STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — For Allison Ziogas, labels are not productive in politics. What matters, she said, is supporting the working class and getting the job done.
“But if you wanted a label, I think you could call me an economic populist, but I don’t think that that means as much as my track record of putting working people first,” Ziogas told the Advance/SILive.com.
Ziogas, a Pleasant Plains resident and labor leader, announced this week she is running in the Democratic primary to represent Staten Island and southern Brooklyn in Congress.
Meet Ziogas
A married mother of two, Ziogas is originally from Connecticut.
She has lived in New York for the last 20 years, the last 10 of which have been spent on Staten Island. She had previously been living in various parts of the city before meeting her husband, a lifelong Staten Islander.
“And I like to say that I’m a Staten Islander by love, because I knew that if it was going to be my husband, it was going to be Staten Island and so that’s fine by me because I also love it here,” she said.
Ziogas first came to the New York City area for education. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in history and sociology from Central Connecticut State University and attended the City University of New York’s Joseph Murphy Institute in Manhattan to complete some graduate work.
Expressing a love of learning, Ziogas recounted how she dove into history and began to learn more about the labor movement.
“That’s kind of what got me interested in the program at CUNY for labor studies,” she explained.
A deeper understanding of the labor movement naturally appealed to Ziogas, who has three grandparents with a background in the United Auto Workers labor union.
While she may not have pursued the path of auto work, Ziogas continued the legacy of labor and became a first generation union electrician.
A labor leader
For the last 20 years, Ziogas has been a member of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3. She was connected with the union apprenticeship after graduating from a program called “Nontraditional Employment for Women,” which links women with careers in non-traditional fields.
She started out as an apprentice before becoming a journeywoman and eventually a forewoman.
This photo from 2022, shows Allison Ziogas, who helped negotiate The National Offshore Wind Agreement. She is running for Congress in 2026.(Advance/SILive.com | Joseph Ostapiuk)
Ziogas took on projects “both big and small,” including 3 World Trade Center, the extension of the 7 subway line and PS 62, the Kathleen Grimm School of Leadership and Sustainability at Sandy Ground in Rossville.
A few years ago, Ziogas took the lead in an 18-month negotiation as the director of labor relations for Orsted Offshore in North America on the opposite side of the table from representatives from North America’s Building Trades Unions and international union leaders.
These negotiations ultimately resulted in the National Offshore Wind Agreement.
“For folks that are unfamiliar with it, it’s a landmark labor contract with North America’s Building Trades Unions, so the building trades, that has set the standard for the entire industry,” she explained. “It ensures that as we build this next generation of energy infrastructure, move toward energy independence, that we’re doing it with union labor at the center.”
According to Ziogas, to date, that agreement for the project she oversaw has generated over 5 million union hours for tradespeople.
Her platform
The moment she knew she was going to run for office came at the realization that “our political infrastructure is completely broken” and “working people on Staten Island and Brooklyn are still getting screwed.”
“Neither party is delivering on issues that actually matter for working people or move the needle for a family’s budget,” Ziogas told the Advance/SILive.com. “I’m not a career politician, but I’m service oriented and I believe that if you want a job done right that you should send somebody who knows how to build and fix things.”
Ziogas believes the issues of affordability, labor rights, as well as transit and infrastructure are those that unite the borough’s residents.
Her platform includes lowering out-of-pocket costs and protecting health care subsidies, securing funding to expand transit and complete the coastal resiliency projects, as well as protecting residential streets from developers looking to overbuild.
An unapologetic pragmatist, Ziogas has expressed that she will work with the president or anyone else who proposes a plan to lower the cost of living or improve the infrastructure of Staten Island and southern Brooklyn.
For Ziogas, Staten Island is “God’s Country,” as it is where she has her “little patch of heaven” and raised her family.
Allison Ziogas announced her campaign for the Democratic primary in New York’s 11th Congressional District at Local 3 Staten Island Electrical Club in Great Kills on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.(Advance/SILive.com | Scott R. Axelrod)
The best part of the borough for her? The people.
A people who “actually show up for each other” in times of need; a people with “real grit and loyalty.”
“We’re a small town in the biggest city of the world and I want to make sure that the people that show up for each other have a representative that shows up for them,” she added.
The pitch
Although the borough tends to lean Republican, Ziogas believes she can win the race.
“So I think that we can flip it by recognizing that, sure, Staten Island leans Republican, it’s a labor stronghold first,” she said.
“So I’m running because I believe that the people of NY-11 are tired of the noise; they want a change and I’m answering the call,” Ziogas added. “So my path to victory really is through the thousands of union households in this district who know me, trust me and know that I’ll actually deliver.”
On Tuesday, Ziogas launched her campaign at Local 3 Staten Island Electrical Club in Great Kills surrounded by her fellow union workers. At the event, her candidacy was endorsed by the IBEW.
“In a Congress that’s full of lawyers and career politicians, I think it’s time that we had a worker who knows that the middle class isn’t built from the top down, but from the ground up by working people,” she said.
“I’ve shared in the pride of building this city, I have stood in the same trenches as many Staten Islanders, I’ve walked on the same picket lines as many Staten Islanders. And my commitment to labor isn’t a political stance, it’s been my life’s work.”
Ziogas’ candidacy sets up a primary matchup with career educator Troy McGhie and former NYPD member and educator Michael DeCillis.
The winner will face Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the Republican incumbent, in November.