Emily Gallagher
{{short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Emily Gallagher
| image = Grand St Elevators Emily Gallagher (cropped).jpg
| state_assembly = New York
| district = 50th
| prior_term =
| term_start = January 1, 2021
| term_end =
| predecessor = Joe Lentol
| successor =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1984|03|23}}
| birth_place = Fairfax, Virginia, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = Democratic
| otherparty = Democratic Socialists of America
| education = Ithaca College
| website = {{URL|nyassembly.gov/mem/Emily-Gallagher|Assembly website}}
| residence = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
|signature=Emily Gallagher Signature.png
}}
Emily E. Gallagher (born March 23, 1984) is an American politician. She is the Democratic representative serving District 50 in the New York State Assembly, which comprises parts of Greenpoint, Williamsburg and Fort Greene, among other neighborhoods located in the northern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.
Gallagher pledges to build affordable housing in her district so rent does not force her working-class constituents to leave New York."Emily's Platform". Re-Elect Emily for Assembly District 50. June 20, 2025. "One of my proudest moments was securing funding to preserve and create thousands of affordable units across our district. [...] We need to keep fighting for policies that make housing accessible, prevent displacement, and help our neighbors [sic] thrive."
Early life
Gallagher grew up in Rochester, New York, and moved to Greenpoint, Brooklyn shortly after graduating from Ithaca College in 2006.{{cite news | url = https://www.thecity.nyc/2019/12/23/21210640/greenpoint-activist-vies-to-unseat-47-year-incumbent-lentol | title = Greenpoint Activist Vies to Unseat 47-Year Incumbent Lentol | first = Claudia | last = Irizarry Aponte | work = The City | date = 23 Dec 2019 | accessdate = 22 July 2020}}
Politics
Gallagher became involved in politics while attending Ithaca College in 2002. After moving to Brooklyn in 2006, she became deeply involved in neighborhood organizing especially around social and environmental justice organizing, and eventually came to know many local players and issues in the community over a decade of grassroots participation. At the time, Gallagher was uninspired by local politics because she did not see used to advance social justice. However, she did see the value of politicians who were willing to "stick their neck out" in office, and began to reconsider her position, becoming involved with the Brooklyn political organization New Kings Democrats.https://forgeorganizing.org/article/its-rare-find-somebody-whos-really-dug
In 2016, New Kings Democrats approached Gallagher to consider a run for District Leader.
Gallagher ran for Democratic leader of New York's 50th State Assembly district against 32-year incumbent Linda Minucci.{{cite news | url = https://patch.com/new-york/williamsburg/meet-emily-gallagher-north-brooklyn-democrat-trying-topple-30-year-incumbent | title =
Meet Emily Gallagher, the North Brooklyn Democrat Trying to Topple a 30-Year Incumbent | first = Aaron | last = Simon | work = Patch | date = 18 Aug 2016 | accessdate = 22 July 2020}} She was endorsed by Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and New York City Council Member Antonio Reynoso, but ultimately lost with 44.9% of the vote.{{cite web | url = https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2016/Primary/2016StateLocalPrimaryElectionResults.pdf | title = NYS Board of Elections Democratic Primary for State Committee Election Returns September 13, 2016 | publisher = New York State Board of Elections | date = 13 September 2016 | accessdate = 22 July 2020}}
Gallagher was soon after appointed to Brooklyn Community Board 1, where she worked on transportation issues, the environment, and uncovering community board abuses.{{cite magazine | url = https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/05/emily-gallagher-joe-lentol-north-brooklyn-state-assembly | title = A Socialist Takes on Big Real Estate in North Brooklyn | first = Liza | last = Featherstone | magazine = Jacobin | date = 29 May 2020 | accessdate = 22 July 2020}} As a community board member, Gallagher learned that the City had provided grant funding for community engagement. After several months trying to trace the money, the Board Chair Gerald Esposito admitted that the $26,000 had been spent to buy a RAV-4 SUV to “To go different places,” https://www.thecity.nyc/2019/05/23/brooklyn-community-board-roils-over-26-000-suv-splurge/ She was then removed from the board the following year by Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.
=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 New York State Assembly.{{cite news | url = https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2019/09/22/lentol-gets-first-primary-challenge-in-a-decade-1204651 | title = Lentol gets first primary challenge in a decade | first1 = Bill | last1 = Mahoney | first2 = Danielle | last2 = Muoio | work = Politico | date = 23 Sep 2019 | accessdate = 22 July 2020}} 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.
Gallagher's team had to quickly pivot in March 2020 when the COVID 19 epidemic necessitated a universal shut down. Their campaign pivoted to completely rely on phone banking, text banking, events on the video chat platform Zoom, and holding virtual fundraisers. Their campaign was run with 25-30 core volunteers.
On primary election night, June 23, 2020, Gallagher trailed Lentol by 1,763 votes based on in-person totals. Absentee ballots 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.{{cite news | url = https://www.brooklynpaper.com/emily-gallagher-defeats-longtime-north-brooklyn-assembly-incumbent-joe-lentol/ | title = Emily Gallagher Defeats Longtime North Brooklyn Assembly Incumbent Joe Lentol | first = Kevin | last = Duggan | work = Brooklyn Paper | date = 22 July 2020 | accessdate = 22 July 2020}} In the final certified result, Gallagher won by 1,151 votes.{{cite web | url = https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2020/Primary/CertifiedJune232020StatePrimaryResults.pdf | date = 2 September 2020 | title = Certified Results from the June 23, 2020 Primary Election | author = New York State Board of Elections | access-date = 3 June 2023 | archive-date = 16 August 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200816214138/https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/Elections/2020/Primary/CertifiedJune232020StatePrimaryResults.pdf | url-status = dead }} On June 28, 2022, Gallagher won the Democratic primary with 79.5% of the votes over Paddy O'Sullivan.{{cite web | url=https://ballotpedia.org/Emily_Gallagher | title = Emily Gallagher - Ballotpedia | author = VBallotpedia | access-date = 8 February 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-ny-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=Joe Lentol}}
{{s-ttl|title=New York Assembly, 50th District|years=2021–present}}
{{s-inc}}
{{s-end}}
{{New York State Assembly}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Emily}}
Category:Ithaca College alumni
Category:Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from New York (state)
Category:Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly
Category:Women state legislators in New York (state)
Category:Politicians from Brooklyn
Category:21st-century American women politicians
Category:21st-century members of the New York State Legislature