Lisa “Malkie” Vider, a Long Island health care executive, is running as a Democrat for the New York state Senate seat representing the 9th District, which covers parts of Nassau County and the Five Towns. She faces Republican incumbent Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick in the Nov. 3 general election.
Vider, an Orthodox Jewish mother of three who has spent roughly 30 years in health care, including running an assisted-living facility and advocating for providers in Albany, said her decision to run grew out of frustration with lawmakers’ understanding of the industry.
“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.
Vider, a Brooklyn native who moved to Long Island with her husband, Avner Vider, said her children, ages 10, 12 and 13, shape how she approaches the campaign.
“I fight for my children. I fight for my family,” she said. “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.”
Antisemitism and Security
Vider cited antisemitism and hate as major concerns, saying she wants Jewish New Yorkers to be able to practice their faith openly and safely.
“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.
She pointed to state funding for nonprofit security, including an additional $70 million announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul, and $35 million included in New York’s fiscal 2027 executive budget for the next round of the Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes program. She said more is still needed to protect Jewish institutions and other houses of worship.
Vider’s husband is Israeli, and two of her nephews have served in the Israeli military, with a third recently completing his service. While she acknowledged Israel policy is primarily a federal matter, she said state lawmakers can still offer support.
Health Care and Affordability
Health care remains central to Vider’s platform, drawing on her professional background.
“Health care is very important. That’s my expertise,” she told JNS. “We need to bring it down. We need to make sure that our senior population is being taken care of.”
She recalled a meeting with an elected official during an Albany advocacy trip in which the lawmaker acknowledged her concerns but said they lacked the authority to act — an experience she said convinced her the district needs a senator able to work with the Albany majority.
Despite her focus on antisemitism, Vider said cost of living is the issue she hears about most from voters, citing property taxes, utilities and gas prices as recurring concerns during door-knocking.
“Right now, it’s just not affordable,” she said.
Her campaign priorities include property-tax relief, reducing household costs and public safety.
Pushing Back on Attack Ads
Vider said the toughest part of her campaign has been attack ads attempting to tie her to the Democratic Socialists of America and cast her as a progressive.
“I expected better of people,” she told 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 described herself as a “moderate, fiscally conservative Democrat” and said the district needs “more moderate voices” in Albany.
“We’re in a very different world right now, and it’s scary,” she said. “As a mother, I’m scared every day for my children when they go somewhere, and my son’s wearing his Magen David.”
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