Former Staffer Will Vie For Seat Of BK Senator Rumored To Retire

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — One of state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery's former staff members has thrown his hat into the ring for her seat in the legislature, further cementing rumors that the longtime senator will retire from her post representing Brooklyn's 25th District.

Jason Salmon, who worked as community liaison for Montgomery for three years, announced Thursday that he was starting a campaign to become the next state senator for District 25, which includes portions of Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Boerum Hill, Red Hook, Bedford-Stuy, Sunset Park, Gowanus, Ocean Hill, and Park Slope.

His announcement comes after months of rumors that Montgomery, who has been in office since 1984, will retire at the end of her term.

When asked whether Salmon knows if Montgomery plans to step down, a representative from his campaign said her retirement remains just a rumor, but hinted that Salmon will only run if it turns out to be true.

"Jason has great respect for Senator Montgomery and would never run against her," the spokesperson, Carina Chacon, said.

Salmon, who grew up in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, worked for Montgomery a few years after the death of his friend at the hands of police led him to jump into community organizing and activism, he said in the campaign announcement.

The time in her office has prepared him to handle the issues facing the Brooklyn district, Salmon said in an op-ed for Medium.

"My work for the Senator put me on the front lines of nearly every issue our district has faced in recent years — from the fight for affordable housing, to organizing tenants to demand repairs, to drafting legislation requiring civics education in our schools, and working in partnership with city and state agencies, organizations and community members to find practical solutions to the many everyday problems our district faces," he wrote.

Montgomery's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Salmon's community activism includes working as a volunteer for Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, as a liaison to Communities for United Police Reform and as an organizer supporting the Right to Know Act, a 2018 law that requires NYPD to identify themselves and carry business cards for certain circumstances.

His organizing career began back in 2014, when his childhood friend was killed by police the same summer that Eric Garner died from a fatal NYPD chokehold.

Before that, Salmon had run a recording studio he founded after college.

Salmon went to Clinton Hill's P.S. 20 and grew up in a multi-racial family in the neighborhood. His family has lived in Brooklyn for 70 years, he said.

“I was born and raised in this community. I have invested in this community," Salmon said in his campaign announcement. "This fight is personal to me."

His campaign will focus on ending mass incarceration, ending police brutality, eliminating solitary confinement and ending the war on drugs, all of which he says have disproportionately affected communities of color.

Salmon joins Jibari Brisport in the race for Montgomery's seat. Brisport is a middle school math teacher who the New York Post recently said could be the "next Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez" given his endorsement from the New York City Democratic Socialist party.