Karim Camara
Encyclopedia
Karim Camara is a Democratic
member of the New York State Assembly
representing the 43rd Assembly District which includes parts of the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Crown Heights
, Lefferts Gardens and East Flatbush
. He is the founding and senior pastor of the Abundant Life Church in Brooklyn and was previously the executive pastor of First Baptist Church of Crown Heights. He was first elected to the State Assembly in a November 2005 special election to replace Clarence Norman Jr.
A native of Brooklyn
, Camara spent most of his childhood living in the Assembly District he now represents. He also spent formative years both in Queens and on a farm in Westtown, New York
(Orange County
). Camara graduated from Brooklyn Friends School in 1988. He went on to attain his B.A.
in English Literature and Chemistry from Xavier University of Louisiana
and a Masters of Divinity from the New York Theological Seminary
.
Camara resides in Brooklyn with his wife Orelia E. Merchant, an assistant United States attorney and their two children.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
member of the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
representing the 43rd Assembly District which includes parts of the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Crown Heights
Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is Eastern Parkway, a tree-lined boulevard designed by Frederick Law Olmsted extending two miles east-west.Originally, the area was known as Crow Hill....
, Lefferts Gardens and East Flatbush
East Flatbush, Brooklyn
East Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 17 Though the borders of East Flatbush are highly subjective, its northern border is roughly at Empire Boulevard and East New York Avenue east of East 91st Street, its southern...
. He is the founding and senior pastor of the Abundant Life Church in Brooklyn and was previously the executive pastor of First Baptist Church of Crown Heights. He was first elected to the State Assembly in a November 2005 special election to replace Clarence Norman Jr.
Clarence Norman Jr.
Clarence Norman, Jr. is an American politician from the state of New York. He was the former chairman of the Kings County Democratic Party and member of the New York State Assembly from the 43rd Assembly District in Central Brooklyn, which includes Crown Heights and parts of Flatbush and Prospect...
A native of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, Camara spent most of his childhood living in the Assembly District he now represents. He also spent formative years both in Queens and on a farm in Westtown, New York
Westtown, New York
Westtown is a hamlet in Orange County in the U.S. state of New York. It is located along New York State Route 284 north of Unionville and Minisink, and north of the New Jersey state border. The town is intersected mainly by Orange County Rt. 1. Westtown is a community or populated place located...
(Orange County
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
). Camara graduated from Brooklyn Friends School in 1988. He went on to attain his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English Literature and Chemistry from Xavier University of Louisiana
Xavier University of Louisiana
Xavier University of Louisiana , located in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States, is a private, coeducational, liberal arts college with the distinction of being the only historically black Roman Catholic institution of higher education...
and a Masters of Divinity from the New York Theological Seminary
New York Theological Seminary
The New York Theological Seminary was established as a non-denominational institution in 1900 with the founding of the Bible Teachers’ College in Montclair, New Jersey by Wilbert Webster White. President White moved the school to New York City in 1902, when it was renamed the Bible Teachers’...
.
Camara resides in Brooklyn with his wife Orelia E. Merchant, an assistant United States attorney and their two children.
Election results
- November 2005 special election, NYS Assembly, 43rd AD
Karim Camara (DEM New York State Democratic CommitteeThe New York State Democratic Committee runs the local branch of the United States Democratic Party in the state of New York. Its headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and it has an office in Albany.-List of chairpersons:...
)... 8,411 Geoffrey A. Davis (IND Independence Party of New YorkThe Independence Party is an affiliate in the U.S. state of New York of the Independence Party of America. The party was founded in 1991 by Dr. Gordon Black, Tom Golisano, and Laureen Oliver from Rochester, New York, and acquired ballot status in 1994...
)... 1,818 Kenneth E. Cook (REP New York Republican State CommitteeThe New York Republican State Committee is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in New York, headquartered in Albany.-History:...
- CON)... 1,093
- November 2006 general electionGeneral electionIn a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, NYS Assembly, 43rd ADKarim Camara (DEM New York State Democratic CommitteeThe New York State Democratic Committee runs the local branch of the United States Democratic Party in the state of New York. Its headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and it has an office in Albany.-List of chairpersons:...
- WORWorking Families PartyThe Working Families Party is a minor political party in the United States founded in New York in 1998. There are "sister" parties to the New York WFP in Connecticut, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Oregon, but there is as yet no national WFP...
)... 11,873 Kenneth E. Cook (REP New York Republican State CommitteeThe New York Republican State Committee is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in New York, headquartered in Albany.-History:...
- CON)... 983
- November 2008 general electionGeneral electionIn a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, NYS Assembly, 43rd ADKarim Camara (DEM New York State Democratic CommitteeThe New York State Democratic Committee runs the local branch of the United States Democratic Party in the state of New York. Its headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and it has an office in Albany.-List of chairpersons:...
- WORWorking Families PartyThe Working Families Party is a minor political party in the United States founded in New York in 1998. There are "sister" parties to the New York WFP in Connecticut, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Oregon, but there is as yet no national WFP...
)... 26,769 Stuart Balberg (REP New York Republican State CommitteeThe New York Republican State Committee is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in New York, headquartered in Albany.-History:...
- CON)... 2,096
- November 2010 general electionGeneral electionIn a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, NYS Assembly, 43rd ADKarim Camara (DEM New York State Democratic CommitteeThe New York State Democratic Committee runs the local branch of the United States Democratic Party in the state of New York. Its headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and it has an office in Albany.-List of chairpersons:...
- WORWorking Families PartyThe Working Families Party is a minor political party in the United States founded in New York in 1998. There are "sister" parties to the New York WFP in Connecticut, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Oregon, but there is as yet no national WFP...
)... 17,923 Menachem M. Raitport (REP New York Republican State CommitteeThe New York Republican State Committee is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in New York, headquartered in Albany.-History:...
- CON)... 1,538