UNITED STATES | Jamaican-American Brian Cunnimngham Wins Democratic Party nomination for NY State Assembly seat

NEW YORK,  NY, February 22, 2022 - A Jamaican-American, Brian Cunningham, has  won the Democratic nomination for the special election in central Brooklyn’s Assembly District 43, securing over 90 percent of votes in the County Committee nominating process after a grueling and at-times tense seven-hour meeting.

The Assembly seat, which includes all of Prospect Lefferts Gardens, along with parts of Crown Heights and Flatbush, was vacated last month by Diana Richardson, who is now serving as Deputy Borough President under new Beep Antonio Reynoso. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul has scheduled the special election for March 22, with early voting set to begin on March 12.

Cunningham is  said to be a fixture of area politics, having served as a senior aide to State Sen. Kevin Parker and chief of staff to former Council member Laurie Cumbo before running an unsuccessful primary challenge in 2017 against Mathieu Eugene in Council District 40. 

Since then, Cunningham has worked at a number of jobs, including at the cure violence program Save our Streets Brooklyn and as social media manager for Mike Bloomberg’s presidential campaign. He currently works as director of operations for the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, according to his LinkedIn.

“I’m honored and humbled that the members of County Committee have put their faith in me to represent the people of District 43 and the Democratic Party in this special election,” Cunningham said in a statement. “Over the next several weeks, our campaign will continue speaking to voters across the district to ensure that every corner of every community has a chance to have their voice heard and to discuss the important issues we face.”

Cunningham won well over 90 percent of votes, consisting of those attending in-person and those who authorized others to vote for them by “proxy,” whereby a member who does not attend the meeting in person can authorize another member to vote on their behalf.

Cunningham, who had been endorsed by Councilmember Rita Joseph and State Sen. Kevin Parker, beat four other candidates seeking the Democratic nomination: Jelanie DeShong — who was supported by Richardson, State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, and US Rep. Yvette Clarke — as well as Tim Hunter, Pierre Albert, and Sharon Wedderburn.

 In the meantime, Cunningham says he looks forward to serving his community in Albany, but he still has to win the special election and, later on, the June Democratic primary where he might face competition from some of those he defeated for the nomination. Notwithstanding the process at County Committee, he said he wants to see greater levels of civic engagement and said that he aims to always be transparent in all of his decision-making.

“What I am committed to always doing is always listen to folks, always understand how they feel and what they’re saying, committing to listening and understanding and responding, but always explaining why I’ve taken the position I’ve taken,” Cunningham said. “And why I do what I do.”

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