Senator James Sanders Jr. Covers 5 Cities in 6 Day Banking Tour.

NYS Senator James Sanders, jr. just completed an ambitious “Upstate Tour” of major cities across the state. Senator Sanders serves as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Banks, Chair of the Select Majority Task Force on Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs), and leads the effort to deliver Reparations for the African Slave Trade in New York. The “One New York” policy is shared by both Senator Sanders and Senate President Pro Tempore and Majority Leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins. This policy means that NYS Senators represent the whole state, not just their district or NYC. In that pursuit, Senator James Sanders, jr. visited Jamestown, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany to hold meetings on each of his leadership roles. 

The first stop in every city was meeting with the leadership. Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Mayoral Staff, NYS Assemblymembers, and NYS Senators representing those cities. The goals were simple: learn what’s going on in this city and how can we help?

Senator Sanders was determined to maximize the value he brought to each city and presented the leadership with custom reports. These reports included an analysis of financial lending around each city through the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). This identifies who is receiving loans, the purpose of the loans, and accessibility, determining where there’s room for diversification and improvement in the local economy. Additionally, Senator Sanders shared a roadmap on Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) and analysis of the major economic developments in each city with custom recommendations. The purpose of a CBA is to ensure that the community around a major development (such as a stadium or downtown revitalization) is guaranteed access, receives employment opportunities, local investment, and minimizes displacement. The conversations included hard lessons and expert advice Senator Sanders learned throughout his years of leadership.

Mid-morning, Senator Sanders met with banks and credit operating in each city under his capacity as Chair of the Committee on Banks. These conversations followed a common theme: how can New York State strike the proper balance of regulation and support? Dynamic discussions flowed from issues to proposed solutions, rebuttals, and plans for action. Topics included opportunities to increase access, how money from municipalities and the state could be best handled, what could be done to increase small business loans, laws that need updating to serve modern financial needs, and streamlining the process for Performance Evaluations. None of these meetings were exactly alike, which demonstrates the importance of the One New York policy and traveling across the state. 

Next, Senator Sanders, as Chair of the MWBE Task Force, met with minority- and women-owned businesses based in each city. The Senator sought to improve his leadership by learning what MWBEs are struggling with, providing resources and advice to businesses, and hearing their recommendations for how the MWBE program could be improved. Three of these meetings were joined by Jason Clark, Vice President of the Minority & Women Business Development Division at Empire State Development (ESD). Additionally, many local leaders from the city, county, and state levels joined to share insights for technical or local questions. What made these meetings particularly special was the solidarity of the MWBE community—upon hearing what a business needed help with, many other MWBEs would offer help, share supportive information, and collaborate. The majority of MWBEs struggle with access to capital and winning contracts, but all of them left these meetings with guidance on how to navigate compliance issues, where to receive business support, and a plethora of programs to access critical funds for growth.

Finally, as the sun began to set, Senator James Sanders, jr. soldiered on for the last meeting in each city: Reparations. The NYS Community Commission on Reparations Remedies (CCRR) was established in 2023 through legislation sponsored by Senator Sanders. The CCRR is currently drafting a report on the African Slave Trade in New York, evaluating the impacts, determining who should receive reparations, and recommending how reparations should be pursued by the state. These conversations were all held in churches with historic ties to African American communities. The discussions were difficult, complex, and deeply involved. Attendees asked tough questions about the years-long process to achieve reparations, shared their experiences & family histories, voiced opinions what reparations should include, wrestled with the question of who deserves reparations, and explored global reparations efforts. The dialogue was open—judgement free—and brutally honest. Senator Sanders highlighted the potential outcomes, mistakes made elsewhere that New York is avoiding, and his efforts supporting reparations on state, national, and international levels. Despite the difficult nature of these meetings, attendees were eager to work together and maximize the advocacy of their communities.

5 cities in 6 days. The “Upstate Tour” was physically taxing and logistically challenging, but incredibly rewarding and immeasurably beneficial. Names and entities on emails or spreadsheets transformed into human faces and bona fide relationships. Impossible issues became actionable solutions. Political divisions were bridged to pursue public benefit. A Senator from Southeast Queens writing laws in Albany traveled more than a thousand miles across the Empire State; making himself available to the public as their ally and honing his leadership. On this tour, One New York was not a mere aspiration, it was lived.