| Chi Ossé | |
| Office: | Member of the New York City Council from the 36th district |
| Term Start: | January 1, 2022 |
| Predecessor: | Robert Cornegy |
| Birth Date: | 18 March 1998 |
| Birth Place: | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Relatives: | Combat Jack (father) |
| Education: | Chapman University (did not finish) |
| Website: | |
Chi A. Ossé (born March 18, 1998)[1] is an American politician and activist from New York City who serves as a member of the New York City Council for the 36th district, based largely in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford–Stuyvesant, and some of northern Crown Heights.[2]
Ossé was born of Black and Chinese ancestry[3] and raised in Brooklyn, where his family has lived for three generations.[4] His father, hip hop attorney and journalist Reggie Ossé–better known as Combat Jack–died from cancer in 2017, when Ossé was 19.[5] Ossé graduated from Friends Seminary in 2016[6] and attended but did not graduate from Chapman University in Orange, California.[7]
Ossé worked for several years in the entertainment industry.[7] In May 2020, amid nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd, Ossé became a prominent Black Lives Matter organizer and co-founded the activist collective Warriors in the Garden.[8]
On Juneteenth 2020, Ossé announced his 2021 campaign to succeed term-limited Councilman Robert Cornegy in the 36th district of the New York City Council.[9] Ossé, who acknowledged that he knew little about city government before the protests of spring 2020, cited police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement as the impetus for his campaign, and charged that the City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio had not done enough to reshape policing in the city.[10] [11]
With endorsements from the Working Families Party and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Courage to Change PAC, Ossé was seen as the furthest-left candidate in a field that also included district leader Henry Butler, local political operative Tahirah Moore, and pastor Robert Waterman.[12] [13] His campaign also found an unusual niche due to Ossé's youth and personal style, with many non-political publications interviewing Ossé and running profiles of his campaign.[14] [15] [16]
On election night on June 22, Ossé led the field with 37 percent of the vote; when absentee ballots and ranked-choice votes were counted, he defeated Butler 57-43%.[17] [18] His victory, and the size of his margin, was seen as a considerable upset, given his opponents' more traditional political backgrounds and endorsements.[19] Ossé faced minimal opposition in the November general election, and won easily, becoming the council's youngest ever member.[20]
Ossé's father was Reginald Ossé, a Haitian-American hip hop music attorney, executive, journalist, editor and podcaster. His mother owns and operates The BAKERY on Bergen, a small business in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. His grandfather was Teddy Vann, a music producer who grew up in Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst neighborhood and won a Grammy working with his longtime protege Luther Vandross.[21]
Ossé is openly queer.[22] He lives in Crown Heights, and is a practicing Nichiren Buddhist.[23]