Isaac Bryan

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Isaac Bryan

|image = Isaac Bryan, 2022.jpg

|office = Majority Leader of the California Assembly

|term_start = July 3, 2023

|term_end = November 22, 2023

|predecessor = Eloise Reyes

|successor = Cecilia Aguiar-Curry

|office1 = Member of the California Assembly

|constituency1 = 54th district (2021–2022)
55th district (2022–present)

|term_start1 = May 28, 2021

|term_end1 =

|predecessor1 = Sydney Kamlager

|successor1 =

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1992|1|16}}

|birth_place = Dallas, Texas, U.S.

|death_date =

|death_place =

|party = Democratic

|education = University of Arizona (BA)
University of California, Los Angeles (MPP)

}}

Isaac Gregory Bryan (born January 16, 1992){{cite web|url=https://www.assembly.ca.gov/system/files/2024-02/2023-assembly-handbook.pdf|title=The Assembly List of MEMBERS, OFFICERS, COMMITTEES AND THE RULES|website=California State Assembly|date=March 2023|author=Parker, Sue}} is an American politician serving as a Member of the California State Assembly where he represents the 55th district, which includes much of South Central Los Angeles.{{Cite web|title=Meet the Candidates Running for CA's 54th Assembly District|url=https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/inside-the-issues/2021/03/02/meet-the-candidates-running-for-ca-s-54th-assembly-district|access-date=2021-03-12|website=spectrumnews1.com|language=en}} Bryan was previously the executive director of the University of California Los Angeles's Black Policy Project, and served as the Director of Public Policy for the UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center. From July to November 2023, he served as Assembly Majority Leader.{{Cite web |last1=Korte |first1=Lara |last2=Gardiner |first2=Dustin |last3=White |first3=Jeremy B. |date=2023-11-22 |title=Rivas' first big flex |url=https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2023/11/22/rivas-first-big-flex-00128429 |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}

Early life and education

Bryan was born in Dallas, Texas, to a teenage mother in poverty who gave him up at birth.{{Cite web|date=2020-06-14|title=A firsthand account of this pivotal moment in history|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-firsthand-account-of-this-pivotal-moment-in-history|access-date=2021-03-12|website=PBS NewsHour|language=en-us}} Bryan was adopted as an infant and has lived in California since he was in the sixth grade. His family served as a foster family for hundreds of children over two decades and adopted him and eight others from the child welfare system.{{Cite web|title=Isaac Bryan {{!}} David Bohnett Foundation|url=http://www.bohnettfoundation.org/dbf-fellow/isaac-bryan/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=www.bohnettfoundation.org}}

Bryan attended seven public schools and two California community colleges before earning a Bachelor of Arts in political science and sociology from the University of Arizona. He worked as a research fellow for the Rombach Institute on Crime, Delinquency and Corrections. During his time with the Rombach Institute, Bryan worked on juvenile justice and criminal justice reform. He also worked with a team of federal monitors to enforce a United States Department of Justice Consent Decree with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

Bryan went on to earn a Master of Public Policy from UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.{{Cite web|title=Isaac Bryan|url=https://milliondollarhoods.pre.ss.ucla.edu/portfolio-item/isaac-bryan/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Million Dollar Hoods|language=en-US}} In 2017, Bryan was named a David Bohnett Foundation fellow, where Bryan previously served in Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's Office of Reentry, where he co-authored the city's first report on the holistic needs of Angelenos with justice system involvement.{{Cite web|title=Issac Bryan leads field in race for Assembly District 54|url=http://ourweekly.com/news/2021/feb/25/issac-bryan-leads-field-race-assembly-district-54/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=ourweekly.com|date=25 February 2021 }}

Career

= UCLA Black Policy Project =

Bryan is the founding director of UCLA's Black Policy Project (BPP). The BPP aims to build connections between black scholarship at UCLA and public policy decision making.{{Cite web|title=Black legislative leaders meet at UCLA to discuss future of public policy|url=https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/black-legislative-leaders-meet-at-ucla-to-discuss-future-of-public-policy|access-date=2021-03-12|website=UCLA|language=en-US}} Bryan also served as director of Public Policy for UCLA's Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies.

During his time at UCLA, Bryan authored numerous studies and reports. Bryan and The Million Dollar Hoods Project issued several reports on the interactions between students and Los Angeles School Police Department.{{Cite web|title=UCLA Researchers Analyze Data on Student Interactions with Police|url=https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/inside-the-issues/2020/08/12/ucla-researchers-analyze-data-on-student-interactions-with-police|access-date=2021-03-12|website=spectrumnews1.com|language=en}} Bryan regularly provided media commentary on issues of racial inequality in the United States.{{Cite web|title=In 2021, local Black analysts say Martin Luther King's dream hasn't been realized|url=https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/greater-la/coronavirus-vaccinations-martin-luther-king-jr-free-meals/2021-mlk-dream|access-date=2021-03-12|website=KCRW|date=18 January 2021 |language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Roman|first=Nick|title=The False Dichotomy Of Protest Coverage So Far|url=https://laist.com/2020/06/02/los-angeles-floyd-protests-what-is-next.php|access-date=2021-03-12|website=LAist|date=2 June 2020 }} During the summer of 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, Bryan led peaceful protests in Los Angeles.{{Cite web|title=Protests for racial justice: Faculty share insights on responses to the killing of George Floyd|url=https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/protests-racial-justice-george-floyd|access-date=2021-03-12|website=UCLA|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Isaac Bryan: Confronting Police, Protests, and Power|url=https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/socal-connected/clip/isaac-bryan-confronting-police-protests-and-power|access-date=2021-03-12|website=PBS SoCal|language=en}}

= Criminal justice reform =

Bryan was one of the leading scholars who articulated that "defunding police" was really a call to question the size of our tax contributions to policing and criminalization at the expense of social services.{{Cite web|author=Scottie Andrew|date=2020-06-07|title=There's a growing call to defund the police. Here's what it means|url=https://lite.cnn.com/en/article/h_05617dfd96300bec1727197c3ace1d72|access-date=2022-05-11|website=CNN|language=en| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303083958/https://lite.cnn.com/en/article/h_05617dfd96300bec1727197c3ace1d72| archive-date=March 3, 2021}} Bryan was the co-chair for Los Angeles County's historic Measure J, which was approved by over 2.1 million voters and diverts at least 10% of the county's general funds "to address the disproportionate impact of racial injustice through community investment and alternatives to incarceration".{{Cite web|last=Los Angeles County|date=2020-07-24|title=Measure J text|url=http://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/bos/supdocs/147585.pdf|website=Los Angeles County|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Munoz|first=Anabel|date=2020-11-10|title=Measure J approved by LA County voters: Here's what happens now|url=https://abc7.com/7684613/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=ABC7 Los Angeles|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Progressive shift on ballot measures signal appeal of criminal justice reform in LA County|url=https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/greater-la/biden-homelessness-measure-j-restaurants/george-gascon-nithya-raman-progressive-la|access-date=2021-03-12|website=KCRW|date=13 November 2020 |language=en}} Bryan regularly writes and provides commentary on policing and justice reform in the United States.{{Cite web|author=Scottie Andrew, Josiah Ryan and Caroline Kelly|title=Biden opposes defunding the police. Here's what that means|url=https://us.cnn.com/2021/02/17/politics/defunding-police-biden-town-hall-trnd/index.html|access-date=2022-05-11|website=CNN|date=17 February 2021 |language=en}}{{Cite web|title=UCLA report shows disproportionate arrests of black people by LAPD Metro|url=https://dailybruin.com/2019/04/17/ucla-report-shows-disproportionate-arrests-of-black-people-by-lapd-metro/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Daily Bruin}}{{Cite web|last=Jones|first=Haley|date=2018-12-06|title=Leaders of Million Dollar Hoods discuss mass incarceration in Los Angeles|url=https://www.theoccidentalnews.com/culture/2018/12/05/leaders-of-million-dollar-hoods-discuss-mass-incarceration/2895721|access-date=2021-03-12|website=The Occidental|language=en}} He has been an outspoken advocate on the need to end the criminalization of poverty.

California State Assembly

= Election =

In 2021, Bryan announced that he would be a candidate for the California Assembly to succeed fellow Democrat Sydney Kamlager, who was elected to the California Senate.{{Cite web|last=Service|first=City News|date=2021-03-03|title=Special election: Sydney Kamlager wins LA-area state Senate seat|url=https://abc7.com/10385902/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=ABC7 Los Angeles|language=en}} Bryan's campaign for the Assembly was endorsed by many people across Los Angeles.

Bryan won the special election to represent the 54th district outright securing over 50% in the primary despite five other candidates, and was sworn into office.{{Cite web|date=2021-05-28|title=Isaac Bryan sworn into California Assembly|url=https://www.foxla.com/news/isaac-bryan-to-be-sworn-into-california-assembly|access-date=2021-05-29|website=City News Service|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2021-05-29|title=29-Year-Old Isaac Bryan Sworn Into California State Assembly To Represent Westside to Inglewood|url=https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2021/05/29/29-year-old-isaac-bryan-sworn-into-california-state-assembly-to-represent-westside-to-inglewood/|access-date=2021-05-29|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=UCLA alum Isaac Bryan to represent District 54 following special election|url=https://dailybruin.com/2021/05/28/ucla-alum-isaac-bryan-to-represent-district-54-following-special-election/|access-date=2021-05-29|website=Daily Bruin}}

On July 3, 2023 Bryan was named Majority Leader of the Assembly, replacing Eloise Reyes.{{cite news |last1=Cadelago |first1=Christopher |last2=White |first2=Jeremy B. |last3=Korte |first3=Lara |last4=Govindarao |first4=Sejal |title=California Playbook: Gavin Newsom's red-state hustle |url=https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2023/07/05/gavins-red-state-hustle-00104691 |access-date=5 July 2023 |work=Politico |date=5 July 2023 |language=en}}

During his time in the Legislature Bryan established the UCLA Center on Reproductive Health Law and Policy, ended prison gerrymandering, returned millions in stolen foster youth benefits, shut down the largest urban oil field in California, established a registry for people living with ALS, improved student health insurance coverage, expanded restorative justice practices,{{cite web |url=https://a55.asmdc.org/legislative-accomplishments-keeping-families-whole-ending-poverty-and-supporting-communities |title=Legislative Accomplishments: Keeping Families Whole, Ending Poverty and Supporting Communities | Official Website - Assemblymember Isaac G. Bryan Representing the 55th California Assembly District }}{{cite web |url=https://a55.asmdc.org/district-budget-wins |title=District Budget Wins | Official Website - Assemblymember Isaac G. Bryan Representing the 55th California Assembly District }} [https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2023/07/california-poverty-caucus/ and started a select committee on Poverty and Economic Inclusion.]

Bryan is a member of the California Legislative Progressive Caucus.{{cite web |title=Legislative Progressive Caucus |url=https://www.assembly.ca.gov/offices-caucuses/legislative-progressive-caucus |website=assembly.ca.gov |publisher=California State Assembly |access-date=11 April 2024}} [https://www.postnewsgroup.com/700098-2/ In 2024, Bryan was elected to serve as Vice-Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus.]

Electoral history

{{Election box open primary begin no change

| title = 2022 California's 55th State Assembly district election{{cite web |title=Primary Election - Statement of the Vote, June 7, 2022 |url=https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2022-primary/sov/104-state-assemblymember.pdf|website=California Secretary of State |access-date=June 20, 2024}}{{cite web |title=General Election - Statement of the Vote, November 8, 2022 - State Assembly |url=https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2022-general/sov/65-state-assemblymember.pdf |website=California Secretary of State |access-date=June 20, 2024}}

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Isaac Bryan (incumbent)

| votes = 79,141

| percentage = 85.7

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Keith Girolamo Cascio

| votes = 13,200

| percentage = 14.3