West Village Entrepreneur Challenges Glick For Assembly Seat

WEST VILLAGE, NY — A West Village entrepreneur will challenge longstanding incumbent Deborah Glick for her seat in the New York Assembly, the candidate announced this week.

Democrat Ryder Kessler launched Tuesday his campaign to represent Manhattan’s 66th District — which includes Greenwich Village, Soho, Noho, and Tribeca — and replace Glick, he said in a press release.

"We deserve more from our Assemblymember," Kessler said in a statement. "And I believe I have the skills and experience to effectively deliver."

Kessler's career includes time in the private sector — he founded a tipping start-up called DipJar — and work as a financial operative within New York's Democratic party, helping to form the PAC Flippable, according to his bio.

Glick has represented her swath of downtown Manhattan since 1990, when she made history as the first openly gay member of the state Legislature, the New York Times reported at the time.

The longtime assembly member prioritizes small business promotion and historic district protection, and won easily on this platform in the 2020 elections.

Glick has spoken out — some say worryingly— against overpopulation and the recently passed rezoning of Soho, which she criticized for not guaranteeing low-income housing.

Kessler was adamantly pro-rezoning, testifying in an August hearing that he believed rezoning Soho would alleviate segregation in the housing sector and help fight climate change.

His campaign focuses on a similarly progressive agenda that promises voters modern answers to longstanding problems in the district.

The former member of Manhattan CB 2's executive board says he envisions a city with more affordable housing and bike lanes and with less office space, elite high school entry exams and sex work arrests.