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New York State Senate District 27
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Grace Lee
Democratic PartySTS · NY · District 27
New York State Senate District 27
STS · NY · District 27
New York State Senate District 27
Columbia University—BA; University of Chicago Booth School of Business—MBA
Data last updated 10/19/2026
Grace Lee is a community organizer, daughter of immigrants, mother of three, and Democrat running for New York State Senate District 27. She currently serves as the Assemblymember for District 65 in Lower Manhattan, and her work has included organizing around a mercury-contaminated brownfield site near the South Street Seaport, advocating with Deaf tenants on the Lower East Side, securing ERAP funding for NYCHA and Section 8 families, strengthening hate-crimes laws, and making Lunar New Year a statewide school holiday.
Committee Assignments: Asian Pacific American Task Force · Committee on Banks · Committee on Children and Families · Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection · Committee on Environmental Conservation · Committee on Insurance · Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus · Task Force on Food, Farm & Nutrition Policy · Legislative Women's Caucus · Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force
Grace Lee supports making healthcare more affordable and accessible, including universal single-payer coverage through the New York Health Act, lower prescription drug costs, and state-backed coverage for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers excluded from federal programs. As a sitting Assemblymember, she has sponsored healthcare-related bills on Medicaid accountable care organizations and medical-provider misconduct disclosure.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Lee states support for lowering prescription drug costs by requiring pharmacy benefit managers to reimburse pharmacies fairly, with the goal of stabilizing local pharmacies and reducing patient costs.
SourceGrace Lee’s Economy & Jobs platform emphasizes supporting Lower Manhattan small businesses, lowering consumer costs, creating good union jobs, and using state policy to strengthen wage standards and worker protections. As a sitting New York Assemblymember running for New York State Senate District 27, she has also sponsored or co-sponsored economic development and consumer-pricing legislation tied to job creation and affordability.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Lee supports the Jobs and Housing Act concept, which would create a pilot program to build and preserve affordable and workforce housing while creating good construction and housing-related jobs.
SourceLee’s campaign says she supports stronger worker safety protections, anti-wage-theft measures, whistleblower protections, Tier 6 pension reform, and prevailing-wage job standards in publicly supported housing development.
SourceGrace Lee supports pro-immigrant policies for New York State Senate District 27, including limits on ICE activity, access to counsel in immigration proceedings, services for undocumented minors, professional licensing regardless of immigration status, food and housing assistance regardless of status, and safe schools for immigrant families. As a sitting New York Assemblymember, she has co-sponsored multiple immigration-related bills and states that immigrant New Yorkers should be supported, protected, and empowered.
Grace Lee supports aggressive climate action for Lower Manhattan, including holding major polluters accountable, expanding renewable and affordable solar power, requiring corporate emissions transparency, and reducing fossil-fuel dependence. Her campaign frames climate policy around resilience after Superstorm Sandy, environmental justice, affordability, and clean-energy job creation.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Lee supports requiring large companies doing business in New York to disclose Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions through the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act.
SourceLee supports strengthening the New York Power Authority role in supplying renewable power and advancing public renewables to keep energy affordable while moving off fossil fuels.
SourceLee supports a moratorium on new data-center permits while New York studies impacts on utility costs and the environment, matching legislation to pause data-center development and require environmental review.
SourceLee supports the ASAP Act to expand access to affordable solar energy so clean power reaches renters and low-income New Yorkers, not only homeowners with rooftop solar.
SourceGrace Lee supports fully funded public schools, reforms to Foundation Aid for high-need students, early literacy interventions, teacher retention incentives, and greater public investment in CUNY. As an Assembly member and 2026 Democratic candidate for New York State Senate District 27, she has also sponsored legislation to expand AANHPI history instruction and assessment in New York schools.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Lee supports reforming the Foundation Aid formula to increase funding weights for English Language Learners, students with disabilities, and students experiencing homelessness.
SourceLee supports increasing faculty and mental-health-counselor ratios at CUNY, replacing tuition costs with public funding, and reversing disinvestment in the university system.
SourceGrace Lee’s public-safety platform for New York State Senate District 27 emphasizes community investment, mental health care, reduced unnecessary incarceration, prison oversight, and stronger hate-crime protections. As a sitting Assemblymember, she points to sponsoring or co-sponsoring criminal-justice and safety measures including hate-crimes modernization, Clean Slate, peer-to-peer payment-app security, diversion/treatment courts, parole reform, and ending qualified immunity.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Lee supports the Treatment Court Expansion Act to expand diversion courts and mental-health treatment so people in crisis receive care rather than incarceration.
SourceTransparency USA - New York State Senate District 27 2026 race
https://www.transparencyusa.org/ny/race/new-york-state-senate-district-27-74465Fetched: campaignFinance
Transparency USA - Grace Lee New York candidate profile
https://www.transparencyusa.org/ny/candidate/grace-lee?cycle=2017-to-nowFetched: campaignFinance
New York State Assembly - Grace Lee member page
https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Grace-LeeFetched: votingRecord
New York Public Campaign Finance Board - Commissioner Report 2026-05-05
https://pcfb.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2026/05/commissioner-report-for-the-approval-to-disburse-public-matching-funds-05.05.2026.pdfFetched: campaignFinance
New York Public Campaign Finance Board - Commissioner Report 2026-06-01
https://pcfb.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2026/06/commissioner-report-for-the-approval-to-disburse-public-matching-funds-06.01.2026.pdfFetched: campaignFinance
NYSUT
https://www.nysut.org/resources/special-resources-sites/voter-guide/endorsementsFetched: endorsements
District Council 37
https://www.dc37.net/take-action/media-center/news-release/2026/district-council-37-delegates-endorse-state-senate-and-assembly-candidates-for-2026-primary-election/Fetched: endorsements
Citizens Union
https://citizensunion.org/document/2026-05-14/2026primarypreferences/Fetched: endorsements
Voters For Animal Rights
https://vfar.org/?vfar_endorsement=2026-candidate-endorsement-questionnaire-for-nys-senate-nys-assembly-and-us-houseFetched: endorsements
Blue Voter Guide
https://bluevoterguide.org/district/NY/New_York_State_Senate_District_27/45365/564Fetched: endorsements
New York State Assembly bill page for New York Health Act
https://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?Actions=Y&Committee%26nbspVotes=Y&Floor%26nbspVotes=Y&Memo=Y&Summary=Y&Text=Y&bn=A01466&default_fld=&leg_video=&term=Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly bill page for Medicaid accountable care organizations
https://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?Actions=Y&Committee%26nbspVotes=Y&Floor%26nbspVotes=Y&Summary=Y&Text=Y&bn=A06522&default_fld=&term=2025Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly bill page for medical professional misconduct notification
https://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?Actions=Y&Committee%26nbspVotes=Y&Floor%26nbspVotes=Y&Summary=Y&Text=Y&bn=A06678&default_fld=&term=2025Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly bill text for health care provider disciplinary-status disclosure
https://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?Text=Y&bn=A10022&default_fld=&leg_video=&term=2025Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly member page
https://www.nyassembly.gov/mem/Grace-Lee/story/117168Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly bill page for A09212
https://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A09212&term=2025Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly bill page for A10188
https://assembly.ny.gov/leg/?Actions=Y&Memo=Y&Summary=Y&Text=Y&Votes=Y&bn=A10188&leg_video=1&term=Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate bill page for A3996A
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A3996/amendment/AFetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate Legislation - A4282A
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A4282/amendment/AFetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate Legislation - A472A
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A472/amendment/AFetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly Legislation - A11560
https://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?Actions=Y&Memo=Y&Summary=Y&Text=Y&Votes=Y&bn=A11560&term=Fetched: issuePositions
City Limits
https://citylimits.org/opinion-for-affordable-clean-energy-at-home-new-york-needs-solar-asap/Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly member page for Grace Lee
https://assembly.ny.gov/mem/Grace-Lee/story/117167Fetched: issuePositions
Coalition for Asian American Children and Families
https://www.cacf.org/resources/ahead-of-aapi-heritage-month-reach-coalition-begins-2026-aanhpi-curriculum-bill-push-in-albanyFetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly member page
https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Grace-Lee/story/117169Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate legislation page
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/A1029Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate press release
https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024/brad-hoylman-sigal/new-york-state-officials-introduce-legislationFetched: issuePositions
VOTE411 candidate guide
https://onyourballot.vote411.org/m/candidate-detail.do?id=72531453Fetched: issuePositions