Voters Guide: State Senator District 1: Skyler Q. Johnson

SKYLER Q. JOHNSON

DEMOCRAT

BACKGROUND:

• Johnson, 22, of Mount Sinai, previously ran for State Senate in 2020 in a five-way Democratic primary. He also is running on the Working Families line.
• He works for New Hour for Women and Children — LI, a nonprofit that advocates for women, children and families by providing direct services and resources for those reentering society.
• He is a board member of Temple Beth Emeth of Mount Sinai. He graduated from Stony Brook University, where he studied political science.

ISSUES:

• Johnson said he will work to protect reproductive rights and to pass the proposed Equal Protection of Law Amendment to the state Constitution. If bills pass both chambers in the legislature in 2023, the measure could be on the November 2023 ballot.
• He said he wants to reform industrial development agencies (IDAs), appointed bodies that give tax breaks to companies to create or retain jobs. He wants to make sure money goes to small businesses and not large corporations.
• He said he will work to lower the cost of living on Long Island and address the lack of affordable housing, issues that leave people struggling to build a life here.