Jabari Brisport

Jabari Brisport is an American politician, activist, actor, and teacher from New York City.[1] He is the Democratic nominee for New York's 25th State Senate district general election to be held on November 3, 2020.

Jabari Brisport
Brisport in 2017
Personal details
Born (1987-08-09) August 9, 1987
Brooklyn, New York
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic Party
Other political
affiliations		Democratic Socialists of America, Green Party
Occupationpolitician, teacher, actor
Known forRunning for political office, activism
Websitejabariforstatesenate.com/

Early life and education

Brisport was raised in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn,[2] to a Caribbean immigrant father and a second-generation Brooklynite mother.[3]

He attended New York University[4] Tisch School of the Arts[5] and the Yale School of Drama.[5][6][7]

Career

Brisport is a math teacher, who has taught at Medgar Evers College Preparatory School.[5][7]

Political campaigns

In 2017, Brisport ran against incumbent Laurie Cumbo for the 35th District city council seat in New York City. In a rare Green Party primary, Brisport defeated opponent Scott Hutchinson 32 votes to 4.[2] Brisport was partially inspired by Bernie Sanders to run for office.[8] He was endorsed by Sanders' Our Revolution and New York Communities for Change,[2] as well as the New York Chapter of DSA in the race.[9] He lost the election, but gained 29% of the vote.[10][11][12] Brisport's run earned more independent votes in any council race since 2003.[13]

In 2019, Brisport announced a run for the New York State Senate 25th District, held by Democrat Velmanette Montgomery.[14] On September 29, 2019, Brisport's run for State Senate was officially endorsed by the DSA.[15]

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 Velmanette Montgomery staffer Jason Salmon. However, absentee ballots were more significant than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and on election night there were still 26,000 absentee ballots to be counted.[16] Brisport declared victory on July 23, once the absentee ballots had been counted and his lead over Wright had been extended to 10,000 votes.[17] Given the overwhelmingly Democratic supermajority in New York’s 25th State Senate district, Brisport is considered the presumptive Senator-elect.[18]

Political positions

Brisport is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).[9]

Brisport's support for affordable housing includes not only stopping the private development of the Bedford Union Armory in Crown Heights,[19][20][21] but to other perennial measures, such as a vacancy tax and a pied-à-terre tax,[22] as well as housing plans that are 100% affordable, rather than a mix of market price or luxury condominiums.[11]

Personal life

Brisport is gay.[23]

References
  1. "All Politics Is Local: a Guide to Brooklyn's City Council Races - The Bridge". The Bridge. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  2. "'Crazy Green Party Dude' Wages Grassroots Fight in Brooklyn Council Race". City Limits. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  3. "Jabari Brisport". www.gp.org.
  4. Whitford, Emma (7 April 2017). "Meet The Democratic Socialist Running For City Council In Brooklyn". Gothamist. Archived from the original on 14 January 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  5. "Jabari Brisport Resume". Jabari Brisport. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  6. "Jabari Brisport". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  7. "Upcoming". Jabari Brisport. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  8. Foldy, Ben (9 October 2017). "A Green Grows in Brooklyn". Bklyner. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  9. Jilani, Zaid (3 August 2017). "Jabari Brisport Is Running For City Council to Bring Democratic Socialism to Brooklyn". The Intercept. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  10. Marcetic, Branko (9 November 2017). "Yesterday Was a Good Day". Jacobin. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  11. "Laurie Cumbo Holds On To Win NYC District 35 Election". Patch. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  12. Max, Ben. "2017 New York City General Election Results". Gotham Gazette. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  13. Elliott-Negri, Luke (July 25, 2019). "Opinion: By Forging Alliance on the Left, Cabán Race is Reshaping NYC Politics". City Limits.
  14. "Brooklyn Democratic Socialists narrow their sights on four 2020 candidates". Brooklyn Eagle. September 19, 2019.
  15. Levine, Jon (October 5, 2019). "NYC Democratic Socialists' new AOC could be this rising star from Brooklyn".
  16. Millman, Andrew (8 July 2020). "Jabari Brisport, Democratic Socialist on Verge of Upset Primary Win in Brooklyn, Eyes Journey to Albany". Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  17. Iqbal, Zainab (July 23, 2020). "Jabari Brisport Declares Victory In NYS Senate Democratic Primary In District 25".
  18. Verde, Ben (July 23, 2020). "Jabari Brisport declares victory in 25th State Senate district • Brooklyn Paper". Brooklyn Paper.
  19. "Arrest of City Council candidate at Bedford-Union Armory protest draws criticism - Brooklyn Daily Eagle". www.brooklyneagle.com. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  20. "Bedford-Union Armory fight spills over into 35th City Council debate in Brooklyn - Brooklyn Daily Eagle". www.brooklyneagle.com. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  21. "City Planning Approves Bedford-Union Armory Plan as 2 Protesters Arrested". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  22. "Lessons from Vancouver for NYC's Debate Over Taxing Vacant Land to Ease Housing Crunch". City Limits. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  23. Sprayregen, Molly (June 15, 2020). "A gay socialist could be the first LGBTQ person of color in the New York legislature". LGBTQ Nation. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
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