Human Services
2025 Endorsements
Because human services organizations are funded in large part by the City government, the next NYC Mayor and Comptroller will have enormous influence over whether human services workers finally receive #JustPay, nonprofits get paid on time, a cost-of-living adjustment is established, and so much more.
We hope the HSA endorsement slates will help voters identify candidates committed to meaningful change for human services providers, workers, and the communities we serve.
H U M A N S E R V I C E S S L A T E
NYC MAYORAL RACE
Low wages, underfunded contracts, and top down mandates from City and State agencies make it harder for providers to deliver high-quality, equitable services. This broken system isn’t accidental; it's rooted in racism, misogyny, and economic inequities with contracts that ignore the expertise of both clients and workers.
We believe the human services sector holds immense power through the workers who show up every day and the millions of lives they support. But the government's chronic disinvestment has undermined that power for too long. It’s time to break from inequitable partnerships and poverty wages.
This is our moment for transformative change and we intend to seize it. One of the ways we will be doing so is by endorsing the following candidates for Mayor:
Human Services 2025
Mayoral Endorsement Slate
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Adrienne Adams’ platform reflects a strong institutional understanding of the human services sector, grounded in her leadership as City Council Speaker. Her policy vision emphasizes community-based care, culturally responsive services, food access, reentry supports, and aging in place. Adams’ track record of investing in nonprofits, opposing harmful criminalization approaches, and advancing equity-focused reforms speaks to her alignment with sector priorities. As Speaker, she led historic investments in human services wages and has introduced key legislation to help get nonprofits paid on time.
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Brad Lander’s mayoral platform reflects a strong structural alignment with the human services sector. He prioritizes partnerships with nonprofit providers in childcare, behavioral health, youth development, and reentry services, while committing to timely payments and systemic contract reform. His workforce proposals, including improved wages and labor protections, address long-standing disparities for human services workers. Lander’s record as Comptroller and his platform’s focus on coordination, equity, and nonprofit stabilization position him as a sector-informed candidate who understands the operational and fiscal realities facing human services organizations.
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Zellnor Myrie’s mayoral platform demonstrates strong alignment with the human services sector. His proposals center nonprofit-delivered services, community-based care, and public investment in housing, mental health, and economic justice. Myrie’s commitment to permanent housing for survivors, year-round youth employment, mental health equity, and WorkNYC permits for asylum seekers reflects deep attention to the sector’s service populations and workforce realities. As a Senator he has supported the JustPay campaign and spoke publicly about the need to pay nonprofits on time.
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Scott Stringer’s mayoral platform reflects a policy-driven approach that aligns well with the human services sector’s goals particularly in early childhood education, affordable housing, workforce development, aging, and reentry services. His record as Comptroller and proposals like the Tri-Share Childcare Fund, Mitchell-Lama 2.0, and universal paid internships reflect long-term investments in equity and community infrastructure.
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Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral platform aligns with the human services sector’s goals, emphasizing public investment, worker justice, and universal access to care and housing. His bold proposals such as universal childcare, tripling affordable housing construction, creating city-owned grocery stores, and raising the minimum wage rely heavily on nonprofit and public sector delivery. While his platform does not always name traditional nonprofit partners, it is grounded in equity, workforce fairness, and systemic reform.
While building this endorsement slate, the Human Services Action Board sat down with seven of the individuals hoping to become New York City’s next mayor. After those interviews, our Board came together and determined their top candidates to help voters identify candidates who are committed to making meaningful change for human services providers, workers, and the communities we serve.
H U M A N S E R V I C E S S L A T E
New York City Nonprofits need a strong Comptroller who will ensure contracts are paid on time and will hold the Mayor accountable for how funding is allocated and spent. Luckily, the City has two incredible champions running for the office in Council Member Justin Brannan and Borough President Mark Levine.
Ranking these candidates is challenging, as both have a history of delivering for the human services sector and our communities.
NYC COMPTROLLER RACE
Human Services 2025
Comptroller Endorsement Slate
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Brannan’s platform includes the line “New York City needs to pay their damn bills on time” and that is what the sector needs to hear. As the former New York City Council’s Chair on the Committee on Contracts, Brannan had a crash course in the delayed payments nonprofits face, and he pushed the Administration to improve systems. As Finance Chair, he introduced legislation for interest payments to nonprofits if the City is late in paying, creating a wave of pressure for agencies and OMB to begin processing payments. Much more needs to be done, and Brannan’s campaign platform and public appearances have centered the impact late payments have on human services providers and a commitment to using the power of the Comptroller to increase transparency and timeliness in contracting. As Finance Chair, Brannan has supported the JustPay campaign, voting on a budget that included the historic COLA victory for human services workers, and has committed to doing more as Comptroller to ensure pay equity.
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Levine has long been a friend to the nonprofit sector, both as a Council Member and as Borough President. His platform includes “Five proposals to pay nonprofits on time”- a platform HSA would welcome from any candidate- and he has been outspoken about the current delays in payments that plague human services nonprofits. Levine has demonstrated public support for the JustPay campaign and has committed to doing more as Comptroller to ensuring pay equity. As the Council Member for Manhattan’s District 7, Levine co-sponsored the landmark Right to Counsel legislation, ensuring legal representation for tenants in housing court. A staunch advocate for housing justice, he has long prioritized the needs of low-income New Yorkers. Before entering public office, Mark Levine co-founded Credit Where Credit Is Due, a nonprofit that helped launch Neighborhood Trust Federal Credit Union, a community-based institution created to expand financial access in low-income neighborhoods.