Nomiki Konst

Last updated

Nomiki Konst
Nomiki Konst on CNN.jpg
Born
Nomiki Daphne Konst

(1984-01-27) January 27, 1984 (age 40)
Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Occupations
  • Activist
  • Journalist
  • Political Commentator
Years active2012–present

Nomiki Daphne Konst (born January 27, 1984) is an American journalist, progressive activist, [1] and political commentator who is known for her work on The Young Turks and Our Revolution . [2] [3] In 2019, Konst was a candidate for New York City Public Advocate. She was a candidate in the Democratic primaries of the 2022 New York State Senate election, for the 59th district, scheduled on August 23, 2022; she eventually dropped out and endorsed her former opponent, Kristen Gonzalez.

Contents

Early life and education

Konst was born in Tucson, Arizona, and as a child she moved with her family to Buffalo, New York. Her mother was a legislator in Erie County, New York, and also served as a "Commissioner of Economic Development". [4] All four of her grandparents were Greek. Her paternal grandfather (whose surname was Κωνσταντάκης [Konstantákis]) is from Cephalonia, her paternal grandmother was from Kalymnos and her maternal grandparents were members of the ethnic Greek minority in southern Albania. [5]

Politics

Konst served as a national co-chair on Barack Obama's 2012 presidential re-election campaign. [6] In 2012, Konst announced her intention to run for Arizona's 2nd congressional district, [7] but withdrew prior to the primaries. [8] In 2016, she was a national surrogate for Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign [6] and she served on the Democratic National Convention's platform committee. [9] After the 2016 Democratic National Convention, she served on the party's Unity Reform Commission, [10] which reviewed the party's nominating process. [11] Konst also worked for Our Revolution , a progressive political action organization and offshoot of the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign. [12] She was also appointed as a national surrogate in Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign. [13]

In 2018, Konst announced her candidacy in the 2019 New York City Public Advocate special election. [6] [14] Politico described her campaign as ambitious; including her proposals to decentralize the role to a representative in every borough, integrate the New York City Department of Investigation into the Advocate's office, and remove the office from the mayoral line of succession. [12]

In June 2022, she announced her intention to run in the Democratic primaries of the 2022 New York State Senate election, for the 59th district; scheduled on August 23, 2022. [8] [15] She eventually dropped out and endorsed her former opponent, Kristen Gonzalez. [16]

Activism

In 2011, Konst became an anti-fracking activist, and was involved in a successful campaign to ban fracking in New York. [12]

Konst was a vocal opponent of the Independent Democratic Conference; a group of Democratic New York State senators who routinely sided with Republicans to block progressive agenda items. [6]

In 2019, Konst co-founded Matriarch, a progressive advocacy group dedicated to getting working-class women elected to public office. [17] In 2020, Cori Bush, one of Matriarch's founding members, was elected to the United States House of Representatives. [18]

During her 2019 campaign for New York's Public Advocate office, Konst joined efforts [19] to sink a proposed deal between New York City and Amazon to establish the corporation's headquarters in Queens.

Journalism

In 2012, Konst and journalist Wayne Barrett founded the Accountability Project; a nonprofit investigative journalism outlet. [12]

Konst hosted The Filter, a show on SiriusXM Progress radio. [20] In 2015, she started to upload videos of interviews on her YouTube channel. [21] She also worked for the liberal and progressive show The Young Turks [22] as an investigative reporter until 2018. [23] [24]

Konst is currently the host of her own political commentary program, The Nomiki Show. [25] She has regularly appeared on cable news channels as a Democratic political strategist. [12] Konst was a political analyst for CBS News and frequently contributed to CNN and The Majority Report with Sam Seder . [25] [26]

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References

  1. ↑ "Nomiki Konst". Fox News . Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  2. ↑ Gaudiano, Nicole (August 3, 2016). "Bernie Sanders seeks contributions for 'Our Revolution'". OnPolitics. USA Today . Gannett Company. Archived from the original on June 2, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  3. ↑ Hensch, Mark (August 3, 2016). "Sanders fundraising 'to transform American society'". Blog Briefing Room (News). The Hill . Capitol Hill Publishing Corp. Archived from the original on June 2, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Nomiki Konst: the Face of 2016 Presidential Politics". The National Herald . March 18, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  5. ↑ Konst, Nomiki (December 26, 2018). Nομική Κονστ: Νέα, ασυμβίβαστη, Ελληνοαμερικανή υποψήφια συνήγορος του Πολίτη στη Νέα Υόρκη [Nomiki Konst: Young, uncompromising, Greek-American candidate for public advocate in New York City]. HuffPost Greece (text article with embedded video clips of interview, which was conducted in English, with Greek subtitles). Interviewed by Fourlis, Antonis. sec. NOMIKI KONST: ΒΟΡΕΙΟΗΠΕΙΡΩΤΙΣΑ ΚΑΙ ΚΑΛΥΜΝΙΑ...ΣΤΗ ΝΕΑ ΥΟΡΚΗ [NOMIKI KONST: NORTHERN EPIROTE AND KALYMNIAN...IN NEW YORK CITY]. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Gray, Briahna (September 26, 2018). "Democratic Socialist Nomiki Konst Announces Campaign for New York City Public Advocate". The Intercept . Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  7. ↑ McCombs, Brady (February 14, 2012). "Konst, civil discourse group founder, joins congressional race". Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on November 9, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Nomiki Konst". Ballotpedia . Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  9. ↑ Weigel, David (July 31, 2016). "For one Sanders delegate, a long journey finally comes to an end in Philadelphia". The Washington Post . Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Unity Reform Commission Members". Democrats. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Unity Reform Commission". Democrats. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Rubinstein, Dana; Nahmias, Laura (February 21, 2019). "Who is Nomiki Konst?". Politico . Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  13. ↑ Gruskin, Abigail. "'This Is A Whole New Race'". www.ourtownny.com. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  14. ↑ Chávez, Aída (December 19, 2018). "Is Jumaane Williams a True Progressive? A Rising Star Makes His Case to Be New York City's Top Watchdog". The Intercept . Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  15. ↑ Murray, Christian (June 2, 2022). "Astoria Progressive Launches Campaign for State Senate Seat, Angers Many Left-Leaning Democrats". Astoria Post. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  16. ↑ Murray, Christian (August 15, 2022). "Nomiki Konst Drops Out of Race for Senate District 59, Endorses Kristen Gonzalez". Astoria Post. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  17. ↑ Al-Sibai, Noor (December 22, 2020). "Nomiki Konst Lost Her Race—But is Winning the War". Blue Tent. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  18. ↑ Gregory Krieg (August 5, 2020). "Lacy Clay defeated by progressive primary challenger Cori Bush, CNN projects". CNN. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  19. ↑ McNichols, Joshua (December 6, 2018). "Resistance may not be futile as New York politicians join effort against Amazon". www.kuow.org. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Nomiki Konst describes the 'frightening standoff' at Standing Rock". SiriusXM . December 2, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  21. ↑ Nomiki Konst (December 31, 2014).Fox News Channel O'Reilly Factor Nomiki Konst on YouTube.
  22. ↑ Ellefson, Lindsey (January 20, 2017). "'She's Not a Journalist!': Cop Reportedly Yells At Reporter Covering Demonstration". Mediaite . Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  23. ↑ Freedlander, David (February 19, 2019). "The obscure, overcrowded election that could change New York City politics" . Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Young Turks Sheds Senior Employees in Staff Shakeup". TheWrap. June 14, 2018. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  25. 1 2 "The Nomiki Show YouTube Channel". YouTube . Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Nomiki Konst - SheSource Expert - Women's Media Center". womensmediacenter.com. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
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