Joey Cohen-Saban Joined Nachum Segal to Discuss the Upcoming Election on JM in the AM

Three weeks from tomorrow is election day. Three weeks from tomorrow is election day. In in fact, I think in New Jersey, tomorrow's the last day. Tomorrow is the last day to register to vote. And I think in New York, it's this week at some point. So, if you haven't registered yet and you're in the New York, New Jersey area, hop to it. We've discussed the importance of voting. We've discussed the reality that our community in so many neighborhoods and cities can mean a major difference in who gets elected. So, make sure to register and vote. Uh Joey Sabin is with us live via telephone. We've spoken to him before toward the beginning of his uh political career and now he is going strong and he is running for New York State Assembly in the 45th Assembly District in Brooklyn, New York. There is no doubt that some of his constituents are tuned in right now. And you know folks, we need the right candidates. We need the right people in office. And that includes New York State where we're watching very carefully what's going on in Albany and it's not always a pretty sight. Joey Sabin, a pleasure to welcome you back to JM in the AM. >> Good morning and pleasure. Thank you so much for having me. >> Oh, a pleasure. Last night I had the pleasure of introducing Bruce Blakeman at the New Springville Jewish Center event. And as I'm introducing him, I'm saying to him, you know, there's a lot going on in Albany, a lot going on throughout this country that's very disturbing. We see people who are running. Some have already been elected with ties and are proudly connected to the DSA and are uh anxiously endorsing the policies of what's happening in city hall in New York. And it's quite scary out there. And and I I don't have to tell Joey, I don't have to tell you that Albany is not exactly the place for family values and for some of the things that are really important to our community. So, I may have already answered the question, but tell everybody why you are running for New York State Assembly. >> Well, look, I it to me for me it's simple. We have to press back as hard as humanly possible in this crazy crazy time so that way number one, we have a seat at the table and number two, we prevent the crazies from continuing to take over. Look, we've built everything that we know in our communities in New York. Everything. And we cannot afford to allow this crazy type of politics to continue to take over. So, I am 33 years old. I've got two little kids at home and I am fighting so that way New York looks better tomorrow for them. That's what this is about. And we're going to fight tooth and nail until we get it done. You know, I I pointed out that you were with us at the beginning of your political career. Um, and there's no doubt that this time around uh things are even uh you have even greater momentum. It it feels like your campaign is really going strong, that a lot of people are uh are recognizing the fact that you're an amazing candidate for that assembly seat. What What's the difference this time around? Is it just about experience? Is it just about getting out there over the last number of years? What's what's so different that it looks like your campaign this time around is such a great success? >> Look, I I think I think the biggest difference I think it's where it started two years ago, right? We we uh we came into the race. I came into the race and the biggest political pundits said, "Hey, Joel, you're going to lose this by 4,000 votes." But hey, you know, you can make a name for yourself, this, that, the other. But I didn't want to do that. I wanted to win. Unfortunately, we lost, but only by 200 votes. That's where it started. We created incredible momentum that nobody believed was even possible. And from there, we registered thousands of voters to try and stop Mandani in the Safari community, workbox community across southern Brooklyn. We then elected Senator Sam Sutton to the Senate. And then I went on as his chief of staff for a year and I saw how Albany works firsthand. And so this isn't just about talking about policy. This isn't just about saying, "I'm going to fix this or I'm going to fix that." This is a candidate who has real world experience being in the room, seeing how things work. And and you know what? I have to say, after seeing the way that things work, having a seat at the table, I believe, is the most important thing that we cannot take for granted today. >> Not that I need you to harp on it, but I I can't believe that as such a young candidate, you lost by only 200 votes. What's it like trying to get to sleep that week during those nights after the day that you lost by only 200? >> Oh, it it was crazy. Look, I it was um I remember getting a call the the next day and uh from from a mentor of mine and that day I just all I wanted to do was catch up on sleep, spend some time with family and he called me. He says, "Joey, your your election your 2026 election campaign starts today." >> Wow. >> And I was like, "What are you talking about? What do you what do you mean?" and he was like, "No, if it starts today, it starts now." >> Because the truth is nobody nobody thought, like you said, first time candidates, no name recognition, but we worked so hard. Um, and I think that's what it comes down to. You know, you have a lot of a lot of candidates out there, some good, some not so good, but when your heart is in it, when you believe in what you're doing, it's very hard to stop someone who genuinely genuinely cares. >> What a lesson for life. The campaign begins today, the day after election day. Amazing. Joey Sabin's with us. So, you know that there are people listening right now who are in your district. Give us the neighborhoods. Give us some of the communities that could actually go out 3 weeks from tomorrow and vote for you. >> Yes. So, the district extends from Manhattan Beach in southern Brooklyn all the way to Avenue M and then East 18th Street to McDonald's Avenue. If you live in that uh part of Brooklyn, you can vote starting on October 25th, early voting and then of course on November 3rd, election day. >> All right. So that's it. That's a really prominent Jewish area. A lot of folks, not only in this audience, but in general in terms of the Jewish community are there in the boundaries that you just described. If you're in the 45th Assembly District, we point your attention to Joey Sabin who is running for New York State Assembly. Uh he I don't want to I don't want to uh you know I don't want to say anything out of line, but with the momentum that he has and as well as he did last time, there is a really, really good shot that he's going to win this seat, which would be amazing, and represent our community up in Albany. Obviously, there's certain issues that are really important, fighting anti-semitism, local neighborhood safety. I understand those are really important. What else got onto your agenda when you're out there walking around the Flatbush area or if you're in southern Brooklyn and you're meeting people? What are some of the things you're telling them will be your priorities? >> There's three extraordinary things that that happened, you know, and and I think they guided they guided the way that that our campaign is is running. The first thing is the rising anti-semitism became personal to me when I walked to shore with my son on Russia last year and then we were heckled uh by some person in a car screaming free Palestine. Wow. And then you have to explain to your young child why this random person is screaming at you a block from your house. >> So so when that happens you you know the this this term that you hear so often over and over and over again anti-semitism or fight anti-semitism it becomes so much more real and so much more personal. But what I did was I created a third party line for the first time that will appear on the ballot in this election that's called fight anti-semitism. Oh, nice. >> And we did it in order to spread. We did it in order to spread it. We wanted to know, we wanted people to understand this is more than just a slogan. So, it's going to be printed and every single person, Jewish or not, in the district is going to see it. And all over the district, we've made sure to spread our message. And the beauty of it, the beauty of it, I have to tell you, is when we promoted this, we got people from non-Jewish communities around the city, black communities, Hispanic communities, Asian communities calling us saying, "How can we help promote your message of fighting anti-semitism?" And and I think it is the one of the most beautiful things bringing everybody together on this important issue. So that that ballot line is going to be on the ballot. The second thing is uh different from the the previous election. We have secured virtually all of the major law enforcement uh endorsements in the state. Um and and I that really speaks to what kind of campaign we're running and what kind of candidate I am. And I always say, you know, candidates will run around and they'll try to vouch for themselves and they'll say, well, vote for me because I'm this or vote for me because I'm that. But sometimes we have to expand outwards. Let's not listen to what the candidates say or allow the candidates to vouch for themselves. Let's look at reputable organizations and other elected officials that are gouching for the candidates and saying these are our people. This is my person. And to have the endorsement of virtually every single law enforcement agency, law enforcement union makes me the law and order candidate. And I am so proud to have their support cuz they [clears throat] know as much as I do, once I get elected, I'm going to go up there and fight for our men and women in uniform because they are the ones that keep us keep us safe and they deserve every bit of recognition and and and and us fighting for them every day. And the third thing is all the quality of life issues, right? We we talk about affordability, affordable housing, and all these different things that affect our community every day. housing and affordable housing are one of the main things I mean we see in our communities alone. We see so many young people priced out of the neighborhood that they grew up in needing to move elsewhere. And I think the problem is that we have a skewed uh uh you know housing policy in the state that really kind of picks the uh you know put this on the on the back burner. It puts communities like ours on the back burner. We really have to change that. We have to encourage the availability of housing units that are already on that are already available. By the way, they're just not on the market because landlords don't have incentives to repair to make repairs and actually rent them out. We have to change things. People continue to talk about build build. Building is good and we support that, but we have tens of thousands of units available today. It's time to in to the states to incentivize landlords to be able to open up these units so that way our families can stay close to home and raise their children in the places that they live. There are so many important issues that matter to our communities. We have to fight every day, not just to make sure that the Jewish community is well represented, but that the future of our communities are secure. >> Well, both on early voting and on November 3rd, you can vote for Joey Sabin. You'll find them on your ballot if you live in the 45th assembly district. He described the geography earlier. Joey, we need some normaly in Albany. We really need you to get up there and to uh and to win this thing and to do all the things you just said. The community really could use your leadership. >> We are working on it. We're working hard. It it's looking it's looking up and we're excited and I'm I'm proud to have the uh the support and the endorsement of some of my good friends and mentors like Assembly Member Sim Tikinstein and Assembly Member Stan Burgerer and Assembly Member Aaron Weer and the list goes on. Incredible incredible people. Uh you know, well, we we have the firm caucus and we're expanding it in Albany and I'm excited to uh to be able to deliver to the community. >> Looking forward to having you on once you're sworn in, my friend. >> Amen. Thank you so much again for having me and to >> Keshto to a pleasure to have you. Joey Sabin, everybody. S A B A. You'll find them on one and actually multiple lines on your ballot if you're in the 45th Assembly District in Brooklyn, New York. Make sure you go out there and vote. Early voting will start before election day and obviously on election day itself. November the 3rd is your uh chance to go and that'll be the final day that you'll have a chance to go and vote. More coming up. You're listening to a Monday morning edition of JM in the AM