NY Congress Election 2020: Michael Madrid Challenges For Seat

MANHATTAN, NY — Voters living in New York City's 10th congressional district — which stretches the majority of the West Side of Manhattan and also a handful of neighborhoods in Brooklyn — will head to the polls on Nov. 3 to cast their ballot in this year's election races.

On the ballot will be challenger Michael Madrid, a Libertarian who lives in Hell's Kitchen. He will go up against incumbent Rep. Jerry Nadler — a Democrat who has held the position since 1992 — and Republican Cathy Bernstein and Independent Jeanne Nigro.

Madrid has spent most of his career as a software architect, and most recently developing cloud-based machine learning systems.

All New York voters may request a mail-in ballot due to the coronavirus pandemic.

For those who want to head to the polls, click here to find your poll site. Early voting is available from Oct. 24 to Nov. 1.

Patch reached out to all candidates in the primary election to create these profiles.

Michael Madrid

Age as of Election Day (Nov. 3)

53

NYC neighborhood of residence

Hell's Kitchen

Position Sought

U.S. Congress

Party Affiliation

Libertarian

Family

wife: Lily; friend and mother of children: Karla; children: Julius, Isabela 10

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

no

Education

Masters Economics UCSD, Masters Math of Finance Columbia, BA Philosophy Columbia

Occupation

software developer 10+ years

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

none

Campaign website

https://madrid4.nyc

Why are you seeking elective office?

To simplify government and make life easier

The single most pressing issue facing our nation/state/community is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Government inertia and over-complication. Regulation prevents us from building the housing we need. Occupational licensing prevents talented people from working. Endless foreign wars waste our social resources and kill our soldiers. Criminalization of drugs and sex work wastes lives, clogs prisons, and mean law enforcement can’t concentrate on actual crime. Fossil fuel subsidies, farm subsidies, the Jones Act, “Cares” Act all feed corporate cronyism which benefits the well-connected and leaves ordinary people out in the cold.

What are your thoughts on the state and national response to the coronavirus pandemic? Do you favor such measures as limiting operation of non-essential businesses or restricting indoor/outdoor dining? And do you favor a nationwide mask mandate?

Our response has been reactionary and haphazard at all levels of government. Part of this is the inertia to which I alluded. Cross-state licensing restriction, regulatory football between the CDC/FDA, hospital restrictions all took power away from individuals who could have flattened the curve sooner. Had we had a basic income before the crisis, we wouldn’t have needed PPP corporate handouts or to wait until Pelosi and McConnell stopped arguing for individual relief. Those in power, Trump, Cuomo, de Blasio are all at cross-purposes and following opinion, not science. Chloroquine, nursing homes, Kodak, contradicting each other about what to shut down when, all resulted in needless death and waste.
I mask and I think everyone should mask when spread likely. I favor a nationwide masking recommendation, and the right of business owners, schools, transit systems to set policies. With mandates one always has to be careful that the cure is not worse than the disease. Similar with restrictions. One should remember that individual businesses and their customers have a vested interest in keeping everyone healthy. I spoke with a gym owner, Marco Guanilo, of Momentum Fitness on the Upper West Side, who wanted to discuss his ideas about how he could keep his customers safe. No response from elected officials. Gym owners know their businesses. Governors and mayors do not. Business owners and their customers should be part of crafting tailored solutions. Restrictions have tradeoffs. We need to bear these in mind. We need to constantly look at data from around the world, as places like Sweden go from goat to GOAT and back each week. And with each restriction, we have to make sure it is actually making us safer, not just making politicians look like they care.

How would you address the concerns of the Black Lives Matter movement, and what are your thoughts on the demonstrations held since the death of George Floyd and the shooting of Jacob Blake?

The concerns which led to BLM are legitimate. First and foremost we need police forces which know the law, obey the law and are accountable to the law. We must roll back qualified immunity and limit police unions. Peaceful protesters deserve all their constitutional protections. That said, I in no way condone looting or violence by purported protesters or anyone else.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am a software engineer, not a professional politician. Professional politicians seem more interested in proposing huge wish-list bills -- stuff to fire up their base which the other side will surely reject. Then the blame game starts. As a software engineer I’d break down these bills into manageable pieces so we can make constant progress, then hash out the other pieces.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

See above. Also my opponent Jerrold Nadler is behind the curve on issues like basic income and housing. He has championed marijuana legalization (good), but will he stay the course? Will he consider legalization of things like psychedelics which show great promise in treating people with depression, including members of our military suffering from PTSD? And as he considers aiding agencies like the MTA, will he insist on any performance improvements? If the MTA gets $10 billion in aid, I want that to result in $10 billion in service, not billions in waste. Nadler doesn't seem to care either way.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

Basic income. Remove barriers to building housing. Improve street infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists and micro-mobility, and to reduce congestion and accidents. Decriminalize victimless acts. End foreign wars and cut the military. End fossil fuel/farm subsidies and other corporate cronyism and let markets work.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I’ve worked with and led teams constructing complex software systems. I have a masters degree and have spent my life wrestling with economic policy ideas, something one might think should be a requirement for those who decide economic legislation

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Sounds trite, but NEVER ASSUME. Always do your own due diligence and get to the heart of the matter.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

It will take a miracle for me to win this race. I didn’t enter hoping for a miracle. I entered to begin to change the conversation . If we get enough votes, the incumbent will have to wake up to the issues we’re talking about. So vote for me so that next time the incumbent can’t just phone it in.