Queens lawmaker enters AG race
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Assemblymember Clyde Vanel is running for state attorney general. Photo via Vanel/Facebook
By Jacob Kaye
With State Attorney General Letitia James announcing her run for governor, her current job as the state’s top prosecutor has opened up.
The latest to officially announce their bid for the seat is Queens Assemblymember Clyde Vanel, who has represented Cambria Heights, St. Albans, Hollis, Queens Village, Bellerose and parts of Floral Park in the legislative body since 2017.
“I’m running for attorney general to be a voice for the voiceless, a champion for marginalized communities and a symbol that a son of Haitian immigrants from Queens can rise to the highest levels of law and government to serve the people of New York and represent their interests, not those of the rich, powerful and well-connected,” Vanel said in a statement.
Vanel, who, prior to being elected, worked as an attorney, entrepreneur and private pilot, said that his campaign would focus on four issues, which he outlined in his first campaign ad.
The lawmaker said he’d focus on representing homeowners and tenants, protecting them from predatory lending, foreclosures and evictions, work to close the digital divide, target online and telemarketing scams targeting the elderly and fight for environmental justice issues by holding polluting companies and other groups accountable.
“Throughout my life I have always prided myself on giving back to the community that gave me the opportunity to rise up and fulfill my parents’ dreams, from being the first in my family to earn a law degree to becoming a pilot and entrepreneur, and later to entering public service,” Vanel said. “As attorney general I will be guided by the values my parents taught me and that all working class New Yorkers hold dear — that we must help those who need it the most by pursuing justice, fairness and equity, and as the People's Lawyer I will always strive to meet that call to action.”
Vanel joins a crowded field as New York’s state officials begin to shuffle from seat to seat.
Zephyr Teachout, a professor who previously ran for AG in 2018, Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor, State Senator Shelley Mayer and Maria Vullo, the former superintendent of the state’s Department of Financial Services, have all announced their candidacy for the Democratic nomination for attorney general.
Several Republicans have also thrown their hats into the race including Michael Henry, a Queens attorney, Joseph Holland, an attorney who briefly ran for the seat in 2018 and John Sarcone, an attorney in the Hudson Valley.
Vanel currently chairs the Assembly Subcommittee on Internet and New Technology. He also owns the Vanel Law Firm, a firm that specializes in intellectual property and business law.
The Cambria Heights native received his law degree from Boston University School of Law.
