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Jabari Brisport

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Jabari Brisport
Member of the New York State Senate
from the 25th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2021
Preceded byVelmanette Montgomery
Personal details
Born (1987-08-09) August 9, 1987 (age 37)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Political partyGreen (before 2019)
Democratic (2019–present)
EducationNew York University (BFA)
Yale University (MFA)
WebsiteCampaign website

Jabari Brisport (born August 9, 1987) is an American politician, activist, and former public school teacher.[1] He is the state senator for New York's 25th State Senate district in Brooklyn, and the first openly gay person of color to be elected to the New York State Legislature.[2]

Early life and education

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Brisport was raised in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn,[3] by a Caribbean immigrant father and a second-generation Brooklynite mother.[4] During Brisport's childhood, his father worked at a sheet metal factory, and his mother was an office manager.[5]

He graduated from Poly Prep, a private high school in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn.[6] He attended New York University Tisch School of the Arts[7] and the Yale School of Drama.[8][9]

Career

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Education

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Brisport taught math to 6th and 7th graders at Medgar Evers College Preparatory School, a public school in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.[9][10] He is a member of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT).[11]

Activism

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At age 22, Brisport began organizing efforts in support of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in New York.[5] The bill was defeated in 2009, but Brisport continued organizing around the issue and same-sex marriage was legalized in New York two years later.[citation needed]

A few years after that, Brisport got involved in the burgeoning Black Lives Matter movement and began organizing rallies and protests, as well as training protesters on what to do if stopped or harassed by the police.[12] In 2017, he traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia, to march in the counter-protest of a Unite the Right rally.[13]

Brisport joined the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) shortly after Donald Trump's election as president, and got involved in their work on access to affordable housing. He quickly became a leader in the fight against the private development of the Bedford Union Armory in Crown Heights.[14][15][16][17]

2017 City Council race

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In 2017, Brisport ran against incumbent Laurie Cumbo in the 35th New York City Council District. In a rare Green Party primary, he defeated Scott Hutchinson, 32 votes to 4.[3] Brisport was partially inspired to run for office by Bernie Sanders[18] and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.[19] He was endorsed by Our Revolution, New York Communities for Change,[3] and the New York Chapter of Democratic Socialists of America.[17] He lost the election, receiving 29% of the vote.[20][21] Brisport earned more independent votes than any council candidate since 2003.[22]

2020 State Senate race

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Brisport speaking at a protest in June 2020

In 2019, Brisport announced a run for the New York State Senate 25th District seat being vacated by Velmanette Montgomery.[23] On September 29, 2019, he was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America.[24] His campaign did not accept any donations from the real estate industry or any for-profit corporations. Instead, it received donations from over 7,000 individuals, breaking the record for most donors to a New York State-level campaign.[25][26] According to the campaign, it also had the support of over 1,000 volunteers.[27] His campaign was also endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Cynthia Nixon, New York Communities for Change, and the Working Families Party.[5][28]

On election night of the Democratic primary on June 23, 2020, Brisport led the race with 52.25% of the vote against sitting Assemblywoman Tremaine Wright and former Montgomery staffer Jason Salmon. But there were more absentee ballots than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and on election night there were still 26,000 absentee ballots to be counted.[29] Brisport declared victory on July 23, once the absentee ballots had been counted and his lead over Wright had grown to 10,000 votes.[30] He won the November general election, becoming the first openly gay person of color ever elected to the New York legislature.[31]

2022 State Senate race

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In 2022, Brisport faced Conrad Tillard in the State Senate district 25 race.[32] Brisport was backed by the Democratic Socialists of America and by unions including 1199SEIU and District Council 37. Tillard was endorsed by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, State Senator Kevin Parker, and former New York City Councilman Robert Cornegy.[33][34][32][35] Tillard ran as a more moderate and centrist candidate than Brisport, and was critical of his support of socialism.[36][34][37] Brisport won re-nomination in the three-way race, with 70% of the vote to Tillard's 16%.[38][39][40]

Political positions

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Brisport came to identify as a democratic socialist through Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign, for which he volunteered as a canvasser and phone-banker.[12] He is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).[17]

Brisport was arrested while protesting the re-development of the vacant Bedford Union Armory in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.[41][42][43][20] He argued that the development should be 100% affordable housing.[20] He has advocated for a vacancy tax and a pied-à-terre tax.[44]

Brisport, who is vegan, supports a ban on the commercial sale of cats, dogs, and rabbits, as well as on the sale and manufacture of fur clothing. He defends outlawing cruel animal farming practices and redirecting dairy subsidies into programs for dairy farmers to exit the industry.[45]

References

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  1. ^ "All Politics Is Local: a Guide to Brooklyn's City Council Races - The Bridge". The Bridge. November 6, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  2. ^ Wakefield, Lily (November 4, 2020). "'The next AOC': Jabari Brisport makes history as New York's first gay Black state senator". PinkNews. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "'Crazy Green Party Dude' Wages Grassroots Fight in Brooklyn Council Race". City Limits. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  4. ^ "Jabari Brisport profile". gp.org. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "Teacher Jabari Brisport set to be N.Y.'s 1st Black gay state senator". NBC News. September 24, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  6. ^ "Brooklyn Native Jabari Brisport (XXI) is Set to Lead His Community". Prep for Prep. September 10, 2020.
  7. ^ "Jabari Brisport Resume". Jabari Brisport. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  8. ^ Whitford, Emma (April 7, 2017). "Meet The Democratic Socialist Running For City Council In Brooklyn". Gothamist. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  9. ^ a b "Upcoming". Jabari Brisport. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  10. ^ i_beebe (November 4, 2020). "Jabari Brisport is still teaching". City & State NY. Archived from the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  11. ^ i_beebe (September 6, 2020). "Will labor stick with the establishment?". City & State NY. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Hannah Black talks with New York State Senate candidate Jabari Brisport". www.artforum.com. June 10, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  13. ^ "Charlottesville protester: Trump's words too little too late". Fox News. August 15, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  14. ^ "Arrest of City Council candidate at Bedford-Union Armory protest draws criticism - Brooklyn Daily Eagle". www.brooklyneagle.com. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  15. ^ "Bedford-Union Armory fight spills over into 35th City Council debate in Brooklyn - Brooklyn Daily Eagle". www.brooklyneagle.com. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  16. ^ "City Planning Approves Bedford-Union Armory Plan as 2 Protesters Arrested". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  17. ^ a b c Jilani, Zaid (August 3, 2017). "Jabari Brisport Is Running For City Council to Bring Democratic Socialism to Brooklyn". The Intercept. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  18. ^ Foldy, Ben (October 9, 2017). "A Green Grows in Brooklyn". Bklyner. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  19. ^ "TALKING SOCIALISM | Catching up with AOC".
  20. ^ a b c "Laurie Cumbo Holds On To Win NYC District 35 Election". Patch. November 6, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  21. ^ Max, Ben. "2017 New York City General Election Results". Gotham Gazette. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  22. ^ Elliott-Negri, Luke (July 25, 2019). "Opinion: By Forging Alliance on the Left, Cabán Race is Reshaping NYC Politics". City Limits.
  23. ^ "Brooklyn Democratic Socialists narrow their sights on four 2020 candidates". Brooklyn Eagle. September 19, 2019.
  24. ^ Levine, Jon (October 5, 2019). "NYC Democratic Socialists' new AOC could be this rising star from Brooklyn".
  25. ^ Tracy, Matt (May 26, 2020). "Flexing Grassroots Muscle, Brisport Leads State Senate Rivals in Fundraising". Gay City News. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  26. ^ "Inside the NYC Democratic Socialists' Powerhouse Electoral Machine". jacobinmag.com. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  27. ^ "Jabari Brisport Declares Victory In Brooklyn State Senate Race". www.msn.com. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  28. ^ "Our Candidates". Working Families Party. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  29. ^ Millman, Andrew (July 8, 2020). "Jabari Brisport, Democratic Socialist on Verge of Upset Primary Win in Brooklyn, Eyes Journey to Albany". Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  30. ^ Iqbal, Zainab (July 23, 2020). "Jabari Brisport Declares Victory In NYS Senate Democratic Primary In District 25".
  31. ^ Crary, David (November 4, 2020). "In blue and red states, milestone wins for LGBTQ candidates". Washington Post. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  32. ^ a b Mays, Jeffery C. (August 20, 2022). "Adams Endorses Primary Candidates, Hoping to Defeat Left-Wing Democrats". The New York Times.
  33. ^ "Tracking the contested state Senate primary races in New York". City & State NY. August 22, 2022.
  34. ^ a b "STATE SENATE". issuu.
  35. ^ Samar, Khurshid (August 11, 2022). "New York State Senate Races to Watch in the August Primary". Gotham Gazette. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  36. ^ Louis, Errol (August 27, 2022). "4 Big Takeaways From New York's Weird Late-Summer Primaries". Intelligencer.
  37. ^ "NY Senate Voter's Guide: What to know about the 2022 NYC primaries". Gothamist. August 12, 2022.
  38. ^ "New York Primary Election Results". The New York Times. August 23, 2022.
  39. ^ "NYS Board of Elections Unofficial Election Night Results". NY State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  40. ^ "Adams state Senate pick Conrad Tillard has history of bigoted remarks". The New York Post. August 17, 2022.
  41. ^ "Arrest of City Council candidate at Bedford-Union Armory protest draws criticism - Brooklyn Daily Eagle". www.brooklyneagle.com. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  42. ^ "Bedford-Union Armory fight spills over into 35th City Council debate in Brooklyn - Brooklyn Daily Eagle". www.brooklyneagle.com. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  43. ^ "City Planning Approves Bedford-Union Armory Plan as 2 Protesters Arrested". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  44. ^ "Lessons from Vancouver for NYC's Debate Over Taxing Vacant Land to Ease Housing Crunch". City Limits. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  45. ^ "Animal Rights". Jabari For State Senate. February 13, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
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