single mother, a woman of color, and my leadership in human services and advocacy, means I can be a uniquely effective and insightful mayor. As the pandemic has unfolded, and the fabric of our society frays, it has become clear that this is our moment to make massive structural changes that will make real improvements in the lives of all New Yorkers, starting with our most vulnerable and under-resourced. Our civil services mean nothing if they are not accessible to the people who most need them. Furthermore, agencies in the civil justice system have shown to be deeply racist and anti-immigrant, making it even more difficult for families to trust them and seek their services. I will immediately direct my administration to study the practices of these agencies, especially ACS. I will also work with the Council to guarantee legal representation to all families under investigation. My administration will pressure the state to reform the database that tracks ACS infractions, so that it removes minor infractions quickly and parents, especially parents of color, are not continually punished.

A part of creating more pathways to access is ensuring that immigrant residents are protected regardless of immigration status. This includes operating as a true sanctuary city for undocumented neighbors, maintaining a strict separation between NYPD & ICE, as well as all other public institutions and agencies, so that everyone can feel protected and City leadership can begin to regain the trust of our immigrant communities. Also, we must ensure language justice so that all who interact with city agencies and services can be given vital information in their language, particularly for legal matters.

These questions and the responses from this candidate belong to PowHer and are being shared with their permission. This content in its original form can be found at: https://amayorfornycwomen.org/dianne-morales/

Replies

Emily VanVleck June 10, 2021 at 3:23pm

Women’s Leadership
How will you ensure that women’s participation and leadership are fully integrated across New York City government and that every decision made is considered through an anti-racist, gender-focused lens?

My policy platform is built on the belief that politics should work for all the people and that we are stronger and better positioned to grow when every New Yorker is prioritized, oppressive systems are eliminated, and barriers are removed. The people who help keep New York City afloat, in and out of a pandemic, are the same ones struggling because our system was designed for them to struggle—women, Black and Brown people, immigrants, and working class and poor New Yorkers. Anything that is designed to hold us back can be undone and redesigned. We need the will and the right leader.

As Mayor, I will work to build an environment that fosters equity both in New York City government and the city as a whole. It is time that we center the voices of people who have been systematically disenfranchised by bad policies, and ensure that they are leading the way forward. I believe that making decisions at the top through the lens of equity at the top will enable us to reimagine and rebuild the systems that have held us back. Additionally, when choosing people for appointed positions, I will be looking at it through an anti-racist and gender-inclusive lens. I am running to create a new social contract that centers and elevates communities that have been left behind. I am not promising to get NYC back to the status quo, I am promising to help us build an NYC that has never existed, but is urgently needed.

Affordable and Safe Housing
Some women and families live in New York City’s homeless shelters for over a year because they cannot find safe, affordable places to live with the current rate of NYC rental subsidy. As mayor, how will you address this reality and help families build their lives outside of the shelter system?

As a former non-profit leader who worked within and helped expand the supportive housing system in the city, I understand how inadequate housing for homeless families is. New York City must reorient our homelessness policies towards supportive housing and, if we are serious about reducing homelessness, dramatically increase funding for this type of housing. Within the first 100 days of taking office, my administration will provide more secure pathways toward permanent residence, including the prompt conversion of hotels into permanent support housing and services for families of our 100,000 unhoused school-aged youth, many of which are headed by women.

I will also fight to increase the CityFHEPS voucher to reflect market rents. I would organize closely with the new Council to ensure the pending bill to raise the voucher amount passes. I will simultaneously fight income-source discrimination, one of the many terrible side effects of profit-driven housing. My administration will not allow for this practice to continue, and I will act swiftly to evaluate the enforcement funding needs of the Commission on Human Rights.

But vouchers alone cannot fix the problem. As Mayor, I would bring together c within a reasonable timeframe. We will work at the state level to renew the ESSHI and integrate its services into our Housing for All platform. This consists of bringing a substantial part of housing development out of the speculative for profit market and instead centering development for need through a mixed income social housing initiative and adequate rent stabilization and tenant protections to avoid displacement. We will ensure that the city’s supportive housing works side by side with an expansion of public healthcare services and other vital supportive services to ensure struggling families and individuals have the stability they need.

Fair Wages
While all women continue to earn less on average than men in New York City, women of color and immigrants, who are more likely to work in low-paid jobs in the public and private sectors, face significantly larger gaps and higher poverty rates. What are your plans for eliminating these disparities in New York City?

The gender wage gap that exists is further informed by race, imigration status and generational poverty. The pandemic has hugely shifted female representation in the workforce, particularly among women of color who have lost their jobs or been forced to care for their families during lockdown. Women, especially women of color, have faced further pay dicrimination, harassment, and mistreatment at their jobs.

My administration plans to address this issue by pushing for strong gender equity legislation, and know-your-rights campaigns about protections in the workplace — especially for women vulnerable to workplace harassment and mistreatment. We will aggressively monitor and enforce pay equity laws in accordance with New York State and New York City Human Rights Commission laws, to ensure women of color, workers with disabilities, LGBTQ+/TGNCNB and all protected communities are compensated equally, fairly and equitably. My administration will require labor standards and prevailing wages of all city contracts. Further, my administration will expand 3K and Pre-K, alongside EarlyLearn and other accessible childcare options available from birth. I will also make sure the City provides universal afterschool programs. I envision these programs as a way to reduce childcare-related barriers to women re-entering the workforce.

Accessible Caregiving
This pandemic has exacerbated the big holes in our caregiving systems, including childcare and long-term care. How do you propose addressing these issues and creating a fair and equitable system both for families and the caregiving workforce?

We are committed to building a care and solidarity economy that spans all aspects of public life. We believe the conventional model of growth does not work. My campaign and my future administration are committed to building a city where healthcare, child care, parental leave, quality and accessible public transportation, broadband, green spaces, the arts, support for the disabled, and a basic living income are rights. These are rights that serve as the fundamental infrastructure for the common good. These are rights we need to begin approaching justice.

Under a Morales Administration, we will finally acknowledge the value of a care economy. My administration will create a network of integrated community health clinics across the city to provide primary care, as part of a citywide plan to boost the care economy, which will also include investments in elder care, affordable and quality childcare, early childhood education, homecare, disability and long-term care. Black women make up 26% of personal care aides, home health aides, and nursing assistants, and women of color make up a large portion of early care and education. The fight for higher wages and more protections in the care economy is deeply connected to the fight for racial and gender equity. We must push for higher wages in the care workforce. I will also invest in education and training for care jobs, including support and training for primary caregivers and strengthening the CUNY School of Medicine. Having higher wages and more skilled workers can result in a longer-term workforce and help fight the shortage of care workers. My administration would also seek to pilot a program providing access to free prenatal care for expecting mothers; this is especially critical for Black mothers who are much more likely to die in childbirth than white mothers.

Ending Gender-Based Violence
There has been a significant uptick in reports of sexual harassment and violence against women and gender expansive people during the pandemic. What is your plan to address gender-based violence in New York City in both the private and public sectors?

Despite increased attention in the past few years, sexual assault and harassment are pervasive. No workplace, community group, or organizing space is immune to creating an environment where this behavior is possible, and we must all remain vigilant and committed to continually learning and improving. Sexual education, including learning about consent, harassment, and bodily autonomy, can and should begin at a young age. As Mayor, I would require age-appropriate sexual education to begin as early as possible in our schools. I would also review, update, and improve the current sexual harassment training for city employees. A two-hour presentation once a year is not enough time to impart this critical information. I will work with educators and advocates to evaluate the current training’s success and revamp the program to improve efficacy. Further, I will not hesitate to hold senior leaders accountable to these standards. As Governor Cuomo has taught us, bad behavior at the top, even when it is masked behind the right public stances, can create a toxic environment.

Education
Cities across the country, including several in New York, have begun to take steps to remove police from schools. As mayor, would you remove police from schools in New York City, and if so, would you reinvest the money toward educational programs and support resources?

Policing in schools represents the inception of the school-to-prison pipeline and has been proven to disproportionately harm, violate, and criminalize Black and Brown youth— particularly Black girls. Not only are Black students expelled three times more than white students, they are also three times more likely to face the juvenile justice system. In choosing to police our schools, public officials have abdicated their responsibility to meet the social and mental health needs of our youth. We must treat our students with the utmost dignity and provide the necessary counseling, developmental, and conflictive management support, including restorative justice measures, in order to reject the brutal and inhumane school to prison pipeline. To begin to build a more equitable school system we must eliminate admissions screenings, redraw school zones and prioritize centering the voices of BIPOC parents and students in these conversations. With the right vision and the political will, we can guarantee a quality education that changes the lives of our children and their families for the better.

I will remove police from schools and use that funding (about $450 million) to hire more teachers, counselors, social workers, and support staff. Schools should be staffed with mental health professionals who are available to provide initial, low-level interventions and support to students in need. These personnel should have established relationships with students, staff and parents, increasing the likelihood of successful intervention. In higher need, crisis situations, Community First Responders Department (CFRD) could serve as a partner and provide additional support. This department will be staffed by trained professional first-responders, including social workers, crisis response workers, medics, mental health counselors and others, all of whom would be trained in crisis intervention and de-escalation. They will connect people to healthcare, social services, mental health services and other critical supports.

Maternal Health
How will you use city agencies, the budget, and your role as a public figure to address the crisis of maternal mortality and specifically the disproportionate impact on Black women in NYC?

I’m committed to increasing public health access, education, and support, especially considering the disgracefully high maternal health rates for Black mothers. In NYC, we’re 12 times more likely to lose a Black mother during pregnancy (worse than the national average), and that’s unacceptable. I will ensure funding for programs that continue to increase reproductive and maternal healthcare, especially in our communities of color. Such services include guaranteed universal access to doulas, midwives, physicians and nurses, as well as free prenatal care. I will also continue the funding for the Abortion Access Fund started by our city in 2019 to increase abortion access. Our healthcare facilities are among the best in the world, but access to those hospitals and resources is not equitable. As Mayor, I would move to ensure that all people have safe and easy access to both abortion and reproductive health care, regardless of their ability to pay. I will fight to ensure that maternal mortality rates decline drastically.

I will also move to develop and expand access to local integrated community health clinics. These clinics should provide primary care to local residents, including a wide array of preventive and intervention services to decrease illness and reduce the incidence of emergency room care/hospitalization. These services should be available to all residents, regardless of status, employment or residence. I have seen the level of care that patients receive based on their racial, ethnic, or cultural identity time and time again. I believe that the root cause lies within our education system and internal biases must be addressed head on in the process of becoming a medical professional. Often when these biases are not addressed mortality rates are much higher for marginalized groups. I would work with our delegation to pass Sha-Asia’s law establishing a maternal mortality review board.

Legal Justice
Low income New York City families, many headed by single mothers, continue to be impacted negatively by the lack of early civil legal representation in their interaction with City entities, such as the Administration for Children’s Services and Family Court. How would you reform the NYC civil justice system so that all NYC families have access to timely, competent legal assistance to protect their families, homes and livelihoods?

My lived experience as a single mother, a woman of color, and my leadership in human services and advocacy, means I can be a uniquely effective and insightful mayor. As the pandemic has unfolded, and the fabric of our society frays, it has become clear that this is our moment to make massive structural changes that will make real improvements in the lives of all New Yorkers, starting with our most vulnerable and under-resourced. Our civil services mean nothing if they are not accessible to the people who most need them. Furthermore, agencies in the civil justice system have shown to be deeply racist and anti-immigrant, making it even more difficult for families to trust them and seek their services. I will immediately direct my administration to study the practices of these agencies, especially ACS. I will also work with the Council to guarantee legal representation to all families under investigation. My administration will pressure the state to reform the database that tracks ACS infractions, so that it removes minor infractions quickly and parents, especially parents of color, are not continually punished.

A part of creating more pathways to access is ensuring that immigrant residents are protected regardless of immigration status. This includes operating as a true sanctuary city for undocumented neighbors, maintaining a strict separation between NYPD & ICE, as well as all other public institutions and agencies, so that everyone can feel protected and City leadership can begin to regain the trust of our immigrant communities. Also, we must ensure language justice so that all who interact with city agencies and services can be given vital information in their language, particularly for legal matters.

These questions and the responses from this candidate belong to PowHer and are being shared with their permission. This content in its original form can be found at: https://amayorfornycwomen.org/dianne-morales/
Emily VanVleck May 31, 2021 at 4:30pm

Dianne Morales has an extremely comprehensive plan for issues regarding business and professional women. From her campaign website:

We won’t survive if we don’t prioritize gender and sexuality equity. We must work toward full equity and justice for women and LGBTQ+/TGNCNB New Yorkers.
The Morales Administration understands that reducing gender and sexuality inequity requires a real shift in budget, programs and outreach. We need to dramatically expand resources for organizations that serve women and members of the LGBTQ+/TGNCNB communities, as well as for small businesses owned by members of those communities. Additionally, our city must lead in educating not just our youth on inclusivity, but our workforce and our communities.
The human struggle and fight for rights and freedom of people of color, women and the LGBTQ+/TGNCNB community is intersectional; protecting us all from hate, discrimination and harm is a responsibility we must share. We all have a role to play in supporting each other’s right and ability to thrive in our city. If elected your next Mayor, Dianne will ensure that women’s rights are human rights. LGBTQ+/TGNCNB rights are human rights. Trans rights are human rights. And every intersection around and in between will be a priority.

Issues facing business owners are not overlooked by Morales either:

Last summer, 85% of minority and women-led businesses (M/WBEs) in NYC reported facing serious financial difficulties that could force them to close within 6 months. At the height of the pandemic, federal and state officials’ programs prioritized big business and left small and microbusinesses to fend for themselves. Black, Brown and women-led businesses were, of course, hit hardest and forced to contend with rampant discrimination in economic relief programs. While we could not prevent the health pandemic, we could have designed for more equitable economic intervention before the crisis struck.
• Increase the current city contracting rate for Black, Brown and women-led businesses and expand targeted technical and start-up support from 2020’s nearly 28% to 50% of all city contracts;
• Working closely with the NYC Small Business Administration, develop grants for small businesses run by women of color and the LGBTQ+/TGNCNB community;
• Invest in our nonprofit and community based organization ecosystem, which consists primarily of women of color and are trusted, culturally competent information centers for their communities and vulnerable populations;
• Aggressively monitor pay equity throughout the city.

Morales has initiatives regarding reproductive justice:

• Task NYC’s Health and Human Services, Center for Health Equity and the Commission for Gender Equity to establish a multi-agency and community expert task force to design strategies to eliminate preventable causes of Black maternal and infant mortality;
• Expand free abortion and contraception in NYC;
• As part of the community-based integrated community health clinic network, guarantee universal access to expecting mothers from doulas, midwives, physicians and nurses, alongside free prenatal care;
• Provide free, universal and culturally-responsive childcare, pre-K and 3K.

Morales also plans to decriminalize sex work:

• Decriminalize sex work and related offenses in New York City;
• Decarcerate and vacate the records of those who have been held in the carceral system due to their sexual labor;
• Disband NYPD’s VICE squad, an opaque and abusive unit known for targeted and discriminatory practices toward Black and Brown New Yorkers;
• Advocate against the passage of any city- or state-wide decriminalization package based on the Nordic model, which, as a partial-decriminalization approach, would still endanger sex workers;
• Pass legislation to prevent discrimination against sex workers in housing, healthcare, employment and otherwise;
• Fund programs to support sex workers in accessing resources and create a sex worker resource center.

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