Jennifer Gutiérrez (born September 14, 1986) is an American politician and community organizer currently serving as the Council Member for the 34th district in 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 ...

. The district includes portions of

Bushwick Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; East New York and the cemeteries of Highland Par ...

, Greenpoint, and

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

in Brooklyn and Ridgewood, Queens. The Queens-born daughter of immigrants from Colombia, Gutiérrez is the first Colombian-American member of the New York City Council. She resides in Bushwick.

Early life and education

Gutiérrez was born and raised in Queens. Her parents emigrated from Colombia in the 1980s. She grew up in a one-bedroom apartment in Queens with her mother, father and sister. She attended Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School, and later attended and graduated from SUNY Albany with a B.A. in Political Science.

Career

Gutiérrez became involved in organizing working with the Arizona Democratic Party as a Field Organizer in 2012. In 2013, she joined the New York City Council Office of Diana Reyna as a Field Organizer.

Campaigns

In 2013, Gutiérrez was the campaign manager for

Antonio Reynoso Antonio Reynoso (born May 9, 1983) is an American politician and community organizer currently serving as Borough president of Brooklyn since 2022. He is a member of the Democratic Party, and was elected Brooklyn borough president in the 2021 e ...

's successful campaign for New York City Council. In 2016, she managed Nydia Velazquez's successful re-election bid for Congress.

New York City Council

Gutiérrez served as the Chief of Staff to City Council Member

from 2014 until 2021, and led eight cycles of Participatory Budgeting, which resulted in over $5 million in investments in public spaces such as schools, streets, parks, and NYCHA. Gutiérrez played a leading role in passing th
Right to Know Act
which brought transparency to police stops, as well as th
Waste Equity Bill
which reduced the amount of trash trucks and the associated pollution in North Brooklyn.

Elected Office

Gutiérrez won a primary election in June 2021 by a wide margin in a rank choice voting election and was elected to represent Council District 34 in November 2021. Gutiérrez is the first Colombian-American member of the New York City Council. She has been appointed chairperson of the Committee on Technology.

Personal life

Gutiérrez and her husband have one child, born in November 2021. She lives in

Bushwick, Brooklyn Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; East New York and the cemeteries of Highland Par ...

with her family.

References

21st-century American politicians Hispanic and Latino American New York City Council members Hispanic and Latino American women in politics University at Albany, SUNY alumni Living people New York (state) Democrats New York City Council members Politicians from Brooklyn American politicians of Colombian descent 1986 births {{NewYork-politician-stub