Brad Hoylman


Brad Madison Hoylman is an American Democratic politician from New York City. First elected in 2012, Hoylman represents the 27th District in the New York State Senate.

Background

Hoylman was born in Phoenix, Arizona and grew up in Lewisburg, West Virginia, the youngest of six children of a public school teacher and a process systems analyst. He attended West Virginia University, where he was elected president of student administration and graduated with honors. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and received a Truman Scholarship. He then attended Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship and received a master's degree in political science. Afterwards, he graduated from Harvard Law School prior to beginning his non-profit career in affordable housing.
Hoylman served as general counsel for The Partnership for New York City, which represents New York City's business leadership and its largest private-sector employers. Hoylman was also the chairperson of Community Board 2 in Manhattan and the Democratic District Leader of the 66th Assembly District, Part A. He is also Trustee of the Community Service Society of New York, a former president of the Gay & Lesbian Independent Democrats, and a former
board member of the Empire State Pride Agenda, Tenants & Neighbors, Class Size Matters, and Citizen Action.
In 2001, Hoylman ran for the New York City Council in the first district, which includes Governor's Island and a portion of Lower Manhattan. He placed second in a seven-candidate race, losing to Alan Gerson.

New York Senate

On June 11, 2012, Hoylman declared his candidacy for the 27th District of the New York State Senate, running for the seat of retiring State Senator Tom Duane. He won Duane's endorsement, as well as the support of numerous local politicians and unions. In the Democratic primary election held on September 13, 2012, he prevailed easily, winning 70% of the vote in a three-candidate field. Hell's Kitchen activist and bar owner Tom Greco was his closest competition, winning 24% of the vote. In the general election in November, he was unopposed. Hoylman won the Democratic primary and general election in 2014, 2016, and 2018. As of 2019, Hoylman is the only openly gay member of the New York State Senate.
In December 2016, Hoylman sponsored legislation known as the Tax Returns Uniformly Made Public Act, prohibiting New York State electors from voting for a presidential candidate who has not publicly released at least 5 years worth of tax returns no later than 50 days prior to a general election. Lawmakers in 25 other states followed suit in producing legislation to compel presidential candidates to release their tax returns. A Change.org online petition in support of Hoylman's bill has since received nearly 150,000 signatures, and the idea was praised by the Editorial Board of The New York Times.
After the 2018 midterm elections, Hoylman was appointed Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In the majority, Hoylman passed multiple pieces of legislation including the Child Victims Act, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, and a ban on so-called 'gay conversion therapy.' Hoylman also passed the TRUST Act, which would allow certain Congressional committees to perform oversight by reviewing the New York State tax returns of senior government officials; members of Congress suggested this could allow Congressional committees to review Donald Trump's tax returns. City & State, a New York-based political news organization, characterized Hoylman as "the person behind state Senate’s progressive bills."
During the Covid19 Emergency in 2020, Hoylman was one of the only New York elected officials to stand up for the safety of prospective attorneys. He drafted a bill to permit diploma privilege and prevent recent law school graduates from having to take the bar exam in groups of 500.

Personal

Brad Madison Hoylman and David Ivan Sigal announced their marriage in 2013. They live with their two daughters, Silvia and Lucy, in Greenwich Village. Hoylman is Jewish.