Jamaican Lawman Lynch running for NY City Council
Published:Friday | May 24, 2024 | 12:06 AMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
Hoping to become the first Jamaica-born male to sit on the New York City Council, Lawman Lynch recently announced his candidacy for a Brooklyn city council seat.
He is seeking to represent Council District 41 in Brooklyn.
Should he win the seat in November 2025, Lynch would become the first Jamaica-born male to sit on the city council. Una Clarke was the first Jamaican to sit on the council when she ran successfully for Council District 40, also in Brooklyn.
Division 41 takes in such areas as Brownsville, Bed Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, East New York and Oceanville.
It cuts across the Congressional districts currently represented by Jamaican Yvette Clarke and Hakeem Jeffries.
Lynch was born in Woodford Park, Kingston, and attended the Salvation Army Basic School, Alpha Infant School, Ripoll Primary School and later Wolmer’s Boys’ School.
He also attended The University of the West Indies but did not complete his studies there, migrating to the United States in 2010.
Political violence
A member of the People’s National Party’s Youth Organisation and a political activist before migrating, Lynch left Jamaica shortly after he became a victim of what was seen as political violence when his motor vehicle was firebombed while parked in front of his home in Woodford Park.
Lynch told The Gleaner at the time of the incident in 2010 that he heard an explosion and, on investigating, found that it was not his house but his car that was firebombed.
On migrating to the US, Lynch settled in Brooklyn in the same area that he is now seeking to represent in the New York City Council.
According to his bio, Lynch served as a regional trainer of Citizenship Education, as part of the Education Transformation Team at the Ministry of Education (Jamaica); and has worked for national and global nonprofits that focus on child, youth and community development, as well as education and social services.
Lynch is an author, musician, and award-winning youth and community development activist. He is a recipient of the CSJP Community Development Award, The Prime Minister’s Youth in Excellence Award (category of Leadership), one of New York’s Caribbean Life newspaper’s 20 under 40 trailblazers, and the founder of the Lawman Lynch Foundation Inc (LLF), a New York-based nonprofit organisation that focuses on child, youth and community development, supporting programmes both in the US and Jamaica.
Additionally, Lynch’s bio lists him as the CEO of CariGlo Diaspora LLC, a multifaceted human services and fintech company (owner of the MyPaadna platform and services). He also served as the Jamaica Diaspora New York State chair. He served two terms as chairman of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP) Civil Society Forum (Brussels), he is a former Safe Schools Ambassador (Jamaica), and previously served as a member of the education Sector of the Jamaica Diaspora North East USA Think Tank.
Focus on education
Lynch said his campaign would focus on education, business development and ensuring that the district will receive the resources that it needs.
“The district has some of the most underserved schools and we will concentrate on after-school programmes where we can strengthen after-school and day schools to create a better synergy,” he said.
He also said homework help for students would be a priority for him, as well as STEM education.
Noting that he has met with a number of community leaders, church leaders and business people in the district, Lynch pointed out that he was encouraged to contest the seat by former city councilwoman Una Clarke.
“She provided the encouragement that I needed to toss my hat in the ring for the seat,” he told The Gleaner.
Lynch considers himself a lifelong learner, whose purpose is to facilitate the upward mobility of those he comes in contact with. He holds a BA in Communications, Masters in Educational Leadership and is currently a PhD Candidate focusing on Ethical Leadership in Education, the Private and the Public Sectors.