Campaign Insiders is PoliticsNY’s latest Q&A series featuring candidates running for office in the 2026 New York primary election. This edition of Campaign Insiders features current New York City Council Member Julie Won, who is running to represent New York’s 7th Congressional District. The 7th Congressional District includes Queens neighborhoods of Long Island City, Astoria, Sunnyside, Maspeth, Ridgewood and Woodhaven; and the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bushwick, Clinton Hill, Downtown Brooklyn, East New York, East Williamsburg, Fort Greene, Greenpoint and Williamsburg.
What are the top three issues for your campaign?
- A lifetime of care: support people at every stage of life and create a care economy that values workers. This means universal paid leave, childcare, health care, and retirement.
- Housing: protect tenants from unfair rent increases, create homeownership opportunities, fix neglected buildings, including public housing, and build affordable housing.
- Immigration: stand up to Trump’s vicious, un-American attacks on immigrants and citizens alike, and work toward real reform that protects workers and creates pathways to citizenship.
Why did you decide to run for office?
Building a life in the city we love seems out of reach. Looking for an apartment big enough for my two toddlers took months, and we still pay thousands in rent. Childcare costs even more if you’re lucky enough to find an available seat. My husband and I both have to work, raise children, and care for aging parents. I am going to Congress to fight for the care and affordability we cannot live without.
What do you believe is the top issue facing voters and how do you plan to address it if elected?
We are the richest country in the world, yet many people can’t afford the basics. Every bill now feels like a squeeze – gas, electric, childcare, rent, groceries, healthcare, phone – with little left over for our future or our children’s future. When I’m elected to Congress, I will work to deliver an economy that is judged not by how much money it can extract from us, but by how many essentials it can deliver.
How does your background qualify you to hold office?
I’ve spent years fighting for parents, immigrants, and all New Yorkers at City Hall, delivering a major promise of free Wifi for all public housing residents in my first six months in office. I passed one of the city’s largest neighborhood plans ever, securing $2 billion in public investment, green infrastructure, 6,000 new school seats, and 18,000 new apartments. I passed legislation to improve translation and interpretation services and make the government more transparent and accountable.
Why should voters choose you over your opponents?
As an immigrant and a mom caring for elderly parents, I bring lived experience to this race. I don’t come from politics or money. I have a proven record of delivering for New Yorkers on some of the biggest issues we face, including protecting workers, tenants and students. I am taking that fight to Congress to deliver a comprehensive Lifetime of Care that addresses our cost-of-living crisis and the needs of working families.
From now until early voting, Campaign Insiders will be featuring candidates from select democratic primary races across the City & State. Be sure to check back to hear from a wide range of candidates from assembly, senate, and congressional races as well as the NYS comptroller race!
Early voting in NYC is June 13th-21st and Election Day is June 23rd. Check out the PoliticsNY Election Primer to see who will be on your ballot and don’t forget to vote this June!
