VoterLens
Niagara University—Bachelor of Arts, Special Education and Teaching
Data last updated 10/27/2026
Alissa J. Ellman is a 2026 Democratic and Working Families candidate for U.S. House in New York's 24th Congressional District. Her professional background includes work as a program support assistant at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, a special education teacher at New Directions for Children, Youth, Adults and Families Inc., and a teacher assistant at Stanley G. Falk School. She also served as a flight operations specialist in the United States Army and worked in movement control/flight line roles for Kellogg Brown & Root International.
Committee Assignments: No committee assignments available.
Alissa Ellman supports expanding government-backed health coverage, including Medicare for All, and frames health care affordability as a top concern for NY-24 families. She also backs protecting and expanding Medicare/Medicaid and has argued against Medicaid cuts that could harm disabled residents and rural communities.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Ellman said during the NY-24 debate that the cost of health care is the top issue she hears about and that she supports Medicare for All.
SourceIn a WXXI interview, Ellman said she would caucus for and support a Medicare for All bill and would support measures to lower health care costs for working Americans.
SourceIn her VOTE411 response, Ellman listed protecting and expanding Medicare among the actions she would take while fighting for the working class.
SourceIn an iHeart Oswego candidate profile, Ellman identified universal healthcare as a priority and criticized Medicaid cuts that could force a disabled adult out of a group home.
SourceEllman wrote that she would never kick anyone off Medicaid, contrasting herself with Rep. Claudia Tenney and House Republicans.
SourceAlissa Ellman frames her Economy & Jobs agenda around affordability, working-class representation, union power, small businesses, childcare, housing, and rural infrastructure. She supports pro-labor legislation including the PRO Act, public investments in childcare and infrastructure, campaign-finance changes aimed at reducing billionaire and Super PAC influence, and policies to lower energy costs for households.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Ellman says she supports passing the PRO Act to protect workers organizing unions, end right-to-work laws, and curb abuse of independent-contractor classifications.
SourceEllman says she wants to expand access to affordable childcare so parents can work while caring for children and also lists support for small businesses as part of her cost-of-living agenda.
SourceIn a June 2026 interview, Ellman said she supports scaling electric rates so lower energy use is cheaper and extending public-school education down to age two to address affordability pressures including energy and childcare costs.
SourceIn her Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey, Ellman said she wants to fight for the working class, criticized politicians serving the billionaire class, and said NY-24 was built by union labor.
SourceEllman says she would seek federal funding to expand bus networks, modernize water systems, repair aging infrastructure, and make investments needed for rural communities to thrive.
SourceAlissa Ellman’s public immigration statements emphasize opposition to aggressive ICE enforcement and local cooperation with ICE, including support for abolishing ICE and ending county ICE contracts. She has also called for immigration reform and safeguards to prevent border-staffing legislation from being used to expand ICE-style enforcement.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Ellman said she favors abolishing ICE because its tactics have created fear in communities, while adding that she supports law enforcement that removes criminals.
SourceEllman said Niagara and Steuben counties must end their contracts with ICE immediately.
SourceEllman said proposed hiring of additional border officers should include a guarantee that the workers would not be used as a supplemental police force for ICE.
SourceA podcast write-up of Ellman’s positions says her Stand Up Lockport work encouraged the local sheriff to consider legal and financial ramifications of detaining immigrants without due process or cause.
SourceAlissa Ellman supports federal action on climate and energy focused on renewable power, a cleaner and stronger grid, lower household energy costs, and energy independence for NY-24. Her stated positions emphasize solar and wind development, tiered electric rates that reward lower usage, weatherization support, and skepticism toward energy-intensive data centers and the economics of new nuclear plants.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Ellman says NY-24 can build solar and wind power to reduce emissions while creating a clean-energy and energy-independent future for the region and the United States.
SourceEllman says she would champion bills that make the power grid both cleaner and stronger.
SourceEllman supports scaling electric rates so households that use less energy pay cheaper rates, citing affordability and concern about high-demand users such as data centers.
SourceA 2026 voter guide reports that Ellman supports expanding federal weatherization grants and loans to include tenants and non-owner-occupied homes, opposes new AI data centers in the region, and questions whether new nuclear plants make financial sense.
SourceAlissa Ellman emphasizes expanding public education, especially early childhood programs in public schools, and frames education as an early-intervention tool for identifying developmental needs and helping every child find a pathway to success. Her stated education views draw on her background as a former special education teacher.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Ellman says public schools should be expanded to include early childhood programs to improve long-term outcomes for children.
SourceEllman argues that early childhood programs in public schools can help identify developmental issues and provide children with support sooner.
SourceEllman says, based on her special education experience, that schools should do more for children and help every child find a pathway to success.
SourceEllman identifies children taught by teachers as part of the working-class foundation of NY-24 and includes education investment among her campaign priorities.
SourceAlissa Ellman frames public safety around gun-violence prevention, limits on executive power in war and immigration enforcement, and evidence-based laws rather than broad bans she views as ineffective. She supports red-flag laws and background checks, backs congressional control over war powers, and has called for ending ICE while opposing laws that do not demonstrably reduce violence.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Ellman has said she supports red-flag laws, background checks for gun purchases, and laws that demonstrably reduce gun violence.
SourceAt a NY-24 Democratic primary debate, Ellman said gun laws should be based on scientific evidence and should actually reduce violence in schools and streets.
SourceEllman opposed spending political capital on an assault-weapons ban lacking a clear definition or evidence that it would reduce violence, while distinguishing semi-automatic firearms from automatic weapons.
SourceEllman said decisions to go to war should not be made unilaterally by one person and should be decided by Congress.
SourceIn her Vote411 questionnaire, Ellman said she would introduce bills to claw back executive-branch powers, including ending ICE.
SourceBallotpedia
https://ballotpedia.org/New_York%27s_24th_Congressional_District_election,_2026Fetched: biography
Vote Smart
https://j.futurefacts.votesmart.io/candidate/biography/238782/alissa-ellmanFetched: biography, education, professional background, committees
BallotReady
https://www.ballotready.org/people/alissa-j-ellmanFetched: biography, education, professional background
FEC API
https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/candidate/H6NY24219/totals/Fetched: totalRaised, totalSpent, cashOnHand
New York State United Teachers
https://www.nysut.org/resources/special-resources-sites/voter-guide/endorsementsFetched: endorsements
Independent Political Report
https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2026/08/forward-party-endorses-wisconsin-republican-niina-baum-new-york-democrat-alissa-ellman-for-congress/Fetched: endorsements
Genesee Valley Indivisible
https://geneseevalleyindivisible.org/gvi-endorses-alissa-ellman-for-congress/Fetched: endorsements
WRVO Public Media
https://www.wrvo.org/2026-10-21/tenney-ellman-spar-in-only-debate-for-24th-congressional-district-raceFetched: issuePositions
WXXI / PBS Video
https://video.wxxi.org/video/two-races-two-candidates-in-studio-harry-bronson-alissa-ellman-h8xh72/Fetched: issuePositions
VOTE411 Voter Guide
https://onyourballot.vote411.org/m/candidate-detail.do?id=73188983Fetched: issuePositions
iHeart Oswego
https://iheartoswego.com/meet-the-candidate-alissa-ellman-for-ny-24.htmlFetched: issuePositions
Bluesky
https://bsky.app/profile/ellmanforcongress.bsky.social/post/3luqnxhnbkk25Fetched: issuePositions
Ellman for Congress priorities page
https://www.ellmanforcongress.com/prioritiesFetched: issuePositions
North Country Public Radio
https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/53588/20260619/meet-the-democrats-hoping-to-replace-claudia-tenney-in-ny-24Fetched: issuePositions
Orleans Hub
https://orleanshub.com/2-dem-candidates-in-primary-for-ny-24-congressional-district/Fetched: issuePositions
The Lobby News
https://www.thelobbynews.com/2026-midterms/new-york/24th-districtFetched: issuePositions
Investigative Post
https://investigativepost.org/2025/09/12/kennedy-bill-would-hire-thousands-of-border-officers/Fetched: issuePositions
Podtail
https://podtail.com/podcast/on-the-go-with-the-glenn-advantage-team/alissa-ellman-dem-for-ny24-i-m-doing-this-out-of-d/Fetched: issuePositions
VOTE411 Voter Guide
https://onyourballot.vote411.org/candidate-detail.do?id=73188983Fetched: issuePositions
WRVO Public Media
https://www.wrvo.org/2026-06-22/meet-the-democrats-hoping-to-replace-claudia-tenney-in-ny-24Fetched: issuePositions
WBA Consulting
https://wbaconsulting.org/read-before-you-vote-watertown-ballot-2026/Fetched: issuePositions
The Batavian
https://www.thebatavian.com/jfbeck99272012/democratic-contenders-for-ny-24-primary-talk-guns-data-centers-israel-during-debateFetched: issuePositions