Alfred E. Taylor (born August 12, 1957) is an American politician serving as a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

for the 71st district. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Taylor's district includes portions of

Hamilton Heights Hamilton Heights is a neighborhood in the northern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is the northernmost part of the West Harlem area, along with Manhattanville and Morningside Heights to its south, and it contains the sub-neighborhood an ...

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

, Washington Heights, and Inwood.

Early life and education

A lifelong resident of

, Taylor was a troubled youth who was able to turn to judge Bruce Wright, who mentored him and gave him an interest in community service. Taylor then served in the Military Police Corps while earning his GED, then graduated from

Lehman College Lehman College is a public college in the Bronx borough of New York City. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, the school became an independent college within CUNY in September 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehma ...

. He later earned a Master of Divinity, with a concentration in church development, from the

Alliance Theological Seminary Alliance Theological Seminary is an evangelical Christian seminary affiliated with Alliance University (New York City) and the Christian and Missionary Alliance, located in Manhattan. History The seminary finds its roots from the Missionary Tra ...

Career

Taylor served for many years as the chief of staff for his predecessor, Herman D. Farrell Jr., while also serving as a Democratic district leader and as the pastor of Infinity Mennonite Church.

New York State Assembly

Farrell, first elected in 1974, decided to step down midterm in 2017 at the age of 85. Taylor, his chief of staff, had long been seen as the heir apparent for the seat. With Farrell vacating the seat midterm, New York state law allowed for the Democratic District committee for the Assembly district to select the candidate for the general election, bypassing a primary for seat. Taylor, being the district leader, who ultimately leads the district committee, easily was chosen as the candidate. Taylor won the seat unopposed, and was sworn in soon after. Taylor was re-elected in 2018 after running unopposed. A new purportedly

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, "New York 4 Harlem", that actively solicited donations of $500 to $5,000 was reported in 2018 to allegedly have been a front for Taylor and three other Harlem elected officials. In addition, a flyer organizing a free bus trip to Albany for a conference organized by the New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators with New York 4 Harlem's name on it featured a picture of Taylor and the three other officials. Nonprofit organizations are not allowed to take part in campaign activity. The contact person for the event was a staffer working in the office of one of the other three legislators.

Criticism

Taylor has received scrutiny from pro-choice and LGBT groups over his stances on abortion and gay rights. In 2019, he was one of seven Democrats in the State Assembly to vote against the

Reproductive Health Act The Reproductive Health Act is a New York statute enacted on January 22, 2019, that expanded abortion rights, decriminalized abortion, and eliminated several restrictions on abortion in the state. The RHA repealed §4164 of the state Public Healt ...

, and he voted against the Equal Rights Amendment prior to voting for it in 2023 in the lead-up to a competitive primary for the City Council's 9th District. He has also faced criticism over his refusal to perform same-sex marriages in his capacity as pastor of Harlem's Infinity Mennonite Church.

References

External links

New York State Assemblyman Al Taylor
official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Al Living people Politicians from New York City Military personnel from New York City Lehman College alumni Nyack College alumni Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from Harlem 21st-century American politicians 1957 births