State Assemblymember Jordan Wright, whose family has deep political ties in Harlem, is facing a challenge by Democratic Socialist-backed attorney Conrad Blackburn, who argues it’s time for a change in Manhattan’s 30th Assembly District.

For first-term Wright, politics is the family business. 

What You Need To Know

State Assemblymember Jordan Wright, whose family has deep political ties in Harlem, is facing a challenge by Democratic Socialist-backed attorney Conrad Blackburn, who argues it’s time for a change in Manhattan’s 30th Assembly District

Wright’s father, Keith Wright, is the leader of the Manhattan County Democratic Party and a former assembly member. His grandfather, Bruce, was a well-known judge

He faces a primary from a political newcomer. A Bronx Defenders attorney originally from Florida, Blackburn has called the city home for eight years

“There’s [people] in this community who voted for my grandfather, my father, my uncle, and myself, and I don’t do that as a bad thing,” he told NY1.

His father, Keith Wright, is the leader of the Manhattan County Democratic Party and a former assembly member. His grandfather, Bruce, was a well-known judge.

But now, Wright faces a primary from a political newcomer. A Bronx Defenders attorney originally from Florida, Blackburn has called the city home for eight years.

“I want to return the power back to the people of Harlem. For the past 30 or so years, there’s been one family in power in Harlem,” Blackburn told NY1 in a separate interview. 

“We see 11% of Black families being pushed out in the past 10 years; we see a Harlem that has a poverty rate of 28.6%, which is 10% higher than the citywide rate,” he added.

Backed by liberal powerhouses U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Blackburn said the Democratic Socialists of America drafted him to run.

Plus, election data show DSA-backed Mayor Zohran Mamdani carried Harlem last year.

“I spoke to Mayor Mamdani about this race, or his team about this race, and he didn’t endorse,” he said.

Wright is backed by New York State Attorney General Letitia James and big unions like Local 32BJ and the United Federation of Teachers.

“I served with the mayor in the state Assembly. We had a great working relationship,” he said on his own dealings with Mamdani.

Both qualified for public campaign finance dollars, but Blackburn said his campaign faces an uphill battle.

“I’ve tried to come to talk to seniors at senior centers. They give us the runaround because of the power that Keith Wright has,” he said. “We’ve tried to host town halls at schools, and Keith Wright pulls the permits from the schools, so he does as much as he can to keep me out of the political eye.”

But Wright said, “I do what’s best for Harlem. I do what’s best for Black folks, and I think people need to understand that it’s important when you’re governing, you need to govern for those who voted you in.”

Harlem’s storied relationship with the NYPD also partially led to Wright’s political career. He served as city Council member Yusef Salaam’s chief of staff — one of the Central Park Five, a group of young men who were wrongfully accused of rape.

“I was born in 1994, so I didn’t learn about the Central Park Five until one day, I was actually chased by police in Central Park, and I came back and talked to my parents about it,” Wright said.

“I think we need to have more police on the ground, and I want to see the police working with the community,” he added.

Blackburn said criminal justice is a key focus. 

“People want a police force that is going to really deliver on that safety agenda and do it fairly,” he said.

Both are focused on small businesses.

“I think that’s important for folks to get to work, and you know, understand that when they’re keeping their dollar in Harlem, things are going to circulate promptly. So, when people come to 125th Street, they’re going to any number of shops,” said Wright.

“I hopefully have a plan, one day, to really find some funding to buttress cooperative ownership of our businesses, because what that would do is give families the opportunity to go into business together and have some generational wealth for their family that they can pass down,” said Blackburn.

Early voting is underway, and Primary Day is Tuesday, June 23.