Donovan J. Richards Jr. (born April 9, 1983) is an American politician serving as the Borough President of

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. He is also a former

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

member, having represented the 31st district. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His former district includes portions of Arverne,

Bayswater Bayswater is an area in the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...

, Broad Channel, Cambria Heights, Edgemere, Far Rockaway,

Howard Beach Howard Beach is a neighborhood in the southwestern portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Queens. It is bordered to the north by the Belt Parkway and Conduit Avenue in Ozone Park, Queens, Ozone Park, to the south by J ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport is a major international airport serving New York City and its metropolitan area. JFK Airport is located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, bordering Jamaica Bay. It is ...

, Laurelton, Rockaway Beach, Rosedale, South Ozone Park and Springfield Gardens in

. Richards was the Democratic nominee for Queens Borough President in the November 3, 2020 general election. He defeated the Republican nominee Joann Ariola and independent candidate Dao Yin. Richards was sworn in as Queens Borough President on December 2, 2020.

Life and career

Richards was born and raised in southeast Queens. When he was young, he served with a mission in

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

, Haiti on behalf of St. Albans Congregational Church. He attended Redemption Christian Academy in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...

later graduating from

Jamaica High School Jamaica High School was a four-year public high school in Jamaica, Queens, New York. It was operated by the New York City Department of Education. Jamaica High School was founded as the Union Free School in 1854, and located within a three-stor ...

in Queens. He subsequently attended

Nyack College Alliance University (formerly Nyack College () was a private Christian university affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and located in New York City. It offered undergraduate and graduate programs; in addition, it included Allian ...

, then

Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology (commonly called Vaughn College) is a private college in East Elmhurst, New York, specialized in aviation and engineering education. It is adjacent to LaGuardia Airport but was founded in Newark, N ...

in Queens.

New York City Council

In June 2011, Richards became the chief of staff for New York City Councilman James Sanders, Jr., and when Sanders was elected to the New York State Senate, Richards won a 2013 special election to succeed him. Richards was appointed chair of the Committee on Environmental Protection. Richards was appointed to be the chair of the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises.

Queens Borough President bid

In June 2020, Richards secured the Democratic nomination for Borough President of Queens. On November 3, 2020, Richards won the election for Borough President of Queens.

References

External links

Councilman Donovan Richards
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Donovan 1983 births 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century New York (state) politicians African-American New York City Council members African-American people in New York (state) politics Living people New York (state) Democrats New York City Council members Queens borough presidents Place of birth missing (living people)