Walter T. Mosley

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Walter T. Mosley, III
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 57th district
In office
January 3, 2013 – January 1, 2021
Preceded byHakeem Jeffries
Succeeded byPhara Souffrant Forrest
Personal details
Born (1967-09-19) September 19, 1967 (age 56)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations
Working Families
EducationPenn State University B.S.
Howard University J.D.
WebsiteOfficial website

Walter T. Mosley, III (born September 19, 1967)[citation needed] is an American politician who represented the 57th district of the New York State Assembly. He served the neighborhoods of Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, and parts of Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant.[1][2] In 2020, Mosley lost his primary to nurse and political newcomer Phara Souffrant Forrest.[3]

Early life and education[edit]

Mosley was born in Brooklyn, New York.[citation needed] His mother is Marilyn Mosley, the president of Progressive Association for Political Action (PAPA) and chief of staff to the Speaker of the House Corey Johnson.[citation needed] His father is Walter T. Mosley, Sr., a retired insurance broker who currently lives in Ohio.[citation needed]

He attended Pennsylvania State University, where he obtained his Bachelor degree in Criminology. He received his J.D. degree from Howard University in 1998.[4]

Earlier career[edit]

Mosley served as a district leader, senior adviser to the Deputy Speaker of New York State Assembly and chief of staff and senior consultant to the New York State Assembly before running to for Assembly.

New York State Assembly[edit]

Mosley ran to fill Hakeem Jeffries's Assembly seat in the 57th district in 2012 when Jeffries ran for Congress. Mosley won the Democratic primary with 62.8% of the vote, beating out Olanike T. Alabi and Martine Guerrier. He handily defeated Republican challenger Francis J. Voyticky, who Hakeem Jeffries had beaten in 2010, in the general election with 97.6% of the vote.[5] Mosley ran unopposed in 2014, 2016, and 2018, running on both the Democratic and Working Families Party lines in 2016 and 2018.[6][7][8]

East Ramapo School District bill[edit]

He was originally a co-sponsor of a bill to place a monitor with veto power in the East Ramapo School District in Rockland County, an Orthodox Jewish-dominated school district that was diverting funds to yeshivas. Mosley took his name off after meeting with both sides, saying that the discussion about the bill has anti-Semitic overtones. He refused to meet with the sponsor of the bill, a 71-year-old former East Ramapo schoolteacher, and ultimately did not vote on the bill.[9][10][11]

2020 Democratic primary defeat[edit]

Mosley faced his first primary challenger since 2012 in the Democratic primary on June 23, 2020 against Phara Souffrant Forrest. While Mosley led Forrest by 588 votes on election night, absentee ballots were more significant than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 22, 2020, once absentee ballots had been counted, Forrest was declared the winner of the primary by over 2,500 votes.[12]

Electoral history[edit]

New York's 57th State Assembly district Democratic Primary, 2012
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Walter T. Mosley, III 4,565 62.8
Democratic Olanike T. Alabi 2,168 29.8
Democratic Martine Guerrier 535 7.4
Total votes 7,268 100
New York's 57th State Assembly district General Election, 2012[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Walter T. Mosley, III 46,733 97.6
Republican Francis J. Voyticky 1,111 2.3
n/a Write-ins 44 0.1
Total votes 47,888 100.0
Democratic hold
New York's 57th State Assembly district Democratic Primary, 2020[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Phara Souffrant Forrest 15,711
Democratic Walter T. Mosley III 12,609
Total votes 29,622 100

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Biography".
  2. ^ "Political Personal: Mosley Cruises to Re-Election". Fort Greene Local (New York Times).
  3. ^ Witt, Stephen (2020-07-22). "New Day in Assembly: Gallagher Unseats Lentol, Forrest Unseats Mosley". Kings County Politics. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  4. ^ "In Public Service: Mosley worked behind scenes in politics". 11 March 2016.
  5. ^ "NYS Board of Elections Assembly Election Returns Nov. 6, 2012" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections.
  6. ^ "NYS Board of Elections Assembly Election Returns November 4, 2014" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections.
  7. ^ "NYS Board of Elections Assembly Election Returns Nov. 8, 2016" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections.
  8. ^ "Certified Results from the November 6, 2018 General Election for NYS Assembly" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections.
  9. ^ "The Under-the-Radar Election Next Week". New York State of Politics.
  10. ^ Taylor, Kate (18 May 2015). "Bid to Impose Monitor on East Ramapo School Board Meets Resistance". The New York Times.
  11. ^ "Jewish Assemblywoman Says She's Been Bullied By Colleagues". The Jewish Press. 16 July 2015.
  12. ^ Verde, Ben (22 July 2020). "BREAKING: Phara Souffrant Forrest Declares Victory over Walter Mosley in Crown Heights Assembly Race". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  13. ^ "NYS Board of Elections Assembly Election Returns Nov. 6, 2012" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. March 20, 2013.
  14. ^ "Certified Results from the June 23, 2020 Primary Election" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-12-22.

External links[edit]

Political offices
Preceded by Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 57th district

2013–2021
Succeeded by