Lisa Ortiz is running for state Assembly

It’s her first time running for office, but Lisa Ortiz is confident she can give the voice that not just the Lakeview community, but a number of communities in the area, need in the Assembly. 

“I bring commitment,” Ortiz said. “And not just commitment, but someone who’s going to deliver for the community — making sure that we have someone who is representing the community, someone who’s wanting to ensure that the community’s needs and concerns are being addressed. And every decision that I make is going to benefit the community at large.”

Ortiz decided to pursue the Assembly seat as a Democrat after learning Taylor Darling plans to run for state Senate. That leaves a district serving Lakeview, Uniondale, Freeport and Hempstead village, among others, needing someone new to step in.

Ortiz may indeed be new to working in Albany, but she’s a veteran when it comes to representing her community. In fact, if she wanted, she could probably sum up her approach with a popular saying: “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” It’s how she went from being any other neighbor in Lakeview, to someone ready to make a difference.

Ortiz was elected to the Lakeview Public Library board six years ago, and now serves as its president. She also was one of the seven neighbors who came together in 2020 to create the Lakeview Civic Association, an organization focused on supporting and advocating for the community in lieu of a local village government.

She prioritizes accessibility to local programs, she said. The library, for example, offers business seminars and health workshops.

Through that, Ortiz “developed a passion for making sure that people in this community had someone that they could depend on to deliver whatever their needs were and whatever their concerns were,” she said.

“Service is at the core of who I am.”

Ortiz herself is a small business owner. She opened Creative Little Learners in 2018 after spending a decade as a portfolio analyst for the Commercial London real estate company. This, too, was inspired by her own experiences — she needed more accessible care for her two children, and took it upon herself to fill that need herself.

As an Assemblywoman, Ortiz says she would continue to focus on needs like ensuring access to lead-free water, ensuring local schools have the money they need to run extracurricular activities while keeping up quality education, and also making sure there is equity among the communities represented in the Assembly.

She is running in a Democratic field that includes Hempstead village trustee Noah Burroughs, who announced his own run for the seat this past week.

She also wants to keep Long Island affordable, especially for senior citizens she says are being priced out of their homes because of high taxes. Ortiz also plans to address the lack of local health care in the district — especially since the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow is on the brink of closing.

She also wants to advocate for environmental sustainability and an expansion in Medicaid.

“The most important thing is continuing to address our quality of life concerns,” Ortiz said. “We have to find ways to address affordability and quality of life at the same time. To protect Long Island for everyone, and build up Long Island.”

Primaries are scheduled for June 25, with the general election set to take place Nov. 5.