Brad Madison Hoylman-Sigal (born October 27, 1965) is an American Democratic politician. First elected in 2012, Hoylman-Sigal represents the 47th District in the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

, covering much of the west side of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

in New York City. He is chairman of the state senate Judiciary Committee.

Early life and education

Hoylman-Sigal was born in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

and grew up in rural

Lewisburg, West Virginia Lewisburg is a city in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,930 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Greenbrier County. Geography Lewisburg is located approximately one mile north of the Greenbrier River. ...

. He was the youngest of six children of Audrey Kennedy Hoylman, a public elementary school teacher, and James M. Hoylman, a

process systems Process architecture is the structural design of general process systems. It applies to fields such as computers (software, hardware, networks, etc.), business processes ( enterprise architecture, policy and procedures, logistics, project managemen ...

analytics analyst. He is a former

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

in Troop 70, Lewisburg, West Virginia. He attended

Greenbrier East High School Greenbrier East High School is a consolidated school in Fairlea, West Virginia, that serves grades 9 through 12. It is a part of Greenbrier County Schools. Greenbrier East High School is located on Spartan Lane, just off US 219 near Lewisburg, ...

in West Virginia. He attended

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

(WVU; BA in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

, 1989), where Hoylman-Sigal was elected president of student administration and graduated ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' with honors. At WVU he was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

, and received a

Truman Scholarship The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is the premier graduate fellowship in the United States for public service leadership. It is a federally funded scholarship granted to U.S. undergraduate students for demonstrated leadership potential, academic ...

and a

Marshall Scholarship The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is widely considered one of the most prestigious sc ...

. Hoylman-Sigal then attended

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

( Exeter College) on a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

. He received a master's degree in political science (M.Phil., 1992). Afterward, he attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

. He graduated with a JD in 1996.

Early career

Hoylman-Sigal was an associate at law firm

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (known as Paul, Weiss) is an American multinational law firm headquartered on Sixth Avenue in New York City. By profits per equity partner, it is the fifth most profitable law firm in the world. ...

from 1996 to 1998. He was an associate at Frankfurt, Garbus, Klein & Selz from 1998 to 2000. From 2000 to 2012, Hoylman-Sigal served as executive vice president and general counsel of the

Partnership for New York City The Partnership for New York City, formerly called the New York City Partnership, is a nonprofit membership organization consisting of a select group of nearly three hundred CEOs ("Partners") from New York City's top corporate, investment and entre ...

, which represents New York City's business leadership and its largest private-sector employers. Hoylman-Sigal was also the chairperson of Community Board 2 in Manhattan, and the Democratic District Leader of the New York 66th Assembly District, Part A. He is also Trustee of the

Community Service Society of New York The Community Service Society of New York (CSS) is an independent, nonprofit organization established in 1939. Originally formed as a charity providing direct assistance to the poor, its mission has evolved include research and advocacy as well a ...

, a former president of the Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats, and a former board member of the

Empire State Pride Agenda The Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) was a statewide political advocacy organization in New York (state), New York that advocated for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, including same-sex marriage. ESPA has since disbanded afte ...

, Tenants & Neighbors, Class Size Matters, and

Citizen Action Citizen Action was a national liberal consumer and public activist group that was active in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s. State-level affiliates have continued on in Connecticut, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The affiliates of Citi ...

. In 2001, Hoylman-Sigal ran for the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

in the first district, which includes

Governor's Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk C ...

and a portion of

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

. He placed second in a seven-candidate race, losing to

Alan Gerson Alan Jay Gerson (born November 1, 1957) is a former Democratic Party member of the New York City Council, first elected in 2001, and reelected in 2005, to represent the 1st district in Manhattan. Prior to that Gerson served as Chair of Manhatta ...

New York Senate

2012–19

New York State Senate District 27 (2012)

On June 11, 2012, Hoylman-Sigal declared his candidacy for the 27th District of the

, running for the seat of retiring state senator

Tom Duane Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

. 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 won 68% of the vote in a three-candidate field."Brad Hoylman Wins Primary to Replace State Sen. Tom Duane"
. DNAinfo.com, September 14, 2012.

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the eas ...

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-Sigal won the Democratic primary and general election (with 80% of the vote) in 2014, 2016 (with 96% of the vote), and 2018 (with 99% of the vote). As of 2019, Hoylman-Sigal was the only openly gay member of the New York State Senate. In December 2016, Hoylman-Sigal sponsored legislation known as the Tax Returns Uniformly Made Public (T.R.U.M.P.) 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. The idea was praised by the editorial board of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. After the

2018 midterm elections The 2018 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. These midterm elections occurred during Republican Donald Trump's term. Democrats made a net gain of 41 seats in the United States House of Representatives, gaining a majo ...

, Hoylman-Sigal was appointed Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In the majority, Hoylman-Sigal passed multiple pieces of legislation including the Child Victims Act, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (or GENDA), and a ban on so-called '

gay conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and clin ...

.' Hoylman-Sigal also sponsored the TRUST Act, which was passed by the state Senate. The bill 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 Donald Trump, President of the United States from January 2017 to January 2021, has controversially refused to release his Tax return (United States), tax returns since Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign, his 2015–2016 presidential campa ...

. ''

City & State ''City & State'' is a political journalism organization based in New York City. The company publishes a weekly magazine covering politics and government in New York City and New York State that is distributed to New York State legislators, count ...

'', a New York-based political news organization, characterized Hoylman-Sigal as "the person behind state Senate’s progressive bills." In 2019, the Child Victims Act that Hoylman-Sigal sponsored was adopted. It extended New York's

statutes of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In mo ...

for

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

and created a one-year lookback window within which survivors would be able to initiate claims against their abusers in cases where the statute of limitations had expired, and allowed them to bring a civil lawsuit against their abuser or institutions that enabled or protected their abuser by the age of 55 (up from the age of 23). Over 9,000 lawsuits have been filed under that law, including against the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, the

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...

, and other groups that cared for children.

2020–present

In early 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill, sponsored by Hoylman-Sigal, to repeal New York's ban on paid

gestational surrogacy Surrogacy is an arrangement, often supported by a legal agreement, whereby a woman agrees to delivery/labour for another person or people, who will become the child's parent(s) after birth. People may seek a surrogacy arrangement when pregnan ...

. Assemblywoman Amy Paulin introduced the bill in 2012. As of the bill's passage, only two other states (Louisiana and Michigan) retained laws explicitly banning paid surrogacy. In June 2021,

Mark Levine Mark Andrew LeVine is an American historian, musician, writer, and professor. He is a professor of history at the University of California, Irvine. Education LeVine received his B.A. in comparative religion and biblical studies from Hunter ...

defeated Hoylman-Sigal in the Democratic

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

for Manhattan Borough President. Levine won by 7.4

percentage point A percentage point or percent point is the unit (measurement), unit for the Difference (mathematics), arithmetic difference between two percentages. For example, moving up from 40 percent to 44 percent is an increase of 4 percentage points, but a ...

s. This was the first year that

ranked-choice voting Ranked-choice voting may be used as a synonym for: * Ranked voting, a term used for any voting system in which voters are asked to rank candidates in order of preference * Instant-runoff voting (IRV), a specific ranked voting system with single-w ...

was implemented for most New York City election and primary contests. In June 2021, the New York Senate passed the Adult Survivors Act (ASA), which was sponsored by Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember

Linda Rosenthal Linda B. Rosenthal (born November 12, 1957) represents District 67 as a Democrat in the New York State Assembly, which includes parts of Manhattan's Upper West Side and Clinton/Hell's Kitchen neighborhoods. Early life Linda Rosenthal was bor ...

. The bill failed to pass the Assembly in 2021. However, Rosenthal and Hoylman-Sigal introduced the ASA again the following year.Kate Lisa
New York Assembly secures votes to pass Adult Survivors Act

Spectrum News Spectrum News (formerly Time Warner Cable News) is the brand for a slate of cable news television channels that are owned by Charter Communications through its acquisition of Time Warner Cable in May 2016. Each of the 15 regional channels primari ...

(May 2022). This time, the legislation was enacted: it unanimously passed the Senate in April 2022, passed the Assembly on a 140–3 vote in May 2022,Grace Ashford
New York Will Allow Adult Victims to Revive Decades-Old Sex Abuse Claims
''New York Times'' (May 23, 2022). and was signed into law by Governor

Kathy Hochul Kathleen Hochul ( ; née Courtney; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician serving as the 57th governor of New York since August 24, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor, as well as the firs ...

. The bill established a one-year "lookback period" that allowed adult victims of sex abuse or sex crimes to bring civil lawsuits that were previously barred due to the

statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In m ...

. In 2021, Hoylman-Sigal asked U.S. Senator

Maria Cantwell Maria Ellen Cantwell (; born October 13, 1958) is an American politician and former businesswoman serving as the junior United States senator from Washington since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the Washington ...

, the chair of the

Senate Commerce Committee The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate. Besides having broad jurisdiction over all matters concerning interstate commerce, science and technology policy, a ...

, engage in oversight of the

United States Center for SafeSport The United States Center for SafeSport is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 2017 under the auspices of the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017. SafeSport is tasked with ad ...

, and step in to ensure that SafeSport is adequately conducting investigations. He referred to what he called SafeSport's failure to carry out impartial and thorough investigations and ensure the safety of athletes it is charged with protecting. He highlighted serious outstanding allegations of

sexual misconduct Sexual misconduct is misconduct of a sexual nature which exists on a spectrum that may include a broad range of sexual behaviors considered unwelcome. This includes conduct considered inappropriate on an individual or societal basis of morality, se ...

sexual coercion Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or agai ...

, and other violent behaviors by former friends, peers, and current teammates, and an ongoing investigation, and criticized SafeSport's decision to allow fencer

Alen Hadzic Alen Hadzic (Alen Hadžić; born November 15, 1991) is an American former épée fencer. In 2023, he was ranked 361st in the world in men's epee. He had attended Montclair High School (New Jersey), Montclair High School and Columbia University, co ...

to Tokyo as an alternate for the 2021 U.S. Olympic fencing team. In 2021, ''

'' ranked Hoylman-Sigal #11 on its annual list of the 100 most powerful people in Manhattan. In 2021, Hoylman-Sigal proposed legislation to ban landlords convicted of criminal activity from doing business with state-chartered banks such as

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

and

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...

Signature Bank Signature Bank was an American full-service commercial bank headquartered in New York City and with 40 private client offices in the states of New York, Connecticut, California, Nevada, and North Carolina. In addition to banking products, spe ...

and

New York Community Bank New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYCB) is a bank headquartered in Westbury, New York with 225 branches in New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Florida and Arizona. NYCB is on the list of largest banks in the United States. Almost all of the loans ori ...

are not state banks. Steven Croman, a landlord notorious for harassing his tenants in New York, was the inspiration for this bill. In 2021, to address New York's housing crisis, Hoylman-Sigal proposed legislation to remove a number of zoning regulations in New York that he viewed as onerous. The legislation would eliminate parking requirements; prohibit localities from requiring large lot sizes for homes; and allow for the construction of up to four housing units on lots that were previously exclusively zoned for single-family housing. In 2023, Hoylman-Sigal became the New York State Senator for the 47th district, which was redistricted from the 27th district. While Hoylman-Sigal's old district included

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, Midtown, and the East Village, up to north of

Columbus Circle Columbus Circle is a traffic circle and heavily trafficked intersection in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South ( West 59th Street), and Central Park West, at the so ...

, the new and more compact 47th district excluded the East Side, and covered the

West Side West Side or Westside may refer to: Places Canada * West Side, a neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario * West Side, a neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia United Kingdom * West Side, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Westside, Birmingham E ...

, from Chelsea through the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

. Hoylman-Sigal is a member of the Vote Blue Coalition, a progressive group and federal PAC created to support Democrats in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania through voter outreach and mobilization efforts.

Personal life

Brad Madison Hoylman married David Ivan Sigal, a filmmaker, at

Congregation Beit Simchat Torah Congregation Beit Simchat Torah ("CBST") is a synagogue located in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 1973, and is the world's largest LGBT synagogue. CBST serves Jews of all sexual orientations and gender identities, their families, ...

in Manhattan, New York City, in February 2013. They live with their two daughters, Silvia and Lucy, in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

. Hoylman-Sigal is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

.Benjamin, Liz (March 25, 2013)
Why is tomorrow night different from all other nights?
Capital Tonight. Retrieved April 16, 2013.

Electoral history

References

External links

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoylman, Brad Living people 1965 births Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford American lawyers American Rhodes Scholars Candidates in the 2021 United States elections American gay politicians Harvard Law School alumni Jewish American state legislators in New York (state) Gay Jews American LGBT lawyers LGBT people from West Virginia LGBT state legislators in New York (state) Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison people People from Lewisburg, West Virginia Democratic Party New York (state) state senators West Virginia University alumni 21st-century American legislators Lawyers from New York City Politicians from Manhattan 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American LGBT people