William L. Murphy for New York State Assembly 15th District

In his first two years in Albany, Jake Blumencranz worked on bills to protect property owners against squatters and increase road safety by categorizing aggressive driving as a class E felony. Both are worthwhile endeavors.

But he falls short on other critical issues. The Oyster Bay Republican, 28, calls for increased oversight of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority but doesn’t understand MTA operations or how the transit agency serves the 15th District. He correctly recognizes the housing shortfall in his district, yet offers no ideas to address it. To meet the state’s green energy goals, he supports building small nuclear reactors upstate and more state investment in green hydrogen generation.

Voters have a worthy alternative. Democrat William L. Murphy, 41, of Farmingdale, has a fresh, self-styled populist perspective. An attorney and legal studies professor at St. John’s University, he previously worked as a federal court litigator for a Long Island-based labor and employment law firm.

Murphy suggests addressing the affordable housing shortage by capping private equity’s purchase of single-family homes and the concentrated ownership of rental apartments, both of which he says drive up costs. He wants to expand the income threshold for the state’s child care tax credit to include more families as a way to address the affordability crisis. On the effort to change the state formula for doling out education aid, Murphy wants a “fresh start” using updated data to make allocations and focusing on getting more resources to children with disabilities.

Murphy is similarly full-throated in advocating for health care issues. He wants to develop a bill of rights for both patients and doctors that would crack down on medical insurance companies he claims are “owning our doctor’s offices” and making money on the backs of patients and doctors. But when it comes to the use of state funds for migrants in New York City awaiting determination of their asylum claims, Murphy’s rhetoric of “send the buses back” is unrealistic.

Overall, his edgy voice and impatience with the status quo could produce some change in Albany.

Newsday’s editorial board endorses Murphy.