Manhattan Assemblymember Deborah Glick, who turned the primary out member of the New York State Legislature when she was elected in 1990, introduced she won’t search re-election in 2026, capping a strong political profession spanning greater than three a long time of labor in Albany.
Glick, 74, has constructed a repute for standing up for LGBTQ rights, reproductive freedom, environmental causes, and different points over the course of greater than three a long time as a state lawmaker representing District 66, which encompasses Manhattan’s west facet from sixteenth Avenue all the way down to Vesey Avenue on the sting of the World Commerce Heart. Glick beforehand represented District 61 for the primary couple of years of her tenure within the State Legislature.
Reflecting on her first election victory, Glick recalled the neighborhood’s frustration over the dearth of LGBTQ illustration — “a sense that we were not part of the whole New York,” she mentioned.
Decided to vary that, Glick and others gathered in the lounge of Thomas Duane, who additionally made historical past a number of occasions — initially as the primary out member of the Metropolis Council and once more when he turned the primary out member of the State Senate.
“There was a thought that if we ran for a seat that was a two-year seat — I had connections to the women’s community, tenants, environmentalists — that I probably wouldn’t win the first time,” Glick mentioned. “But if I did well enough, I could come back in two years and make another run.”
Assemblymember Deborah Glick has represented constituents in Manhattan for greater than three a long time.Donna Aceto
Glick might have underestimated her personal possibilities. The race in the end shifted dramatically, she recalled, when the incumbent opted to not run.
“We worked hard and we were successful the first time out,” she mentioned. “It was empowering for the community. It was exciting. I felt a real sense of responsibility, not just to the community, but to conduct myself in a way that elevated the visibility of the community and the way in which other districts in the state viewed the LGBTQ community.”
During the last three-plus a long time, Glick acknowledged that the neighborhood went via what she described as “a very tough period” within the AIDS disaster — particularly when it got here to the dying toll and the dearth of presidency assist. The recollections of these battles additionally function a reminder of the neighborhood’s renewed vulnerability within the face of anti-LGBTQ backlash, particularly concentrating on transgender people.
“The difference now,” she mentioned, “is that the hostility towards us is hostility towards immigrants, women, and people of color, so there is a broader range of folks being attacked.”
Glick mentioned the AIDS disaster had the impact of uniting the LGBTQ neighborhood, in the end paving the way in which for future good points. Glick’s proudest accomplishments embody legalizing marriage equality, codifying Roe v. Wade within the state, and including protections to the New York State Structure, she mentioned. Amongst different achievements, Glick efficiently carried the invoice to ban conversion remedy amongst minors in New York State and co-sponsored payments such because the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), which added non-discrimination protections for trans and non-binary people.
Greater than anything, Glick by no means thought she would have the chance to vote for marriage equality, which she mentioned represented a dramatic sea change within the public view of the neighborhood.
“Now we’re seeing a lot of backsliding, or pushback, around the transgender community because it’s not as well understood, which was exactly where the [lesbian and gay] community was 25-30 years ago,” Glick defined. “I think even in our own community, there are folks who are misinformed.”
State Assemblymember Deborah Glick has represented constituents in Manhattan for greater than three a long time.Donna Aceto
Amongst different victories, Glick mentioned elevating the visibility and normalizing the truth of homosexual elected officers would rank second on her listing of prime accomplishments.
“There have been many more lesbian and gays elected to office, and I see that as a part of what I helped accomplish by breaking that ceiling,” she mentioned.
Glick made it clear that she has unfinished enterprise throughout her time in workplace. In her assertion asserting her choice to not run for re-election, she warned that folks’s well being is threatened by chemical compounds in on a regular basis merchandise and by packaging constructed from fossil fuels and poisonous supplies. She mentioned she would work to cut back extreme packaging that threatens folks’s well being and the planet.
Glick has additionally continued to stay lively within the combat for LGBTQ rights. In late September, she joined an indication calling out the Trump administration for pulling tens of millions in schooling funding from New York Metropolis attributable to its trans-inclusive insurance policies.
“It’s very painful for me, personally, to see all the progress we have made for decades is on sand and they’re looking to erode it out from under us,” she mentioned on the rally. “We won’t let that happen. We can’t let that happen.”
Glick hopes her successor focuses on constituent companies, which she believes is a vital a part of the job — together with serving to folks navigate varied bureaucracies such because the healthcare system and housing, in addition to points like historic preservation.
“We have some very important sites that should not see the wrecking ball — like the White House,” she mentioned. “And I think there needs to be a focus on issues that people care about: Affordable housing that is really affordable, and more access to quality healthcare and open space. People are very stressed by the current political situation and people need to have outlets that support their mental health.”
Glick’s forthcoming departure was acknowledged by her colleagues, together with fellow out state lawmaker Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Meeting Speaker Carl Heastie.
“As the first openly-LGBTQ member of the NYS Legislature, [Glick] helped reshape Albany and pave the way for untold women and LGBTQ elected officials, like me, to serve,” Hoylman-Sigal mentioned in a written assertion. “Deborah passed a raft of significant legislation during her 35-year career in areas such as LGBTQ rights, environmental conservation, traffic safety, public education, and more. As the dad of two girls, I’m particularly grateful for her leadership in passing the New York Reproductive Health Act to codify Roe v. Wade in state law, legislation that will stand the test of time.”
Heastie additionally praised Glick’s work to guard reproductive freedom and LGBTQ rights, in addition to her work as chair of the Greater Training Committee.
“Beyond her accomplishments, Deborah has been a trusted colleague and friend,” Heastie mentioned in a written assertion. “She has been a source of advice and wise counsel over the years I have had the privilege to serve with her. While she has decided not to seek re-election in 2026, I look forward to working one more year together with her in the People’s House to make our state a better place for all New Yorkers. I wish Deborah all the best.”
Requested about her plans for when she leaves workplace, Glick pressured that she is pouring her vitality into carrying out her last objectives of her time period.
“I won’t begin to focus on myself until next year,” she mentioned.
