FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mariama James Campaign Clarifies Residency Challenge: A Matter of Law and A Matter of Principle

LOWER MANHATTAN, NY — The campaign for Mariama James for New York State Assembly (AD 65) today addressed the residency challenge against candidate Jasmin Sanchez now that the final appeal from candidate Illapa Sairitupac has been adjudicated. While Ms. Sanchez and some of her supporters have characterized this challenge in purely political terms, the James campaign emphasizes that this action was brought by neighbors and voters who believe that the integrity of the ballot begins with the eligibility of those on it.

At the heart of the matter is a simple chronological conflict. Public records show Ms. Sanchez was elected as a District Leader in the 74th District last year and did not resign until February 2026. Additionally, Ms. Sanchez participated in the 2025 general election in November as voter in the 74th as well as the subsequent party convention to fill Harvey Epstein’s seat in the State Assembly after Mr. Epstein was elected to the City Council. Under the law, a candidate must live in the district they seek to represent for one full, uninterrupted year.

During the recent hearing, Ms. Sanchez provided testimony that led the presiding Special Referee to warn her of her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination ― a rare and sobering moment in a civil residency hearing. This testimony confirmed what many of Ms. James’ neighbors already suspected:

Q. Were you a resident of Delancey Street on that day?

A. I was not.

Q. Yet you voted in the 74th Assembly District County Committee Convention to nominate a candidate to be on the ballot; is that correct?

A. That is correct.

The Referee’s decision notwithstanding ― Ms. Sanchez was found “credible” despite testifying that she signed a false affidavit ― the facts of the case are clear. By her own admission, Ms. Sanchez continued to act in her official capacity as a District Leader for the 74th District despite claiming to simultaneously be a resident of the 65th District. The full court transcript is available upon request.

The James campaign congratulates Ms. Sanchez on her win in the court of law and looks forward to round two in the court of public opinion. The goal of this challenge was for the voters to know the truth, and that truth was laid bare in Ms. Sanchez’s own testimony. These facts would never have come to light if not for this challenge.

“We are champions of ballot access, and we have filed zero challenges against our other four opponents because we have no interest in contesting the qualifications of eligible candidates,” said a spokesperson for the James campaign. “We have a candidate who has been a resident of the 65th District for over 50 years, with an actual record of accomplishment, who filed the most petition signatures, received the most endorsements, and collected the most in-district donations right out of the gate. We are prepared to win ‘fair and square,’ but we also recognize that ‘fair’ presupposes that all election participants meet the statutory requirements for entry.”

Ms. Sanchez likes to present herself as a victim in this case, but her own actions call into question the sincerity of this framing. In early 2023, while Ms. James was in South Carolina burying her mother — who had recently passed away from 9/11-related cancer — Ms. Sanchez and her associates attempted to have Ms. James removed from the ballot. At the time, Ms. James was running unopposed, so the challenge appeared calculated to exploit Ms. James’s absence during her period of mourning. While the James campaign viewed that move as deeply cynical and unnecessarily cruel, Ms. James accepted that process as part of the rigorous petitioning system and harbored no ill will against Ms. Sanchez or her associates. However, she does recognize the striking irony that the same individuals who once sought to weaponize this process against a grieving neighbor now cry foul when asked to meet basic residency requirements.

The James campaign further observes that, as a former card-carrying member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Ms. Sanchez continues to align with many of the ideological positions of that movement. As such, her presence on the ballot has always presented the most direct competition to the other DSA candidate, Mr. Sairitupac. While these two candidates compete for DSA-aligned voters, Mariama James remains the clear choice for voters seeking a traditional Democrat with a proven history of building broad, inclusive coalitions. The James campaign remains focused on building on its momentum and looks forward to a spirited, issues-based race with every eligible candidate on June 23rd.

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