Mathylde Frontus | |
|---|---|
_Mathylde_Frontus_(cropped).jpg) Frontus in 2021 | |
| Member of theNew York State Assembly from the46th district | |
| In office November 15, 2018 – December 31, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Pamela Harris |
| Succeeded by | Alec Brook-Krasny |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1977-12-01)December 1, 1977 (age 47) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence(s) | Brooklyn, New York |
| Website | Assembly website |
Mathylde Frontus (born December 1, 1977) is an American politician. ADemocrat, Frontus represented the 46th district in theNew York State Assembly. Her district includes portions of southernBrooklyn, includingConey Island,Brighton Beach,Bay Ridge, andDyker Heights.
As of 2023, Frontus remains the only person sinceAdele Cohen, who retired in 2006, to have represented the 46th State Assembly District and not have faced criminal charges.
Born December 1, 1977 in Brooklyn, Frontus is the daughter ofHaitian immigrants.[1][2] Frontus is a graduate ofNew York University,Teachers College, Columbia University, andHarvard Divinity School.[3]
Prior to holding elected office, Frontus was well known as a community organizer in southwestern Brooklyn, and notably founded the Urban Neighborhood Services.[4] She received the Characters Unite Award fromNBCUniversal for her work in 2014.[5]
In 2018, Assembly memberPamela Harris resigned her seat after allegations of fraud led to an 11-count indictment.[6] Soon afterward, Frontus announced her candidacy for the open seat, and then won the Democratic primary election over Ethan Lustig-Elgrably by only 51 votes.[7] In the general election, Frontus defeated Republican Steven Saperstein with 56% of the vote.[8]
In March 2020, Frontus fired a member of her staff, Marilyn Franks, a receptionist in Frontus’ Coney Island district office, after Franks shared a message on Facebook that urged patrons to avoid Chinese restaurants and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.[9][10] Frontus was reelected in the November 2020 election.[2] In November 2022, Frontus lost reelection toAlec Brook-Krasny by 806 votes.[11]