David Carr (born August 28, 1987) is an American politician serving as Council Member for the 50th Council District of 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 ...

. He is a Republican. His district is located completely on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

and encompasses the

neighborhoods A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; American and British English spelling differences, see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community ...

of Arrochar, Bloomfield,

Bulls Head Bulls Head is a neighborhood in west-central Staten Island, one of the five Borough (New York City), boroughs of New York City. It is bordered by New Springville, Staten Island, New Springville to the south, Bloomfield, Staten Island, Bloomfield ...

Castleton Corners 300px, Castleton Corners Castleton Corners (or Four Corners) is an upscale neighborhood of Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City. It is in a region of the island often referred to as the North Shore, Staten Island. Description ...

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 ...

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

, Dongan Hills, Egbertville, Emerson Hill,

Fort Wadsworth Fort Wadsworth is a former Military of the United States, United States military installation on Staten Island in New York City, situated on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper New York Bay, Upper and Lower New York Bay, Lower halv ...

, Graniteville, Grant City, Grasmere, Heartland Village,

Isle of Meadows Isle of Meadows is a uninhabited island in the New York City borough of Staten Island in the United States. It is located along the western side of Staten Island, where Fresh Kills empties into the Arthur Kill. The island is owned by the cit ...

, Lighthouse Hill, Manor Heights, Meiers Corners, Midland Beach,

New Dorp New Dorp is a neighborhood on the East Shore of Staten Island, New York City, United States. New Dorp is bounded by Mill Road on the southeast, Tysens Lane on the southwest, Amboy and Richmond Roads on the northwest, and Bancroft Avenue on the n ...

New Springville New Springville is a neighborhood in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, USA. History Located near the island's geographical center, the neighborhood was founded in 1680 in Karle's Neck, so it was later named Karle's Neck V ...

, Oakwood, Ocean Breeze,

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

Prall's Island Prall's Island is an uninhabited island in the Arthur Kill between Staten Island, New York, and Linden, New Jersey, in the United States. The island is one of the minor islands that are part of the borough of Staten Island in New York City. T ...

Richmondtown Richmondtown is a neighborhood in the Mid-Island section of Staten Island, New York City. It is bounded by Arthur Kill Road on the northwest, Richmond Road on the north, Amboy Road on the east and southeast, and the United Hebrew and Ocean ...

, Rosebank, Shore Acres,

South Beach South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard. This area was the fi ...

Todt Hill Todt Hill ( ) is a hill formed of serpentine rock on Staten Island, New York. It is the highest natural point in the five boroughs of New York City and the highest elevation on the entire Atlantic coastal plain from Florida to Cape Cod. The summi ...

, Travis,

Westerleigh Westerleigh is a clustered village and civil parish (which includes Henfield) in South Gloucestershire, England, it contains sources of the Frome and has an endpoint of the Frome Valley Walkway. It is north of the M4, south of Yate and nort ...

, and Willowbrook.

Life and career

David Carr was born on Staten Island and is a lifelong resident of the Grasmere section of the borough. He attended local schools including the former St. John Villa Academy and

Monsignor Farrell High School Monsignor Farrell High School is an American Catholic high school for boys, located in the Oakwood section of Staten Island, New York. Opened in 1961, the school is named in honor of Monsignor Joseph Farrell, a Catholic priest, as well as a re ...

. Carr went on to earn a B.A. from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. His first senior role in local government was as Chief of Staff to then-Assemblyman

Joe Borelli Joseph Charles Borelli (born July 27, 1982) is an American politician and the New York City Council member for the 51st district and Minority Leader of the New York City Council. He is a Republican. The district encompasses much of Staten Islan ...

and later in the same position for Council Member and later New York City Council Minority Leader

Steven Matteo Steven Matteo (born February 18, 1977) is an American politician who served as Council member for the 50th district of the New York City Council. He is a Republican. His district is located completely on Staten Island and encompasses the neigh ...

Election to Council

Carr became a candidate for the 50th Council District in 2020 and sought to be the latest in a continuous line of representatives for that seat going back to its creation in 1991 when

John Fusco John Fusco is an American screenwriter, producer, and television series creator born in Prospect, Connecticut. His screenplays include '' Crossroads'', '' Young Guns'', '' Young Guns II'', ''Thunderheart'', ''Hidalgo'', '' Spirit: Stallion of t ...

was first elected. Since then, each new Council Member had been the Chief of Staff of his immediate predecessor. Carr was endorsed by the Staten Island Republican Party. As one of five candidates in the primary, Carr made his campaign about public safety by calling for 6,000 new police officers to be hired over the ensuing five fiscal years and the restoration of qualified immunity to

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

officers. The contest became contentious as Carr accused an opponent, Marko Kepi, of illegal ballot harvesting including the registering of a dead person to vote and of forging signatures to get absentee ballots. This in turn led to recriminations of racism and vote manipulation. After losing a manual recount, Kepi took the matter to court where the presiding judge noted disturbing patterns in the signatures on the absentee envelopes. Ultimately, Carr prevailed in all court challenges, sustaining his win of the GOP nomination. In the general election, Carr defeated

Sal Albanese Sal F. Albanese (born August 29, 1949) is a politician from New York City. He served as a New York City Council member, and ran unsuccessfully for several other public offices including New York State Assembly, United States Congress, and Mayor ...

(Democrat) and George Wonica (

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

). He was sworn in early to take over the for the unexpired term of Matteo after the latter left to lead a Staten Island not-for-profit. Carr became the only openly gay elected representative for Staten Island and the first openly gay Republican on the City Council.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, David 1987 births Living people Candidates in the 2021 United States elections Gay politicians American LGBT city council members LGBT people from New York (state) New York City Council members New York (state) Republicans Politicians from Staten Island 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American LGBT people