Millennials On The March: Sam Irvin Maslow Looks At Weinstein Seat

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In a move that promises to both consolidate Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte’s growing political clout in the borough and shake up the status quo in Southern Brooklyn, Sam Irvin Maslow, 23, said he is looking to challenge 36-year incumbent 41st District Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein in the near future.
Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte
Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte

Maslow currently serves as the communications director for Bichotte, who all but forced former 42nd District Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs, who had served since 1978, to step down in 2015 as the district demographics changed from mainly Jewish to mainly Afro-Caribbean. Maslow is also helping out Bichotte’s cousin, Josh Pierre, who has a clear path in his run for Male Democratic District Leader in the 42nd Assembly district.

But perhaps more telling is that Sam Maslow is the son of infamous Brooklyn election lawyer Aaron Maslow, who cut his teeth “cleaning petitions” in 1974 for a young Charles Schumer, fresh out of Harvard Law School and running for the state assembly in Sheepshead Bay. The elder Maslow remains one of the City’s top election lawyers.

“I am a millennial, and many of my fellow millennials in Marine Park and Sheepshead Bay feel the undue hardships which have been placed on our generation,” said the younger Maslow. “We face crushing student loans, low wages, and limited access to the American Dream. How can we we move out of our parent’s homes if we face student debt that limits our ability to live independently in a city with a rising cost of living?”

Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein
Assembly Member Helene Weinstein

Maslow said since he was in the fifth grade, he has been mentored by his father on how Kings County politics and election law works. As the son of an active and well known election lawyer, Sam grew up in campaign offices and election boards. He worked on Ken Diamondstone’s election against former State Senator Marty Conner, and then went on to work for another Schumer protege, current State Senator Daniel Squadron, who unseated Conner. Additionally, he worked on former Governor Eliot Spitzer’s campaign for State Comptroller.

“The issues affecting younger students are very unique to the millennial generation and because they’re so unique, older people in general, may not be able to fully relate to the issues that affect us. Because our tuitions are so high, our debts are huge, and other generations have never seen these levels of student loans before. Never before have students had to take out six-digit debt to get a professional degree,” said Maslow.

Maslow also waded into the murky waters of such millennial-aged issues as the shared economy giant Airbnb, which is in a bitter tug-of-war battle with City Councilman Jumaane Williams and the City Council’s push to oversee the company’s data and crack down harder on apartment owner and tenant scofflaws renting out short-term rooms to visitors.

“As a millennial, we suffer from low finances and very tight budgets, very unique to our generations. Because we suffer from these constraints mixed with the high cost of living, it’s understandable that we resort to Airbnb for the cheaper option of renting,” he said.