Emily E. Gallagher (born March 23, 1984) is an American politician. She is the

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

representative serving District 50 in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

, which comprises parts of Greenpoint,

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

and Fort Greene, among other neighborhoods located in the northern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.

Early life

Gallagher grew up in Rochester, New York, and moved to

Greenpoint, Brooklyn Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg at Bushwick Inlet Park and McCarren Park; on the southeast by the Brooklyn� ...

shortly after graduating from Ithaca College in 2006.

Politics

In 2016, Gallagher ran for Democratic leader of New York's 50th State Assembly district against 32-year incumbent Linda Minucci. She was endorsed by Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and New York City Council Member Antonio Reynoso, but ultimately lost with 44.9% of the vote. Gallagher was soon after appointed to

Brooklyn Community Board 1 Brooklyn Community Board 1 is a New York City community board that encompasses the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Greenpoint. It is delimited by the Newtown Creek and Queens Borough line on the east, Flushing and Kent Avenue on th ...

, where she worked on transportation issues, the environment, and uncovering community board abuses.

New York State Assembly

On September 23, 2019, Gallagher launched a campaign against incumbent Joe Lentol for the Democratic primary to represent District 50 in the

. Gallagher ran on a platform of environmental sustainability, housing justice, and transit improvement, and received endorsements from New Kings Democrats, New York Communities for Change and the Brooklyn Young Democrats. A member of the Brooklyn Democratic Socialists of America, she sought their endorsement but did not receive it due to Brooklyn DSA's limited capacity and desire to focus on building power in working-class communities of color. On primary election night, June 23, 2020, Gallagher trailed Lentol by 1,763 votes based on in-person totals.

Absentee ballots An absentee ballot is a vote cast by someone who is unable or unwilling to attend the official polling station to which the voter is normally allocated. Methods include voting at a different location, postal voting, proxy voting and online vo ...

were more significant than usual, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and once they were counted, Gallagher was determined to have won by between 400-600 votes. In the final certified result, Gallagher won by 1,151 votes. On June 28, 2022, Gallagher won the Democratic primary with 79.5% of the votes over Paddy O'Sullivan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Emily Ithaca College alumni Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from New York (state) Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Women state legislators in New York (state) Living people Politicians from Brooklyn 21st-century American legislators 21st-century American women politicians 1984 births