Emily Gallagher

Emily Gallagher
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 50th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2021
Preceded byJoe Lentol
Parliamentary groupNew York State Socialists in Office
Personal details
Born (1984-03-23) March 23, 1984 (age 42)
Fairfax, Virginia, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations
Democratic Socialists of America
EducationIthaca College (BA)
Signature
WebsiteState Assembly website

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 Greenpoint and parts of Williamsburg, in the northern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. She identifies as a Democratic Socialist.

Early life

Gallagher grew up in a suburb of Rochester, New York, and moved to Greenpoint, Brooklyn shortly after graduating from Ithaca College in 2006. Before running for office, she worked as a museum educator and a non-profit community affairs director.

Career

Gallagher became involved in politics while attending Ithaca College in 2002. After moving to Brooklyn in 2006, she became involved in neighborhood organizing, focusing on tenants' rights and environmental justice. Gallagher claims she was uninspired by local politicians, later becoming involved with the Brooklyn political organization New Kings Democrats. 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. She was endorsed by Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and New York City Council Member Antonio Reynoso, but ultimately lost with 44.9% of the vote.

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. A member of the Brooklyn Democratic Socialists of America, she sought but did not receive their endorsement due to the chapter's limited capacity and desire to focus on building power in working-class communities of color.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the campaign pivoted to completely rely on phone banking, text banking, video chat events, 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. Once absentee ballots were counted, Gallagher was determined to have won by between 400 and 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.

On June 25, 2024, Gallagher won the Democratic primary with 75% of the votes over Anathea Simpkins and Andrew Bodiford.

Gallagher was arrested alongside over 100 protestors at a September 2026 protest organized by Jewish Voice for Peace ahead of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

References

  1. 1 2 Irizarry Aponte, Claudia (23 Dec 2019). "Greenpoint Activist Vies to Unseat 47-Year Incumbent Lentol". The City. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 ""It's rare to find somebody who's really dug in"". 17 June 2020.
  3. ↑ Simon, Aaron (18 Aug 2016). "Meet Emily Gallagher, the North Brooklyn Democrat Trying to Topple a 30-Year Incumbent". Patch. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  4. ↑ "NYS Board of Elections Democratic Primary for State Committee Election Returns September 13, 2016" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. 13 September 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  5. ↑ Mahoney, Bill; Muoio, Danielle (23 Sep 2019). "Lentol gets first primary challenge in a decade". Politico. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  6. ↑ Featherstone, Liza (29 May 2020). "A Socialist Takes on Big Real Estate in North Brooklyn". Jacobin. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  7. ↑ Duggan, Kevin (22 July 2020). "Emily Gallagher Defeats Longtime North Brooklyn Assembly Incumbent Joe Lentol". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  8. ↑ New York State Board of Elections (2 September 2020). "Certified Results from the June 23, 2020 Primary Election" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 August 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  9. ↑ VBallotpedia. "Emily Gallagher - Ballotpedia". Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  10. ↑ "Emily Gallagher". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
  11. ↑ Wuthmann, Walter; Kim, Elizabeth (2026-09-24). "Mamdani allies arrested blocking traffic ahead of Netanyahu's UN speech". Gothamist. Retrieved 2026-09-25.