Terence Tolbert
Encyclopedia
Terence D. Tolbert was an American
political operative who was the Nevada
state director for Barack Obama
's 2008 presidential campaign and an aide to Joel Klein
, the New York City School Chancellor
. Tolbert's death came two days before the 2008 presidential election
, and the same day as Obama's grandmother
.
. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science
, where he was a classmate of Christopher "Kid" Reid, the rap musician and actor, and John T. Georgopoulos
, a fantasy sports writer. He later earned a bachelor's degree from Hunter College
. He had lived in Harlem with his wife, Freida Foster-Tolbert.
In his intense career in politics, Tolbert worked at the New York State Senate
Minority Program Office in Albany. He served on the staff of State Senators Martin Connor
and Joseph Galiber, and for Representative
Charles B. Rangel
.
He was the chief of staff to New York State Assembly
man Keith L. T. Wright
for eight years. In 2003 and 2004, Tolbert was the New York state director for the presidential campaign of John Edwards
. Tolbert had taken a leave from his position as chief of staff to Assemblyman Wright, who was in turn supporting John Kerry
's presidential bid.
After leaving the Edwards campaign in 2004, Tolbert was the Nevada state director of America Coming Together
, a 527 group
dedicated to get out the vote
efforts, primarily for Democratic candidates. Tolbert served as the liaison to ethnic, religious and cultural groups in the city for Mayor of New York City
Michael Bloomberg
in his bid for a second term in the 2005 mayoral election
. He had also worked on the campaigns of Senator
Chuck Schumer and former Governor of New York
Eliot Spitzer
.
Tolbert was hired by the New York City Department of Education
in 2006, serving as its primary representative in Albany, New York
and Washington, D.C.
lobbying on behalf of Bloomberg's efforts to extend the law due to expire in June 2009 that grants the mayor primary authority over the New York City public schools.
He took a leave of absence from the Department of Education in July to work in Nevada as state director for the Obama campaign, with the Democrats making a strong effort in a state that had traditionally been solidly Republican. Barack Obama took Nevada's five electoral votes, defeating John McCain
by a 56%-42% margin, carrying Nevada by 120,000 votes in a state the George W. Bush
had won by 20,000 votes in the 2004 election
.
On the evening of November 2, 2008, in North Las Vegas, Nevada
, Tolbert suffered a heart attack while driving alone near the Obama campaign offices. He was taken to North Vista Hospital and died there, aged 44.
Tolbert's funeral was held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
Tolbert's middle school in Harlem
was named after him in November 2008, as a memorial
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political operative who was the Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
state director for Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's 2008 presidential campaign and an aide to Joel Klein
Joel Klein
Joel Irwin Klein was Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, the largest public school system in the United States, serving more than 1.1 million students in more than 1,600 schools...
, the New York City School Chancellor
New York City School Chancellor
The New York City Schools Chancellor is the leader of the New York City Department of Education, the agency that handles New York City's public schools. The current Chancellor is Dennis M. Walcott, who began his tenure on April 18, 2011 after the resignation of Cathie Black on April 7, 2011...
. Tolbert's death came two days before the 2008 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
, and the same day as Obama's grandmother
Madelyn Dunham
Madelyn Lee Payne Dunham was the American maternal grandmother of Barack Obama, the 44th and current President of the United States of America...
.
Biography
Tolbert was born and raised in HarlemHarlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science
Bronx High School of Science
The Bronx High School of Science is a specialized New York City public high school often considered the premier science magnet school in the United States. Founded in 1938, it is now located in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx...
, where he was a classmate of Christopher "Kid" Reid, the rap musician and actor, and John T. Georgopoulos
John T. Georgopoulos
John Tilemachos Georgopoulos is a fantasy sports writer, radio host and computer scientist of Greek ancestry, whose work involving fantasy football analytics has been prominent in the fantasy industry since 1994.-Biography:...
, a fantasy sports writer. He later earned a bachelor's degree from Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
. He had lived in Harlem with his wife, Freida Foster-Tolbert.
In his intense career in politics, Tolbert worked at the New York State Senate
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
Minority Program Office in Albany. He served on the staff of State Senators Martin Connor
Martin Connor
Martin Connor is a former member of the New York State Senate from Brooklyn, New York. He was first elected to the State Senate in a special election in 1978. He is a Democrat. The 25th Senate District that he represented covers lower Manhattan and an area of Brooklyn down the East River from...
and Joseph Galiber, and for Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Charles B. Rangel
Charles B. Rangel
Charles Bernard "Charlie" Rangel is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1971. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the third-longest currently serving member of the House of Representatives. As its most senior member, he is also the Dean of New York's congressional delegation...
.
He was the chief of staff to 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...
man Keith L. T. Wright
Keith L. T. Wright
Keith L. T. Wright is an American politician and a member of the New York State Assembly. He was first elected to the assembly in 1992 and has been reelected ever since. In early 2007, he proposed a bill limiting retail sale of violent video games to individuals below 30 years of age. This...
for eight years. In 2003 and 2004, Tolbert was the New York state director for the presidential campaign of John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
. Tolbert had taken a leave from his position as chief of staff to Assemblyman Wright, who was in turn supporting John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
's presidential bid.
After leaving the Edwards campaign in 2004, Tolbert was the Nevada state director of America Coming Together
America Coming Together
America Coming Together was a liberal, political action, 527 group dedicated to get-out-the-vote activities. ACT did not specifically endorse any political party, but mostly worked on behalf of Democratic candidates. It was the largest 527 group in 2004 and was planning to be involved in future...
, a 527 group
527 group
A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of American tax-exempt organization named after "Section 527" of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code...
dedicated to get out the vote
Get out the vote
"Get out the vote" are terms used to describe two categories of political activity, both aimed at increasing the number of votes cast in one or more elections.- Non-partisan contexts :...
efforts, primarily for Democratic candidates. Tolbert served as the liaison to ethnic, religious and cultural groups in the city for Mayor of New York City
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
in his bid for a second term in the 2005 mayoral election
New York City mayoral election, 2005
The New York City mayoral election of 2005 occurred on Tuesday November 8, 2005, with incumbent Republican mayor Michael Bloomberg soundly defeating former Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer, the Democratic nominee. They also faced several third party candidates.This was the fourth straight...
. He had also worked on the campaigns of Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Chuck Schumer and former Governor of New York
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
.
Tolbert was hired by the New York City Department of Education
New York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...
in 2006, serving as its primary representative in Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
lobbying on behalf of Bloomberg's efforts to extend the law due to expire in June 2009 that grants the mayor primary authority over the New York City public schools.
He took a leave of absence from the Department of Education in July to work in Nevada as state director for the Obama campaign, with the Democrats making a strong effort in a state that had traditionally been solidly Republican. Barack Obama took Nevada's five electoral votes, defeating John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
by a 56%-42% margin, carrying Nevada by 120,000 votes in a state the George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
had won by 20,000 votes in the 2004 election
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
.
On the evening of November 2, 2008, in North Las Vegas, Nevada
North Las Vegas, Nevada
North Las Vegas is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, located in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The city was incorporated on May 16, 1946.-Geography:...
, Tolbert suffered a heart attack while driving alone near the Obama campaign offices. He was taken to North Vista Hospital and died there, aged 44.
Legacy
In a press release, Mayor Bloomberg described Tolbert as one of the most likeable and hardworking people in the world and "a valued member of our administration" who "had become a personal friend". Schools Chancellor Klein eulogized Tolbert as someone "who believed deeply that government can and must play a constructive role in improving the lives of its citizens" in his role as Executive Director of Inter-Governmental Relations. A statement issued by the Obama campaign characterized Tolbert as "a strong force in this campaign, with a positive outlook that brought people together."Tolbert's funeral was held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
Tolbert's middle school in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
was named after him in November 2008, as a memorial
Memorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
.