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Portrait of John C. LiuPhoto: nysenate.gov

NY · Officeholder

John C. Liu

DState Senator · District 16

On the ballot Nov 3, 2026: NY State Senate · District 16

Biography

John Liu is the Democratic and Working Families Party incumbent for New York State Senate District 16 in northeast Queens, and he is unopposed in the general election.[1][2][3] A former actuary, New York City Councilmember and City Comptroller, he has served in the State Senate since 2019 and chairs the New York City Education Committee.[1][2][3]

Liu was born in Taiwan in 1967, immigrated to the United States at age five and lives in Flushing.[2][3] He attended Hunter College High School and Bronx High School of Science, then earned a degree in mathematical physics from Binghamton University.[2] He worked 14 years in the private sector as an actuary, most recently as a manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers.[2]

Liu represented Flushing and northeast Queens on the New York City Council from 2002 to 2009 and then served as the 43rd New York City Comptroller from 2010 to 2013, becoming the first Asian American to hold citywide office in New York, according to Carnegie Corporation of New York.[2][3][4] He ran for mayor of New York City in 2013, finishing fourth in the Democratic primary, and lost the 2014 Democratic primary for State Senate District 11 to incumbent Tony Avella.[2][3] He defeated Avella in the September 2018 Democratic primary, won the November 2018 general election for the seat and took office in January 2019.[3]

Liu was redistricted to District 16 in 2023, succeeding Toby Ann Stavisky in representing the area, and he chairs the Senate's New York City Education Committee.[1][2] He is also a member of the Education, Finance, Higher Education, Judiciary, Rules and Transportation committees.[2] He teaches municipal finance and public policy in a graduate program at Columbia University and previously taught at the City University of New York.[2]

  1. 1.New York State Senate District 16 · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
  2. 2.About Senator John Liu · NYSenate.gov Official record
  3. 3.John Liu · Wikipedia · 2026-10-21 Reference
  4. 4.John Liu, 2010 Great Immigrants · Carnegie Corporation of New York News report

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.

On the ballot

Full candidate research ›NY State Senate · District 16 ›

Votes by issue

Their recorded votes on bills that divided the chamber (unanimous votes left out), grouped by topic. A bill can sit under more than one topic. "With" and "against" compare each vote with how most Democrats voted. How topics are assigned

Where they stood out

Voted with most of their party on all 681 party-divided votes on file.

How this is counted

Their votes on the most contested roll calls

The votes in their chamber that came out closest and most divided by party, among those they voted on. How we rank

See all their split votes

Substantive votes concern legislation or nominations; procedural votes concern how the chamber considers them. A Yes vote applies to the motion shown, which may not be final passage.

A10030-B · NY SENATE

Requires health insurers to provide coverage for speech therapy for stuttering

YesVOTED

Requires health insurers to provide coverage for speech therapy for stuttering.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 58–2·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10158 · NY SENATE

Extends limitations on the shift between classes of taxable property in the town of Clarkstown, county of Rockland

YesVOTED

Extends limitations on the shift between classes of taxable property in the town of Clarkstown, county of Rockland for an additional year for 2026-2027.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 59–1·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10184 · NY SENATE

Limiting the shift between classes of taxable property in the town of Haverstraw, county of Rockland

YesVOTED

Relates to limiting the shift between classes of taxable property in the town of Haverstraw, county of Rockland for 2026-2027.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 58–2·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10312-A · NY SENATE

Relates to information that residential health care facilities are required to disclose to residents and their families

YesVOTED

Relates to information that residential health care facilities are required to separately disclose to residents and their families; requires such information to be posted on the residential health care facility's website.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 39–21·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10390-A · NY SENATE

Establishes a school speed zone camera demonstration program in the city of Poughkeepsie

YesVOTED

Establishes a school speed zone camera demonstration program in the city of Poughkeepsie; repeals authorization of program December 31, 2030.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 59–1·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10391 · NY SENATE

Relates to adjudications and owner liability for a violation of traffic-control signal indications in the city of Poughkeepsie

YesVOTED

Relates to adjudications and owner liability for a violation of traffic-control signal indications in the city of Poughkeepsie.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 59–1·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10411-A · NY SENATE

Prohibits motor vehicle manufacturers and dealers from charging a subscription fee for certain functions of a motor vehicle after the vehicle is sold

YesVOTED

Prohibits motor vehicle manufacturers and dealers from charging a subscription fee for certain functions of a motor vehicle after the vehicle is sold; provides that any manufacturer, dealer, or agent of a manufacturer or dealer that fails to comply with such requirements shall be assessed a civil penalty not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars per point of sale for each violation.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 57–3·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10478 · NY SENATE

Relates to the Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the town of Southampton

YesVOTED

Increases the term of office from two years to four years for the Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the town of Southampton, county of Suffolk, and providing for the staggering of such terms of office.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 58–2·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10922 · NY SENATE

Extends certain provisions relating to the sale, issuance and refund of bonds and notes of New York city

YesVOTED

Extends certain provisions relating to the sale of bonds and notes of the city of New York, the issuance of bonds or notes with variable rates of interest, interest rate exchange agreements of the city of New York, the refunding of bonds, and the down payment for projects financed by bonds; extends the New York state financial emergency act for the city of New York; makes further amendments relating to the effectiveness thereof.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 56–4·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A11030-A · NY SENATE

Requires utility corporations and municipalities to notify property owners prior to beginning any scheduled non-emergency construction or other work

YesVOTED

Requires a utility corporation or municipality to notify property owners at least five business days prior to beginning any non-emergency construction or other work that will result in a planned interruption of a customer's property; requires notice to include, but not be limited to, a description of the work to be performed, the expected duration of such work, the location of such work, and the contact information for the utility performing such work; exempts cases where a natural or man-made disaster or state of emergency occurs.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 59–1·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗

Showing 10 of 2037 votes in this collection. Coverage may be incomplete; each entry links to the official record.