Thursday, October 29, 2026
Elected in 2024, incumbent Kwani B. O’ Pharrow, Democrat, is running for reelection to the 11th Assembly District, opposing prior running mate and Republican, Joseph Cardinale.
O’Pharrow, 56, said that many of the key issues he campaigned on in the past election remain relevant today including a need for greater affordability and public safety, but touted that he and his team have made great strides, particularly related to public safety.
One of his key initiatives, he said, has been establishing a workforce development program to provide free security guard training in the district.
“Those applicants coming in and taking the actual training, they don’t have to pay out of pocket for it, so the only cost is for them to get the security guard license,” said O’Pharrow.
Taking this a step further, O’Pharrow is waiting on a bill he said he is “very proud of” to be signed by the governor. It’s a security guard bill for school safety.
“Anyone who is of the age to fill out the application and become a security guard, you can do so but it’s different being a security guard in a school district—you have young, impressionable children, kindergarten through 12, so this is why we introduced this bill so that you have people who not only have the security guard license but understand that in order for you to work in a school environment, that you need to know what it’s like and what it entails.”
In his term, O’Pharrow has also introduced legislation that is pro-public safety including the Edeedson “Joshy” Cine, Jr. Transparency Act, in memory of the young man who was killed last year on Christmas Day at the CVS in Lindenhurst.
“I’ve stayed in contact with the family and we created that bill in memory of him and that is making sure that when violent crimes occur, the video footage is handed over immediately,” O’Pharrow said, adding that this is essential because it ensures that the video tape hasn’t been tampered with and the tape can be analyzed for a successful prosecution because in this particular circumstance, he said, it took about 18 hours for them to get the actual video and that was after pressure.
What O’Pharrow said has stood out to him serving the 11th AD for almost two years is his constituents’ frankness and honesty, which he said he encourages so that he can help in any way possible.
“I continue to campaign on being accessible,” he said
Speaking to this, in addition to him being active in the community, he added that he also recently opened up a Community Relations Program within his office and how this will gather people who are already invested in the community to be a “bridge” between his legislative office and the community to greater serve the community.
In reference to affordability, he noted that this includes everything from housing, groceries and gas to the recent New York State law that will require universal pre-K by the 2028-2029 school year and Tier 6 that he is in support of that speaks to healthier pension systems for many law enforcement, state and municipality workers.
“It’s continued investment in the state— if we want to recruit the best and keep the best, investing in Tier 6 and making significant investments in pensions is very important.”
As far as universal pre-K, O’Pharrow said that not only does he support this initiative due to both parents often needing to work and the expense of private childcare but also said that there’s an added component to making this work that no one is talking about including available space for these children.
“The childcare instructors don’t get paid a lot of money at all and I’m going to try my best to lobby on behalf of that because it’s great to have universal pre-k but if you’re not paying teachers and instructors a livable wage, then we have another problem,” said O’Pharrow.
In his lifetime thus far, O’Pharrow said he has had three of the “most amazing careers”—military, NYPD and now serving as an assemblyman for District 11, which he said he hopes to continue.
“My life has been a journey in experience and I’m constantly learning but all I want to do is my best to help people,” said O’Pharrow. “I would like to tell voters to look at my record, what I stand for, my platform, and to know that I’ve been doing everything they’ve asked me to do—be visible, be accessible and work across the aisle.”
O’Pharrow is married to Cindy O’Pharrow and they have four children together— Danielle, Benni, Kwani and Shirley, as well as five grandchildren.
In his free time, O’Pharrow enjoys gardening, spending time with family, traveling and watching movies.
The 11th Assembly District runs along Long Island’s South Shore and encompasses parts of Deer Park, North Babylon, Lindenhurst, North Lindenhurst in the east, extending through Wheatley Heights, Wyandanch, East Farmingdale, Copiague, North Amityville and Amityville, including a small section of East Massapequa in the west.
