Yehuda Shaffer
Yehuda Shaffer (United Alliance Party) is running for election to the New York City Council to represent District 41. Shaffer is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.
Shaffer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Yehuda Shaffer earned a high school diploma from the Talmudical Seminary Oholei Torah. Shaffer's career experience includes working as an emergency responder.[1]
Elections
2025
See also: City elections in New York, New York (2025)
General election
General election for New York City Council District 41
Incumbent Darlene Mealy and Yehuda Shaffer are running in the general election for New York City Council District 41 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
 | Darlene Mealy (D) | |
 | Yehuda Shaffer (United Alliance Party)  | |
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Democratic primary election
Democratic Primary for New York City Council District 41
The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Darlene Mealy in round 8 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.
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Total votes: 16,274 |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Yehuda Shaffer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Shaffer's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Our door was open 24/7, and our upbringing was infused with a responsibility to others and to the community. On Shabbos and Jewish holidays, my parents&; table overflowed with family, friends and visitors from around the world in need of a warm inviting and enlightening experience. After studying in a Yeshiva in France for 3 years, I came home and worked as a video producer for nonprofits and bar/bas mitzva's and weddings. I enjoyed the challenge of creating powerful stories by capturing and organizing many meaningful moments. But I wanted to apply the values I was raised on: helping people where it truly matters. Switching career tracks, I enrolled in a Paramedic program. For the past decade, I have been a NYC paramedic.
Now, I respond to cries for help from every part of society, every day: down in the subways, up in luxury condos and along our Brooklyn streets. I see both the major need and the incredible opportunity in NYC. I’m running for City Council to do what I was raised to do: answer your call, hear your
need and get you the assistance you deserve.- These days, NYC caters to two extremes: the incredibly rich and the desperately poor.
The middle class—homeowners, shop-owners, small business owners—is the forgotten class. As councilman for District 41, I will refocus attention on the millions of hard-
working middle-class citizens that make this city great. - Solving a need starts with answering the phone. I live and work in this district and I am running to help our own neighborhood. As a council member, my office will answer the phone when you call and will stay focused on our local community.
- In the aftermath of the 1991 Crown Heights Riots, Mayor David Dinkins visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe and shared his hope for peace between “both sides.” The Rebbe responded, “Forget about ‘both sides.’ [We are] one side, one people, united by the management of New York City.” For me, this encounter holds a powerful message: elected officials can best use our positions to unite the constituencies we serve. Of course, I have personal political opinions, even strong ones. But the only belief that matters to my position is that people come first. As such, I will work with anyone, even those whose politics I disagree with, for the benefit of my constituents and NYC residents.
Mental health: A real problem that affects the person suffering, their families and everyone they encounter. We do not have sufficient public options. Private
care is prohibitive and inaccessible to most working people.
Public safety: I work with police officers, some very professional and those who are clearly burnt out. With improved standards, processes and support, compassionate policing is possible and practical.
City councilmembers are uniquely positioned to hear and observe how proposals, policies and laws are actually playing out in the community.
In the aftermath of those horrible days, it became clear that outside agitators had deliberately sown division and distrust, inciting people against their Jewish neighbors. It proved how important it is to build unity and trust locally, neighbor to neighbor. I am running for office to continue and improve on this important work.
experienced politicians can’t seem to fix.
Next, executive skills: creative thinking, problem-solving and decision-making that move solutions forward.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
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Candidate New York City Council District 41 |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 14, 2025
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