NY State Assembly · District 64

Staten Island's East Shore and part of southern Brooklyn (Bay Ridge), including St. George, Tompkinsville, Grasmere and Grymes Hill.

General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

✓ Fact-checked 2026-09-25: 22 claims re-checked against their sources · 2 corrected · 1 removed

A second, independent research pass re-opened every cited source for this race and corrected or removed anything the source didn’t support.

  • Removed the claim that Shpetim Qorraj holds the 'Affordable & Safe Party' ballot line (in context, summary, and parties list): the cited Ballotpedia race page shows him only on the Democratic line for the Nov 3 general election, with no other ballot line listed.
  • Corrected the S10113/S3460 floor-vote source URLs to a working query-parameter format; confirmed via the working URLs that Tannousis voted No on both bills, and confirmed the A06680/A06358/A06996 committee-vote tallies (17-8, 16-6, 14-6) are accurate as stated, including that Tannousis voted Nay on his own A06358's committee action.

On the ballot · 2 candidates

Where they stand — side by side

Only positions documented in a cited source are shown. Where an officeholder’s recorded votes speak to an issue, the votes set the position (marked “votes”). A dash means we found no clear public position — not that the candidate has none.

ISSUEMichael Tannousis
RC
Shpetim Qorraj
D
Stricter gun lawsOpposes[10]votes—
Raise taxes on high earners or corporationsOpposes[11]votes—
Increase police funding and staffing—Supports[9]
Keep congestion pricing in ManhattanOpposes[3]—

The candidates, in full

Michael Tannousis

RCINCUMBENTNY State Assemblymember, District 64 (since 2021)

Michael Tannousis is the Republican and Conservative Party incumbent seeking a fourth term. A former Bronx and Richmond County assistant district attorney, he has focused his tenure on public safety, bail-reform rollback and opposition to congestion pricing.[2]

Floor votes in Albany

  • NoProvides that a microbusiness licensee authorized to conduct retail sales may serve as a processor and cultivator for purposes of cannabis showcase event permits · S10113 · Passed Assembly 88–53 · 2026-06-05 official record ↗Provides that a microbusiness licensee authorized to conduct retail sales may serve as a processor and cultivator for purposes of cannabis showcase event permits.
  • NoRelates to granting employees access to personnel records · S3460 · Passed Assembly 92–49 · 2026-05-19 official record ↗Grants employees access to personnel records; requires notice of negative information in such records and an opportunity for a review; permits employee to include certain information in personnel records.
  • NoConcealed Carry Improvement Act · S51001 · Passed 90–52 · 2022-07-01 official record ↗Enacted after the Bruen decision: added training and character requirements for carry permits and barred guns in designated sensitive places.
  • No2021–22 budget revenue bill · S2509 · Passed 88–61 · 2021-04-07 official record ↗Raised personal income tax rates on incomes above $1 million and raised the corporate franchise tax rate on large businesses, among other revenue measures.

Votes on landmark laws since 2019, plus 2026 roll calls where at least five members voted on the losing side — read from the legislature’s official records.

On the record — official actions

  • bill2025-05-28 · Prime-sponsored A06680, which would repeal congestion pricing, restructure MTA board appointments to include one member per NYC borough, and require an independent forensic audit of the MTA; held for consideration in the Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee 17-8 on May 28, 2025.[3]
  • billPrime-sponsored A09346 (with Pirozzolo as a co-sponsor), which would incorporate a separate City of Staten Island with its own charter; referred to the Cities Committee.[4]
  • bill2025-05-13 · Prime-sponsored A06358, which would restore judicial discretion in bail decisions and require risk-and-needs assessments for felony defendants; as a member of the Codes Committee, voted no on the committee's 16-6 vote to hold his own bill for consideration (rather than advance it) on May 13, 2025.[5]
  • bill2026-05-18 · Prime-sponsored A06996, which would prohibit siting and construction of battery energy storage systems in Assembly District 64; held for consideration in the Local Governments Committee 14-6 on May 18, 2026.[6]

Positions on the issues

  • OpposesKeep congestion pricing in Manhattan

    Sponsored legislation to repeal congestion pricing in Manhattan.[3]

  • OpposesStricter gun lawsFrom recorded votes

    Voted no on S51001 (Concealed Carry Improvement Act, 2022-07-01): Enacted after the Bruen decision: added training and character requirements for carry permits and barred guns in designated sensitive places.[10]

  • OpposesRaise taxes on high earners or corporationsFrom recorded votes

    Voted no on S2509 (2021–22 budget revenue bill, 2021-04-07): Raised personal income tax rates on incomes above $1 million and raised the corporate franchise tax rate on large businesses, among other revenue measures.[11]

In their words — priorities

  • Stand up for Republican and Conservative values in Albany.[8]
  • Roll back criminal-justice policies from Albany that he opposes, including bail reform.[8]
  • Improve quality of life in Staten Island and Brooklyn.[8]
  • Bring his prosecutorial experience to Albany to support law enforcement.[8]
  • Create conditions for small businesses to thrive.[8]

Background

  • Lives in New York, New York (Staten Island); graduated from Monsignor Farrell High School, earned an undergraduate degree from SUNY Binghamton and a J.D. from Pace Law School.[2]
  • Began public-service career in 2006 as an aide to then-Minority Leader James Oddo; later worked as an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx DA's office starting in 2011, then in the Richmond County DA's office from 2016, prosecuting felony violent-crime and narcotics cases.[7]
  • Son of Greek immigrants displaced by armed conflict in Cyprus.[7]
  • Assigned in 2025-2026 to the Cities, Codes, Governmental Employees and Judiciary committees.[2]

Shpetim Qorraj

D

Shpetim Qorraj, also known as Tim Qorraj, is the Democratic nominee challenging incumbent Michael Tannousis. He is a Staten Island small-business owner who has not previously held elected office.[1][9]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

Positions on the issues

  • SupportsIncrease police funding and staffing

    Supports hiring more police officers for the local precinct and enhancing retirement benefits to attract recruits.[9]

    “Support increasing hiring of police officers to be assigned to the 122 Precinct and expand the Community Affairs department to have more officers on call to address quality of life issues.”

In their words — priorities

  • Address New York's affordability crisis, including housing costs, small-business regulatory burdens, and the cost of utilities, food and other essentials.[9]
  • Secure state funding for Staten Island transportation, including keeping the Verrazzano Bridge resident toll discount, reducing congestion on Hylan Blvd, and creating a fast-ferry dock in Great Kills.[9]
  • Support public education funding and after-school programming, and push for construction of the East Shore seawall promised after Hurricane Sandy.[9]

Background

  • Born in Kosovo, lost his father, a veteran, at age 13 during the war there; came to the United States in 2011 and now lives in the South Beach neighborhood of Staten Island.[9]
  • Holds a Master's degree in Criminal Law.[9]
  • Owner of Skyler Services Group LLC, a Staten Island business providing renovation, porter, super and maintenance services.[9]

Research notes & limits

Tannousis's 'issues' page returned a 404, so his priorities are drawn from his 'Meet Mike' bio and a 2019 'Reasons I'm Running' post (both still linked from his active 2026 campaign site). Qorraj's Ballotpedia infobox links a campaign website (timforassembly.com, under the name 'Tim Qorraj'), which supplied his background, priorities and one position; no completed Candidate Connection survey or independent news coverage was found for him.

Sources · 11

Researched 2026-09-25. Green citations are official government records.

  1. 1.New York State Assembly District 64 · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
  2. 2.Michael Tannousis · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
  3. 3.Bill A06680 · New York State Assembly Official record
  4. 4.Bill A09346 · New York State Assembly Official record
  5. 5.Bill A06358 · New York State Assembly Official record
  6. 6.Bill A06996 · New York State Assembly Official record
  7. 7.Meet Mike · Mike Tannousis for State Assembly Candidate's own words
  8. 8.Mike Tannousis: 5 Reasons Why I'm Running · Mike Tannousis for State Assembly Candidate's own words
  9. 9.Tim Qorraj for NYS Assembly · Tim Qorraj for NYS Assembly · 2026-09-25 Candidate's own words
  10. 10.Assembly floor vote: S51001 — Concealed Carry Improvement Act · New York State Assembly · 2022-07-01 Official record
  11. 11.Assembly floor vote: S2509 — 2021–22 budget revenue bill · New York State Assembly · 2021-04-07 Official record