POLITICS
How Drag Prepared Marti Allen-Cummings for Politics
Council hopeful is running to represent the Seventh District in Manhattan
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Even as visibility for nonbinary
and trans people
grows in the US, the political
realm is still lagging
in representation — but one
candidate could make history in a
big way in Upper Manhattan.
Out non-binary candidate Marti
Allen-Cummings, a drag queen
and LGBTQ activist running to
represent the Sevemth Council District
in Manhattan Valley, Manhattanville,
Morningside Heights, and
Hamilton Heights, would be the
fi rst out non-binary person elected
to the New York City Council. Becoming
a drag performer has prepared
them for all facets of politics,
from organizing to identifying the
issues within the community, they
said. They are now ready to transfer
these skills to the competitive landscape
of New York City politics.
“My path to running is not typical,”
Allen-Cummings said. “But
that’s what I think we need right
now because the typical status quo
isn’t working right.”
Their New York City Council bid
is also inspired by the wave of inequities
that resurfaced after the
2016 election cycle.
“We saw these injustices that
have been going on in our country
since the beginning come to
a boiling point,” Allen-Cummings
said. “I had this moment where I
was like, ‘I’m wasting the opportunity
to not only educate myself and
learn about the issues but to use
the platform drag has given me to
educate others as well.'”
Allen-Cummings is facing a
crowded fi eld of candidates in the
race for a seat held by term-limited
City Councilmember Mark Levine,
who is running for Manhattan borough
president. Allen-Cummings is
currently a member of Community
Board 9 in Upper Manhattan, an
advisor on the New York City Nightlife
Advisory Board, and a board
member for the Ali Forney Center,
an organization providing housing
and support services to LGBTQ
youth.
To date, their campaign has an
Marti Allen-Cummings at Stonewall after the landmark Supreme Court ruling last June.
estimated balance of $111,000,
following Raymond Sanchez, who
has $150,282, and Maria Ordonez,
who has $127,829, according
to the city’s Campaign Finance
Board.
Allen-Cummings has pledged to
support the trimming of “billions
of dollars” from the NYPD and the
allocation of those funds to housing,
sanitation, environmentally
sustainable/safe infrastructure,
libraries, recreation, and medical
care. They are also backing the full
decriminalization of sex work and
the expansion of protections for sex
workers, including access to healthcare,
paid sick leave, paid time off,
and childcare benefi ts.
Allen-Cummings, who in the
past worked as a go-go dancer,
stressed that offi cials need to take
protections a step further.
“It’s not enough for Manhattan
District Attorney Cy Vance to say,
‘Oh I’m not going to prosecute.’
We need to fully decriminalize
sex work because it’s work,” Allen-
Cummings said. “Any form of sex
work should be respected.”
They are calling for safeguards
for marginalized workers in other
industries. Allen-Cummings, a gig
worker, wants gig and freelance
workers to have a $20 per hour minimum
wage with adjustments for infl
ation and health insurance.
“I know that experience fi rsthand
— what it’s like to live
paycheck to paycheck,” Allen-
Cummings said. “Our city is increasingly
built for the wealthy,
but the everyday working people
in this city are the ones who keep
it running, keep it operating, and
they are left out of the equation.”
DONNA ACETO
Along with addressing these inequities,
if elected to the City Council,
Allen-Cummings plans to strengthen
support for transgender, nonbinary,
and gender non-conforming
New Yorkers by boosting access to
gender-affi rming healthcare, mental
health services, housing, job creation,
and training programs.
Since coming out as non-binary
in their 30s, Allen-Cummings
hopes their story can help queer
youth feel refl ected in society.
“I remember growing up, I didn’t
have any reference point of people
like me,” Allen-Cummings said.
“People that are trans and nonbinary
and genderqueer are everywhere.
I hope that has helped some
young kid out there who’s feeling
alone or scared and let them be
seen and feel like someone’s looking
out for them.”
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