A Democratic Socialists of America-backed public defender trying to unseat a Harlem assemblymember has jolted the race with podcast remarks suggesting some violent offenders should be diverted from prison into treatment. The furor comes as the June primary in New York State Assembly District 70 heats up, turning a neighborhood rematch into a test of how far criminal-justice reform can go in a community that has been vocal about public safety. Longtime neighbors, clergy and elected officials say what looked like a routine primary has suddenly become a referendum on crime and punishment.
The comments were first reported by the New York Post, which published audio and summaries of podcast episodes in which the challenger, Conrad Blackburn, reportedly said "locking people up isn't the answer" even in cases involving predatory sexual assaults on children. He also suggested that people who kill innocent bystanders in gang-related shootings "shouldn't automatically be tossed in prison." The Post reported that Blackburn declined to comment when the outlet reached out to him.
Blackburn has centered his run on a "Communities Not Cages" message, arguing that housing, mental-health care and violence-intervention programs should be treated as core public-safety tools. His campaign site, Conrad for Harlem, lays out those proposals in detail. Local coverage notes he works as a policy counsel and on-the-ground public defender and that he helped organize his workplace into a union, a record highlighted in reporting by the Amsterdam News and in his UAW endorsement.
On the other side is incumbent Assemblymember Jordan Wright, who succeeded his father, a longtime Harlem political figure. Wright has drawn scrutiny from DSA-aligned challengers and has also benefited from outside spending this cycle. New York Focus has reported that an outside committee called Moving Harlem Forward has lined up to support Wright, while City & State has detailed outside ads going after Blackburn over a 2016 internship. The result is a race that looks increasingly like a turf battle between the local Democratic establishment and an insurgent left.
Harlem Leaders Push Back
Reaction in the neighborhood was swift. According to the New York Post, the Rev. Dr. Renee F. Washington Gardner said the criminal-justice system is already failing Black and Brown families and warned that Blackburn’s approach would deepen those harms. Councilmember Inez Dickens told the paper that Harlem does not need an elected official who thinks people convicted of rape and murder should be sent to classes instead of prison. Their comments underscore how quickly arguments about decarceration can turn into political flashpoints in communities that also live with the day-to-day reality of violent crime.
A Bigger DSA Play
Blackburn’s bid is part of a broader push by NYC-DSA to notch more legislative wins after recent left-wing gains across the city. The group’s endorsement list includes Blackburn among its state assembly picks, as noted by NYC-DSA, and national and local outlets have tracked its efforts to grow a foothold in Manhattan. Profiles in publications such as Jacobin paint housing and labor as the organizing backbone of those campaigns.
The showdown now moves toward the June 23 primary, where Harlem voters will be asked to choose between sharply different visions of public safety: a more traditional, prison-first response favored by some neighborhood leaders or the prevention-and-treatment model championed by Blackburn and his supporters. The state primary date of June 23, 2026, is listed on the calendar of the New York State Board of Elections, and both campaigns say they are gearing up for a high-stakes finish.
