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Isaac Bryan
Majority Leader of the California Assembly
In office
July 3, 2023 – November 22, 2023
Preceded byEloise Reyes
Succeeded byCecilia Aguiar-Curry
Member of the California Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 28, 2021
Preceded bySydney Kamlager
Constituency54th district (2021–2022)
55th district (2022–present)
Personal details
Born (1992-01-16) January 16, 1992 (age 33)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of Arizona (BA)
University of California, Los Angeles (MPP)

Isaac Gregory Bryan (born January 16, 1992)[1] is an American politician serving as a Member of the California State Assembly where he represents the 55th district, which includes much of South Central Los Angeles.[2] Bryan was previously the executive director of the University of California Los Angeles's Black Policy Project, and served as the Director of Public Policy for the UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center. From July to November 2023, he served as Assembly Majority Leader.[3]

Early life and education

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Bryan was born in Dallas, Texas, to a teenage mother in poverty who gave him up at birth.[4] Bryan was adopted as an infant and has lived in California since he was in the sixth grade.[2] His family served as a foster family for hundreds of children over two decades and adopted him and eight others from the child welfare system.[5]

Bryan attended seven public schools and two California community colleges before earning a Bachelor of Arts in political science and sociology from the University of Arizona. He worked as a research fellow for the Rombach Institute on Crime, Delinquency and Corrections.[5] During his time with the Rombach Institute, Bryan worked on juvenile justice and criminal justice reform. He also worked with a team of federal monitors to enforce a United States Department of Justice Consent Decree with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.[5]

Bryan went on to earn a Master of Public Policy from UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.[6] In 2017, Bryan was named a David Bohnett Foundation fellow,[5] where Bryan previously served in Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's Office of Reentry, where he co-authored the city's first report on the holistic needs of Angelenos with justice system involvement.[7]

Career

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UCLA Black Policy Project

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Bryan is the founding director of UCLA's Black Policy Project (BPP). The BPP aims to build connections between black scholarship at UCLA and public policy decision making.[8] Bryan also served as director of Public Policy for UCLA's Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies.[4]

During his time at UCLA, Bryan authored numerous studies and reports. Bryan and The Million Dollar Hoods Project issued several reports on the interactions between students and Los Angeles School Police Department.[9] Bryan regularly provided media commentary on issues of racial inequality in the United States.[10][11] During the summer of 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, Bryan led peaceful protests in Los Angeles.[12][4][13]

Criminal justice reform

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Bryan was one of the leading scholars who articulated that "defunding police" was really a call to question the size of our tax contributions to policing and criminalization at the expense of social services.[14] Bryan was the co-chair for Los Angeles County's historic Measure J, which was approved by over 2.1 million voters and diverts at least 10% of the county's general funds "to address the disproportionate impact of racial injustice through community investment and alternatives to incarceration".[15][16][17] Bryan regularly writes and provides commentary on policing and justice reform in the United States.[18][19][20] He has been an outspoken advocate on the need to end the criminalization of poverty.


California State Assembly

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Election

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In 2021, Bryan announced that he would be a candidate for the California Assembly to succeed fellow Democrat Sydney Kamlager, who was elected to the California Senate.[21] Bryan's campaign for the Assembly was endorsed by many people across Los Angeles.[2][7]

Bryan won the special election to represent the 54th district outright securing over 50% in the primary despite five other candidates, and was sworn into office.[22][23][24]

On July 3, 2023 Bryan was named Majority Leader of the Assembly, replacing Eloise Reyes.[25]

During his time in the Legislature Bryan established the UCLA Center on Reproductive Health Law and Policy, ended prison gerrymandering, returned millions in stolen foster youth benefits, shut down the largest urban oil field in California, established a registry for people living with ALS, improved student health insurance coverage, expanded restorative justice practices,[26][27] and started a select committee on Poverty and Economic Inclusion.

Bryan is a member of the California Legislative Progressive Caucus.[28] In 2024, Bryan was elected to serve as Vice-Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus.

Electoral history

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2022 California's 55th State Assembly district election[29][30]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Isaac Bryan (incumbent) 79,141 85.7
Republican Keith Girolamo Cascio 13,200 14.3
Total votes 92,341 100%
General election
Democratic Isaac Bryan (incumbent) 114,384 83.7
Republican Keith Girolamo Cascio 22,295 16.3
Total votes 136,679 100%
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ Parker, Sue (March 2023). "The Assembly List of MEMBERS, OFFICERS, COMMITTEES AND THE RULES" (PDF). California State Assembly.
  2. ^ a b c "Meet the Candidates Running for CA's 54th Assembly District". spectrumnews1.com. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  3. ^ Korte, Lara; Gardiner, Dustin; White, Jeremy B. (2023-11-22). "Rivas' first big flex". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  4. ^ a b c "A firsthand account of this pivotal moment in history". PBS NewsHour. 2020-06-14. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  5. ^ a b c d "Isaac Bryan | David Bohnett Foundation". www.bohnettfoundation.org. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  6. ^ "Isaac Bryan". Million Dollar Hoods. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  7. ^ a b "Issac Bryan leads field in race for Assembly District 54". ourweekly.com. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  8. ^ "Black legislative leaders meet at UCLA to discuss future of public policy". UCLA. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  9. ^ "UCLA Researchers Analyze Data on Student Interactions with Police". spectrumnews1.com. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  10. ^ "In 2021, local Black analysts say Martin Luther King's dream hasn't been realized". KCRW. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  11. ^ Roman, Nick (2 June 2020). "The False Dichotomy Of Protest Coverage So Far". LAist. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  12. ^ "Protests for racial justice: Faculty share insights on responses to the killing of George Floyd". UCLA. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  13. ^ "Isaac Bryan: Confronting Police, Protests, and Power". PBS SoCal. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  14. ^ Scottie Andrew (2020-06-07). "There's a growing call to defund the police. Here's what it means". CNN. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  15. ^ Los Angeles County (2020-07-24). "Measure J text" (PDF). Los Angeles County.
  16. ^ Munoz, Anabel (2020-11-10). "Measure J approved by LA County voters: Here's what happens now". ABC7 Los Angeles. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  17. ^ "Progressive shift on ballot measures signal appeal of criminal justice reform in LA County". KCRW. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  18. ^ Scottie Andrew, Josiah Ryan and Caroline Kelly (17 February 2021). "Biden opposes defunding the police. Here's what that means". CNN. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  19. ^ "UCLA report shows disproportionate arrests of black people by LAPD Metro". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  20. ^ Jones, Haley (2018-12-06). "Leaders of Million Dollar Hoods discuss mass incarceration in Los Angeles". The Occidental. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  21. ^ Service, City News (2021-03-03). "Special election: Sydney Kamlager wins LA-area state Senate seat". ABC7 Los Angeles. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  22. ^ "Isaac Bryan sworn into California Assembly". City News Service. 2021-05-28. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  23. ^ "29-Year-Old Isaac Bryan Sworn Into California State Assembly To Represent Westside to Inglewood". 2021-05-29. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  24. ^ "UCLA alum Isaac Bryan to represent District 54 following special election". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  25. ^ Cadelago, Christopher; White, Jeremy B.; Korte, Lara; Govindarao, Sejal (5 July 2023). "California Playbook: Gavin Newsom's red-state hustle". Politico. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  26. ^ "Legislative Accomplishments: Keeping Families Whole, Ending Poverty and Supporting Communities | Official Website - Assemblymember Isaac G. Bryan Representing the 55th California Assembly District".
  27. ^ "District Budget Wins | Official Website - Assemblymember Isaac G. Bryan Representing the 55th California Assembly District".
  28. ^ "Legislative Progressive Caucus". assembly.ca.gov. California State Assembly. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  29. ^ "Primary Election - Statement of the Vote, June 7, 2022" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  30. ^ "General Election - Statement of the Vote, November 8, 2022 - State Assembly" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
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California Assembly
Preceded by Majority Leader of the California Assembly
2023 		Succeeded by
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