Sandy Nurse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theNew York City Council from the37th district | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Darma Diaz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1984-04-03)April 3, 1984 (age 41) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Website | Official website Campaign website |
Sandra Nurse (born April 3, 1984)[1] is aPanamanian-bornAmerican carpenter andDemocratic politician fromNew York City who has served as theNew York City Council member for the37th district since 2022.[2] District 37 coversBushwick and other neighborhoods in northernBrooklyn.
Nurse was born inPanama and raised by her mother, aU.S. Navy veteran.[3]
Prior to her runs for political office, Nurse worked in a number of jobs and fields, including as a waitress, a food delivery worker, a janitor, a community organizer, and most prominently a carpenter. She is also the founder of the Brooklyn-based composting organization BK ROT and a cofounder of the Mayday Space, a venue for progressive organizations.[4]
In September 2019, Nurse announced that she would run for the 54th district of theNew York State Assembly, challenging incumbentDemocratErik Martin Dilan from the left. Nurse was one of two left-wing challengers in the race, alongside State SenatorJulia Salazar's chief of staff, Boris Santos.[5]
However, after City CouncilmemberRafael Espinal resigned from the overlapping37th district of theNew York City Council in January 2020, Nurse chose to abandon her Assembly campaign and run in the special election to replace Espinal.[6] Nurse was seen as one of two major candidates in the race alongside district leaderDarma Diaz, who had the support of Espinal and was seen as the race's establishment candidate.[7][8]
With the March arrival of theCOVID-19 pandemic in New York City, the election took several unexpected turns. First, the planned April special election was suspended, then moved to June, and finally cancelled altogether in favor of a traditional primary and general election to be held in June and November.[9] GovernorAndrew Cuomo additionally decreed that, in light of the pandemic, the number of signatures required to make it onto the ballot would be significantly reduced – but theNew York City Board of Elections ruled in April that the new requirements would not apply to the special election, leaving every candidate but Diaz short of the necessary number of signatures and thus barred from the ballot. Nurse fought the ruling and argued that the Brooklyn Democratic Party had meddled to ensure a Diaz victory, but was unsuccessful in reinstating herself on the special election ballot.[citation needed] Diaz thus was able to win both the primary and general elections completely unopposed.
In July 2020 – shortly after Diaz had won her special election primary – Nurse announced she would seek a rematch in the regularly scheduled2021 City council election.[10] As in the special election, Nurse ran a left-wing campaign, and received support from many of the city's most influential progressive officeholders and organizations, among them CongresswomenAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez andNydia Velázquez, Public AdvocateJumaane Williams, and theWorking Families Party.[9]
On election night, Nurse comfortably led Diaz 51-24%, and acknowledged her likely victory on June 23; when absentee ballots and ranked-choice votes were counted two weeks later, she officially defeated Diaz by a ranked choice margin of 65-35%.[11][12][13] Nurse subsequently won the general election with over 86% of the vote.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theNew York City Council from the37th district 2022–present | Incumbent |
Nurse lives inCypress Hills. She identifies asAfro-Latina.
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