Chris Owens (politician)

Chris Owens is a community and political activist in Brooklyn, New York.

Biography

Chris Owens was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School for his freshman year, and then graduated from the Bronx High School of Science.

Owens is the son of retired Congressman Major Owens (D-NY), a former librarian, and Ethel Werfel Owens, a former college professor.

One of Chris Owens' brothers, Geoffrey Owens, is an actor best known for playing the role of "Elvin Thibideaux" on The Cosby Show. Chris himself is musically inclined, having run bands during the 1980s and worked as a singer-songwriter. Today, Owens occasionally writes music for his current political and community projects.^[1]

A graduate of Harvard University- where he majored in Sociology - Owens has spent most of his life involved in public affairs and community activism. In 1998, Owens earned an M.P.A. in Domestic Policy and Urban & Regional Planning from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

In addition to public sector work with former New York City Council President Andrew Stein, Owens worked for over a decade "with a company specializing in managed health care for lower-income communities" originally named Managed Healthcare Systems of New York (or "MHS") and later named "AmeriChoice."

Owens also served as a Trustee of the Weeksville Society and President of the Weeksville Board from 1998-2003. He served as a member of the Political Action Committee of NARAL Pro-Choice New York from 1996 through 2003. Owens was also a long-time member of Central Brooklyn's Coalition for Community Empowerment.

Prior to seeking election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006, Chris Owens' bids for public office including two successful elections and six years on his local community school board (one victory as a "write in" candidate), as well as a 1989 run against a 12-year incumbent for a seat in the New York City Council.

In October, 2007, Owens joined the non-profit organization BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life)^[2] as Regional Director for New York. Owens supervised an operation that provides after-school and summer school tutoring for students in schools in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn. BELL, founded in 1992, is a provider of after-school and summer educational programs for children living in low-income, urban communities. BELL serves more than 10,000 children annually in public schools in urban areas such as Augusta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Detroit, Springfield (MA), and New York City.

In early 2007, Owens joined a fledgling group known as Brooklyn for Barack and supported the Presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Barack H. Obama. Owens was selected as an Alternate Delegate candidate from the 11th Congressional District (Owens' home district) and served as the GOTV coordinator for that district for the Democratic Primary for President on February 5, 2008. Owens won the Alternate spot when Obama defeated U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton in the 11th Congressional District (although Obama lost New York State). A few months later, Owens was "upgraded" to a Delegate slot when another New York State Delegate resigned. He attended the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

In February, 2008, Owens became the host of "Black Politics with Chris Owens" on Air America Radio. The one-hour weekend show featured interviews with activists, politicians, clergy members, policy wonks, writers, entertainers and filmmakers until December, 2008, when the financial challenges of funding the program led to its demise. As host of "Black Politics," Owens blogged (written and audio) from the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, providing real-time interviews with Delegates and other convention participants.

From February, 2008 through January, 2009, Owens served as President of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats.

In 2010, Owens founded Chris Owens & Associates, a consulting firm. He has been consulting for Advocates for Justice - Chartered Attorneys, and Advocates for Justice, a non-profit law firm.

2006 Congressional Campaign

During the 2005-2006 federal election cycle, Chris Owens was one of four candidates to replace the outgoing representative from New York's 11th District (Brooklyn), Major Owens - his father. On September 12, 2006, Owens finished fourth in the Democratic primary, garnering just under twenty percent of the vote behind Former State Senator Carl Andrews, then City Council member David Yassky, and 11 percentage points behind the winner, City Council member Yvette Clarke.

2010

Four years after the 2006 Congressional contest, on September 14, 2010, Chris Owens was elected to the position of State Committee member (Male) for the New York State Democratic Party—and one of the two District Leaders—from the 52nd Assembly District in Brooklyn.

In 2010, the 52nd AD included the neighborhoods of Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Gowanus, Park Slope (partial), Prospect Heights (partial), and the Gowanus Houses and Wyckoff Gardens NYC Housing Authority developments, as well as the Warren Street houses.

Owens defeated two opponents receiving more than 48% of the votes cast in the Democratic Primary contest. Due to the Party, not public, nature of this position, the position is decided by the Primary and not the November General Election.

Owens ran as a Democratic "reform" candidate with endorsements from The Brooklyn Paper, retired Congressman Major Owens, City Council member Letitia James, attorney Norman Siegel, singer-songwriter Dan Zanes, the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID), the Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn (LID), and the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club.

Within the next week, Owens challenged incumbent County Leader Lopez, who was also a member of the New York State Assembly and an Assembly Committee Chair, but was unsuccessful in the election on Monday, September 20, 2010.

References

1. ^ http://www.reverbnation.com/blackpoliticswithchrisowens
2. ^ BELL - Building Educated Leaders for Life

External links

• Music By Chris Owens (including "Love Is The Way")
• Brooklyn's Progressive Conscience: A Podcast Interview With Congressional Candidate Chris Owens
• The CQPolitics Interview: Chris Owens (N.Y. 11)
• The Wonk and the Preacher
• Race Plays Part in Brooklyn Congressional Race
• Chris Owens' response to the 2006 congressional screening questionnaire from the 504 Democratic Club of New York City
• Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats
• Fightin’ Eleventh candidates weigh in on Yards
• Candidates For 11th District Congressional Seat Face Off On NY1
• www.owensforchange.com

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