David Yassky
Encyclopedia
David S. Yassky is a former member of the New York City Council
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...

. First elected in 2001, he represented the 33rd Council District, which includes parts of downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City , and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn...

, including Brooklyn Heights
Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn
Brooklyn Heights is a culturally diverse neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Originally referred to as 'Brooklyn Village', it has been a prominent area of Brooklyn since 1834. As of 2000, Brooklyn Heights sustained a population of 22,594 people. The neighborhood is part of...

, Greenpoint
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg at the Bushwick inlet, on the southeast by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and East Williamsburg, on the north by Newtown Creek and Long Island City, Queens at the...

, Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...

, DUMBO
DUMBO, Brooklyn
Dumbo, an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It encompasses two sections: one located between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, which connect Brooklyn to Manhattan across the East River, and another that continues...

, Boerum Hill
Boerum Hill
Boerum Hill is a small neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn that occupies 36 blocks bounded by State Street to the north, 4th Avenue to the east, Smith Street to the west, and Warren Street to the south. Commercial strips line Smith Street and Atlantic...

 and Park Slope
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Park Slope is a neighborhood in western Brooklyn, New York City's most populous borough. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park West to the east, Fourth Avenue to the west, Flatbush Avenue to the north, and 15th Street to the south, though other definitions are sometimes offered. Generally...

.

Yassky is a graduate of Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 and Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...

. He was a budget analyst for the New York City Office of Management and Budget. He then served as chief counsel to the House Subcommittee on Crime, a subcommittee chaired by Charles Schumer
Charles Schumer
Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer is the senior United States Senator from New York and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected in 1998, he defeated three-term Republican incumbent Al D'Amato by a margin of 55%–44%. He was easily re-elected in 2004 by a margin of 71%–24% and in 2010 by a...

. Yassky was a member of the faculty of the Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School is a law school located in Brooklyn Heights, in Downtown Brooklyn, New York.-History:Founded in 1901 by William Payson Richardson and Norman P. Heffley, Brooklyn Law School was the first law school on Long Island. Using space provided by Heffley’s business school, the law...

.

In 2006, Yassky ran for U.S. Congress in Brooklyn, losing to Yvette Clarke. On September 29, 2009 he lost the run-off election for the Democratic nomination for New York City Comptroller
New York City Comptroller
The Office of Comptroller of New York City is the chief fiscal officer and chief auditing officer of the city. The comptroller is elected, citywide, to a four-year term and can hold office for three consecutive terms. The current comptroller is Democrat John Liu, formerly a member of the New York...

. In 2010 Yassky was appointed chairman of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.

Personal

He has been married to Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...

 CFO Diana Fortuna
Diana Fortuna
Diana Fortuna is an American businesswoman, who is the Chief Financial Officer of the Metropolitan Opera. She spent most of her career working in government budget positions and was the president of the Citizens Budget Commission in New York City from 1998 to February 2008.-Biography:Fortuna was...

 since 1990, and they live in Brooklyn Heights with their two daughters.

City Council

Yassky was elected to the New York City Council in 2001. He is chair of the Council's Small Business Committee. Yassky was one of 29 councilmembers who voted in 2008 to extend term limits for themselves effectively ignoring two previous public votes imposing a limit of two terms. Hours before the final vote on term limits, Yassky proposed an amendment from the floor that would have altered the legislation to require approval by popular vote before term limits could change. The amendment failed by a vote of 28-22, but Yassky voted for the extension anyway

2006 Congressional campaign

In 2006, Yassky ran for the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

's nomination for the 11th Congressional District seat, an open seat held by the retiring Congressman Major Owens
Major Owens
Major Robert Odell Owens is a New York politician and a prominent member of the Democratic Party. He is also a former Congressman, having represented the state's 11th Congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He retired at the end of his term in January 2007 and was...

. He was part of a four-way race which also included New York State Senator Carl Andrews
Carl Andrews
For article on the Crossroads actor, see Carl Andrews Carl Andrews was a member of the New York State Senate from Brooklyn from 2002-2006...

, New York City Council member Yvette D. Clarke
Yvette D. Clarke
Yvette Diane Clarke is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007, and the Chair of the United States House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, Science and Technology since 2007 as well...

 and Major Owens's son Chris Owens
Chris Owens (politician)
Chris Owens is a community and political activist in Brooklyn, New York.- Biography :Chris Owens was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and raised in Brooklyn, New York...

.

During the primary, Major Owens called Yassky a "colonizer", Al Sharpton
Al Sharpton
Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and television/radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...

 called Yassky "greedy", and City Council member Albert Vann
Albert Vann
Albert Vann is a member of the New York City Council from Brooklyn representing the 36th Council District, which includes parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights...

 sent an email to black elected officials stating that "we are in peril of losing a 'Voting Rights' district ... as a result of the well financed candidacy of Council Member David Yassky, a white individual". The area had been represented by black politicians since the election of Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was an American politician, educator, and author. She was a Congresswoman, representing New York's 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1968, she became the first black woman elected to Congress...

 in 1968.

On August 30, 2006, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

endorsed Yassky, citing his "stellar record on the Council" and criticizing his rivals for not making a substantial case for their election, and the Democratic leadership within Brooklyn for failing to find qualified black candidates for this seat.

In a primary election held on September 12, 2006, Yassky garnered 26% of the popular vote. The final winner was Yvette Clarke, with about 30%.

2009 Comptroller election

In 2009, Yassky ran for the office of New York City Comptroller
New York City Comptroller
The Office of Comptroller of New York City is the chief fiscal officer and chief auditing officer of the city. The comptroller is elected, citywide, to a four-year term and can hold office for three consecutive terms. The current comptroller is Democrat John Liu, formerly a member of the New York...

. He was endorsed by much of the press, Ed Koch
Ed Koch
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...

 and his former boss, Sen. Charles Schumer. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

on August 23, 2009, attributed its endorsement to his "skill, intelligence, and independence." In the Democratic primary held on September 15, 2009, Yassky was the runner-up with 107,474 votes, or approximately 30% of the votes cast. He lost in the run-off with 44.4% of the vote to John Liu
John Liu
John Chun Liu is a New York City elected official, currently serving as New York City Comptroller. Liu previously served on the New York City Council representing District 20...

, who had more support among union members and minority groups.

External links

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