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Shekar Krishnan | |
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Member of the New York City Council from the 25th district | |
Assumed office January 1, 2022 | |
Preceded by | Daniel Dromm |
Personal details | |
Born | June 5,1985 |
Political party | Democratic |
Education | Cooper Union (BS) University of Michigan (JD) |
Website | Official website Campaign website |
Shekar Krishnan (born June 5,1985) [1] is an American attorney and politician who is a member of the New York City Council for the 25th district,which covers the northwestern Queens neighborhoods of Jackson Heights,Elmhurst,parts of East Elmhurst,and a small piece of Woodside. [2]
Krishnan was born to immigrant parents from Kerala,India. [3]
He received a Bachelor of Sciences in engineering from The Cooper Union and a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School. [4]
Krishnan worked as an associate for law firms Weil,Gotshal &Manges and Patterson Belknap Webb &Tyler. [5] He was also an attorney at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A,directing the organization’s fair housing and tenant advocacy divisions. [4] He is the co-founder of Communities Resist,a legal services organization that represents tenants and neighborhood coalitions in fair housing litigation and anti-displacement advocacy in gentrified neighborhoods. [6] [7]
Krishnan announced his candidacy in the 2021 Democratic primary for the 25th District of the New York City Council on November 17, 2020. [6] [8] Incumbent Councilmember Daniel Dromm was term-limited and could not run for reelection. He was endorsed by Dromm, U.S. Representative Nydia Velazquez, and State Senators Julia Salazar and John Liu. [9] He centered his campaign on immigrant rights, the taxi medallion crisis, affordable housing, and climate justice. [10]
Krishnan won the ranked-choice primary with 53.4% of all votes cast. [11] He won the general election with 60% of the vote. [12] Along with Shahana Hanif, Krishnan is one of the first South Asians to serve in the New York City Council. [13] [10] Days after being elected, Krishnan was arrested along with Hanif and Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani for protesting alongside taxi drivers. [14]
Party | Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Shekar Krishnan | 7 | 6,352 | 53.4% | | |
Democratic | Yi Chen | 7 | 5,549 | 46.6% | | |
Democratic | Carolyn Tran | 6 | 3,045 | 23.6% | | |
Democratic | Alfonso Quiroz | 5 | 1,986 | 14.5% | | |
Democratic | Fatima Baryab | 4 | 1,687 | 11.8% | | |
Democratic | Liliana Melo | 3 | 1,041 | 7.1% | | |
Democratic | Manuel Perez | 2 | 513 | 3.4% | | |
Democratic | William Salgado | 2 | 282 | 1.9% | | |
Write-in | 1 | 35 | 0.2% | |