Cynthia Nixon is running for governor of New York City

Cynthia Nixon, of Sex and the City fame, announced last night that she’s running for  governor in the upcoming New York City election. In her campaign launch video, which went live on Twitter, Nixon described her connection to the city. “New York is my home,” she said, “I’ve never lived anywhere else. When I grew up here, it was just my mom and me in a one bedroom fifth-floor walk-up. New York is where I was raised and where I’m raising my kids.”

If successful, the 51-year-old will be the first female and openly gay leader the Big Apple has ever seen. She and her wife, Christine Marinoni, are liberal activists and have proudly campaigned for LGBT rights for years. They also rallied hard against the Donald Trump presidential campaign, and are now vocal critics of his leadership.

Nixon wants to improve women’s healthcare facilities in the city, mend its crumbling transport infrastructure, and make education easily accessible for everyone, regardless of income. In the video, she says, “We want our government to work again, on healthcare, ending mass incarceration, fixing our broken subway. We are sick of politicians who care more about headlines and power than they do about us. It can’t just be business as usual anymore.”

When discussing the future of education in New York, she said, “I’m a proud public school graduate and a prouder public school parent. I was given chances I just don’t see for most of New York’s kids today. Our leaders are letting us down. We are the most unequal state in the entire country, with both incredible wealth and extreme poverty. Half the kids in our upstate cities live below the poverty line. How did we let this happen? I love New York. I’ve never wanted to live anywhere else, but something has to change.”

Nixon will run against the current governor of New York, Democrat Andrew Cuomo, who has been in office for two terms and is hopeful of securing his third.

I love New York, and today I'm announcing my candidacy for governor. Join us: https://t.co/9DwsxWW8xX pic.twitter.com/kYTvx6GZiD

— Cynthia Nixon (@CynthiaNixon) March 19, 2018