Lisa “Malkie” Vider did not set out to become a politician.
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Vider → set → ?
The Orthodox Jewish mother of three has spent about 30 years working in health care, including running an assisted-living facility and advocating for health care providers in Albany.
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mother → spend → Albany
But after years of traveling to the state capital, she became increasingly frustrated by what she saw as a disconnect between lawmakers, the health care industry and the communities they represent.
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they → travel → lawmakers
“When I go up to Albany, I realize that our elected officials really have no understanding of the health care system, of what I do, of what other people do in health care and the decisions that they make,” Vider told JNS.
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Vider → go → JNS
That experience pushed Vider, a Democrat, to seek the state Senate seat representing the 9th District, which includes parts of Nassau County and the Five Towns.
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which → push → County
She is challenging Republican incumbent Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick in the general election on Nov. 3.
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She → challenge → Nov.
The Brooklyn native, who later moved to Long Island with her husband, Avner Vider, told JNS that her three children — 10, 12 and 13 — have shaped the way she views the campaign and the issues she wants to address.
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she → move → campaign
“I fight for my children.
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I → fight → children
I fight for my family,” she said.
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she → fight → family
“I am a person that if I say that I’m gonna do something, I’m going to do everything in my power to try to get it done.”
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it → say → power
As an Orthodox woman, she wants Jewish New Yorkers to be able to visibly practice their faith without fear.
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Yorkers → want → fear
“We just want to be able to send our kids to school or go to the park without having to worry about somebody attacking them,” she told JNS.
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she → want → JNS
Vider told JNS that state nonprofit security funding is important and noted the additional $70 million in security funding that Gov. Kathy Hochul announced exclusively to JNS.
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Hochul → tell → JNS
New York’s fiscal 2027 executive budget also includes $35 million for the next round of the Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes program, she said.
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she → include → program
“People should be able to live their lives without fear of going and practicing whatever their religion and going to school,” she told JNS.
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she → live → JNS
Vider said that her Jewish identity is intertwined with her family.
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identity → say → family
Her husband is Israeli, and two of her nephews served in the Israeli military.
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two → serve → military
Another nephew recently completed his service.
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nephew → complete → service
Israel is primarily a federal rather than a state issue, but Vider told JNS that state lawmakers can still weigh in.
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lawmakers → tell → JNS
“We need to show whatever support we can,” she said.
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she → need → support
At the same time, Vider thinks New York needs “more moderate voices” in Albany.
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York → think → Albany
Health care is another central component of Vider’s campaign, and her years of working in the industry have shown her how state regulations and funding decisions affect providers, employees, seniors and families.
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regulations → work → providers
That’s my expertise,” she told JNS.
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she → ’ → JNS
“We need to bring it down.
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We → need → it
We need to make sure that our senior population is being taken care of.”
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population → need → care
Vider wants to make it easier for patients and providers to navigate the health care system while reducing what she said is unnecessary pressure on health care facilities.
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she → want → facilities
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Report → start → news
Her health care advocacy also exposed her to the political process.
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advocacy → expose → process
She recalled meeting with an elected official during an advocacy trip to Albany and being told the lawmaker understood the concerns she raised but lacked the authority to act.
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she → recall → authority
That experience made her think that the district needs a senator who can work with the majority party in Albany.
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who → make → Albany
Antisemitism is a major concern for Vider, but the issue she hears about most on the campaign trail is cost of living.
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she → hear → living
“Everybody’s just worried about affordability,” she told JNS.
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she → ’ → JNS
Property taxes, utilities and gas prices have repeatedly come up as she knocks on doors, she said.
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she → come → doors
Vider said many residents have lived in the district for decades and want their children to be able to return and own homes in the communities where they grew up.
“Right now, it’s just not affordable,” she said.
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she → say → communities
Her campaign priorities include property-tax relief, reducing household costs and public safety.
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priorities → include → costs
Beyond long hours and fundraising, the most difficult part of the campaign trail has been attacks portraying her as more progressive than she considers herself to be.
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herself → portray → her
Vider said attack ads have tried to tie her to the Democratic Socialists of America and depict her as a progressive candidate.
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ads → say → candidate
“I expected better of people,” she told JNS.
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she → expect → JNS
“To make things up and to try to diminish my reputation and have people make me out to be something that I’m completely not, just because you’re afraid of losing a seat,” she said.
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she → make → seat
She described herself as a “moderate, fiscally conservative Democrat.”
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She → describe → Democrat
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
