State Senator - District 29
Jose M. Serrano
Has served in the State Senate since 2005 and has represented District 29 since 2013; he chairs the Senate Majority Conference and the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation.
Issues Jose is raising
Housing and tenants
Sponsors a bill requiring rent reductions for tenants whose utility service is submetered; it passed the Senate 48-13 in June 2026. Voted for the 2025 law barring anyone from knowingly or recklessly helping rental owners agree not to compete on rents, including through pricing software, and for the 2024-25 budget bill covering housing.
Health care
Voted for the Medical Aid in Dying Act, which passed the Senate 35-27 and became law in February 2026, and for its follow-up on providing the medication. Sponsors a bill creating a temporary state commission on asthma in the Bronx. His Senate office says he helped secure funding for a new cardiac catheterization lab at Lincoln Hospital.
Environment and state parks
Sponsored the 2025 law barring leases of state forests, reforestation areas, wildlife management areas and unique areas for oil and gas production, and a 2025 law encouraging farmers' markets in state parks; his state parks passport bill was vetoed in 2025. His Senate office reports that he ranked in the top 10% of Environmental Advocates New York's 2026 scorecard.
Mental health services
Sponsors a bill to bar any state-operated or state-sponsored suicide prevention or mental health services hotline from being automated; he voted for it in June 2026, when it passed the Senate and went to the Assembly Mental Health Committee.
Energy and gas service
Voted for a 2025 law on providing gas service to new customers, which passed the Senate 34-25 and was signed in December 2025.
Background
Based in South Bronx
He served on the New York City Council for District 17 in the South Bronx from 2001 to 2004.
- Chair of the New York State Senate Majority Conference
- Chair of the Senate Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation
- Elected to the State Senate in November 2004; represented District 28 from 2005 to 2013 and District 29 since 2013
- Won the June 23, 2026 Democratic primary against Nicholas Reyes; advanced from the canceled 2026 Working Families Party primary without appearing on a primary ballot
- Re-elected on Nov. 5, 2024 with 81.7% of the vote (65,717 votes) against Republican Tanya Carmichael, and on Nov. 8, 2022 with 99.5%
- New York City Council member for District 17 in the South Bronx, 2001 to 2004
- Served as a member of Community Board 4
- Bachelor's degree in government from Manhattan College
- His Senate biography says he launched Open Legislation, a search engine for reading, sharing and commenting on Senate bills, and in 2009 introduced a bill to reform the Legislature's member item system
- His Senate biography says he and colleagues launched the East Harlem Against Deportation coalition, aimed at stopping deportations it described as unjust
- Lives in the South Bronx; married, with two children
Support
New York Working Families Party
Also on your ballot on the Working Families Party line
Money
$91K
raised
Mostly political committees, PACs and unions