VoterLens

Edward Lee

Republican Party

STH · NY · District 36

New York State Assembly District 36

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Background

Edward Lee is a Republican candidate for New York State Assembly District 36 in 2026. His professional background includes working as a street and subway performer, maintaining an online directory of New York City street and subway performers, and activism focused on whistleblowers, wrongfully incarcerated people, disabled people, homeless people, Asian Americans/Korean Americans, public housing residents, and street performers. He also hosts third-party and independent candidate debates and says he has gathered candidates nationally to identify issues of agreement.

Committee Assignments: No committee assignments available.

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Healthcare

Edward Lee's healthcare-related positions emphasize environmental health, disability/long-term-care policy, guardianship protections, and skepticism of some public-health institutions. He supports expanding free lead-service-line replacement statewide, protecting people under guardianship, favoring home care over nursing-home care, and ensuring asthma medication supply and filtration readiness during wildfire-smoke events.

Specific Actions & Proposals

SUPPORTS

Home care rather than nursing-home care

2026-10-21

Lee supports home care over nursing-home care, criticizing the nursing-home system as corrupt and politically manipulated.

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SUPPORTS

Asthma medication supply and filtration readiness for wildfire smoke

2026-09-29

In a candidate science-policy questionnaire, Lee said New York should protect the albuterol supply chain and have senior centers and hospitals review particulate barriers and air filters for future wildfire-smoke events.

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Healthcare

Economy & Jobs

Edward Lee, the 2026 Republican candidate for New York State Assembly District 36, emphasizes lowering costs for residents and small property owners, skepticism toward taxpayer subsidies for speculative industries, and preserving local jobs and neighborhood assets. His Economy & Jobs positions include opposing data-center tax breaks without public accountability, reducing permitting burdens for construction and rehabilitation, opposing congestion pricing, and protecting local employers such as Kaufman Astoria Studios.

Specific Actions & Proposals

SUPPORTS

Review data-center tax exemptions and prioritize residents over speculative development

2026-09-29

Lee says data centers have not proven their benefits, that taxpayers should not shoulder speculation, and that tax exemptions should be reviewed with community input and transparency while water and electricity access should prioritize residents.

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SUPPORTS

Reduce construction and rehabilitation permitting burdens

2026-10-17

Lee states that he would reduce permits necessary for rehabilitation and construction work because permitting delays hurt productivity.

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SUPPORTS

End congestion pricing and audit the MTA

2026-10-17

Lee calls for ending congestion pricing, freeing the 59th Street Bridge, auditing the MTA, and increasing advertising revenue while working with MTA labor on inflation-adjusted compensation.

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SUPPORTS

Preserve Kaufman Astoria Studios as a local economic asset

2026-10-17

Lee says Kaufman Astoria Studios employs local residents, brings money and prestige to the community, and that he is organizing to find buyers or cooperative solutions to preserve it.

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OPPOSES

Oppose additional property taxes that raise rents

2026-10-17

Lee argues against additional taxes on property owners, saying those costs are passed on to tenants and worsen rent pressures in Astoria and Long Island City.

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Economy & Jobs

Immigration

Edward Lee, the Republican candidate for New York State Assembly District 36, has a limited public record on immigration. On student visas, he says New York should comply with federal visa authority and questions the state benefit of training international students who may have difficulty staying in the United States.

Specific Actions & Proposals

SUPPORTS

Comply with federal authority over student visa changes

2026-09-29

In response to a candidate questionnaire about federal restrictions on international STEM student and researcher visas, Lee said the federal government has authority to issue or revoke visas and that New York should comply with federal law.

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Immigration

Climate & Energy

Edward Lee emphasizes skepticism toward rushed climate or energy mandates, saying New York should consider nuclear energy while avoiding subsidies or slogan-driven implementation that undermines sustainability. He also frames lead in drinking water as an environmental toxin and proposes expanding free lead-service-line replacement statewide.

Specific Actions & Proposals

SUPPORTS

Consider nuclear energy while scrutinizing subsidies and implementation

2026-09-29

In a 2026 science-policy questionnaire, Lee said growing electricity demand makes nuclear energy worthy of consideration, but warned that state subsidies can create waste and that poorly thought-out climate solutions should not be greenlit.

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Climate & Energy

Education

Edward Lee’s education positions emphasize school choice/charter schools and redirecting education funding toward students, while also criticizing student debt and arguing for more practical and political education.

Specific Actions & Proposals

SUPPORTS

Expand charter schools and school choice

2026-09-30

Lee supports charter schools and school choice, including directing education funding to students rather than systems.

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SUPPORTS

Restore student-loan discharge in bankruptcy

2026-09-30

Lee supports restoring the right to discharge student loans in bankruptcy as part of his education platform.

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Education

Public Safety

Edward Lee, the Republican candidate for New York State Assembly District 36 in 2026, frames public safety around protecting the community from repeat violent and sexual offenders while also emphasizing accountability, wrongful-incarceration issues, and limits on abuse of surveillance data. He is a candidate, not a sitting legislator, so no roll-call votes or sponsorships were found.

Specific Actions & Proposals

SUPPORTS

Incarcerate repeat violent and sexual offenders

2026-09-30

Lee supports incarcerating repeat violent and sexual offenders as a public-safety measure to protect the community.

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SUPPORTS

Community-focused law enforcement with accountability

2026-03-23

An endorsement page for Lee states that he approaches public safety by supporting law enforcement when it serves the community while requiring accountability when it does not.

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SUPPORTS

Advocacy for wrongfully incarcerated New Yorkers

2026-09-30

Lee identifies work with wrongfully incarcerated people as part of his public advocacy, including support from Otis Johnson and attention to cases involving alleged faulty evidence.

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