Brad Hoylman
Elected to the State Senate in 2012, Brad chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and represents New York’s 27th State Senate District, which covers much of lower and midtown Manhattan. Brad champions a wide range of issues, such as housing, transportation, public education, environmental conservation and seniors.
He has passed over 100 bills and counting in the Senate, including the Child Victims Act, which enabled adult survivors of child sexual abuse to revive legal claims against their abusers; the TRUST Act, which permitted Congress to review the state taxes of elected officials like Donald Trump; GENDA, which extended human rights protections to transgender New Yorkers; and banning the practice of sexual orientation change efforts, or so-called “conversion therapy.”
Brad is a longtime grassroots activist, serving previously as a Democratic District Leader and three-term chair of Manhattan Community Board 2. He is the past president of the Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats and a former board member of Tenants & Neighbors and Citizen Action.
Raised in rural West Virginia, Brad graduated from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes scholar, and Harvard Law School. Before being elected to the Senate, he practiced law in the private and non-profit sectors.
Senator Hoylman and his husband David are the parents of two young daughters, Silvia and Lucy. The family are members of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the LGBTQ synagogue.
If elected, Brad would make history as the first LGBTQ Borough President.
463: Brad Hoylman, part 1: From New York Senator to Manhattan Borough President
Brad isn’t just a longtime elected legislator, he’s also a neighbor who represents me. Most campaigning politicians speak in talking points. Maybe for being neighbors, maybe just out of his personality, I heard him opening up and sharing about the man behind the campaign.
We spoke about what motivates him, his vision, New York City, Greenwich Village, and government leadership. He spoke thoughtfully, with reflection on political topics but also other personal ones, like the environment, drugs, and drug dealers and use in our “back yard,”—that is, Washington Square Park. I would have expected a politician to dodge some of those questions.
Here is Brad Hoylman, the person behind the campaign.
I hope our conversation helps lead to New York City legislating decreasing the supply of plastic and packaging choking our oceans and air.