Chi Osse

Chi Osse

Democratic Party

Candidate, U.S. House New York District 8

New York City Council District 36

Tenure

2022 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

3

Predecessor

Robert Cornegy

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 4, 2025

Next election

November 3, 2026

Personal

Birthplace

New York, N.Y.

Profession

Freelance worker

Contact

Official website

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Chi Osse (Democratic Party) is a member of the New York City Council, representing District 36. He assumed office on January 1, 2022.

Osse (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent New York's 8th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.^[source]

Osse also ran for re-election to the New York City Council to represent District 36. He won in the general election on November 4, 2025.

Biography

Chi Osse was born in Brooklyn, New York. His professional experience includes being a freelance worker. Osse has been affiliated with Warriors in the Garden, Collective Fare, Bed-Stuy Strong, Churches United for Fair Housing, Working Families Party, and Citizen Action.

Elections

2026

See also: New York's 8th Congressional District election, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House New York District 8

Incumbent Hakeem Jeffries (D), Vance Bostic (D), and Chi Osse (D) are running in the general election for U.S. House New York District 8 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Hakeem Jeffries (D)
		Vance Bostic (D)
		Chi Osse (D)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2025

See also: City elections in New York, New York (2025)

General election

General election for New York City Council District 36

Incumbent Chi Osse won election in the general election for New York City Council District 36 on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chi Osse (D)	99.4	40,588
		Other/Write-in votes	0.6	249

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 40,837
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic Primary for New York City Council District 36

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Chi Osse in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Chi Osse	78.3	23,815	0	Advanced (1)
	Submit photo	Reginald Swiney	21.0	6,378	0	1
		Undeclared Write-insUndeclared write-in candidates may advance past the first round in some ranked-choice elections. If the official source reports write-in votes by candidate name, Ballotpedia displays them alongside the ballot-qualified candidates. However, if write-in votes are reported without a name, they will instead be included in the total write-in votes figure in Round 1. Please consult the official elections source for more details about unnamed write-in candidate vote totals past Round 1.	0.8	236	0

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 30,429
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Osse in this election.

2023

See also: City elections in New York, New York (2023)

General election

General election for New York City Council District 36

Incumbent Chi Osse won election in the general election for New York City Council District 36 on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chi Osse (D / Working Families Party)	98.8	9,735
		Other/Write-in votes	1.2	123

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,858
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic Primary for New York City Council District 36

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Chi Osse in round 1 .

		Candidate
✔		Chi Osse

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Working Families Party primary election

Working Families Primary for New York City Council District 36

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Chi Osse in round 1 .

		Candidate
✔		Chi Osse

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Endorsements

Osse received the following endorsements.

• Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club
• Sunrise NYC

2021

See also: City elections in New York, New York (2021)

General election

General election for New York City Council District 36

Chi Osse won election in the general election for New York City Council District 36 on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chi Osse (D)	99.3	18,999
		Other/Write-in votes	0.7	126

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,125
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic Primary for New York City Council District 36

Select round: Round 4 Round 3 Round 2 Round 1

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Chi Osse in round 4 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Chi Osse	57.0	11,149	2,139	Advanced (4)
		Henry Butler	43.0	8,402	1,910	4
	Submit photo	Tahirah Moore	0.0	0	-6,196	3
	Submit photo	Reginald Swiney	0.0	0	0	2
	Submit photo	Robert Waterman	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Chi Osse	41.5	9,010	483	Advanced (4)
		Henry Butler	29.9	6,492	1,070	4
	Submit photo	Tahirah Moore	28.6	6,196	858	3
	Submit photo	Robert Waterman	0.0	0	-3,281	2
	Submit photo	Reginald Swiney	0.0	0	-628	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Chi Osse	36.8	8,527	7	Advanced (4)
		Henry Butler	23.4	5,422	13	4
	Submit photo	Tahirah Moore	23.0	5,338	12	3
	Submit photo	Robert Waterman	14.1	3,281	7	2
	Submit photo	Reginald Swiney	2.7	628	3	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Chi Osse	36.7	8,520	0	Advanced (4)
		Henry Butler	23.3	5,409	0	4
	Submit photo	Tahirah Moore	22.9	5,326	0	3
	Submit photo	Robert Waterman	14.1	3,274	0	2
	Submit photo	Reginald Swiney	2.7	625	0	2
		Undeclared Write-insUndeclared write-in candidates may advance past the first round in some ranked-choice elections. If the official source reports write-in votes by candidate name, Ballotpedia displays them alongside the ballot-qualified candidates. However, if write-in votes are reported without a name, they will instead be included in the total write-in votes figure in Round 1. Please consult the official elections source for more details about unnamed write-in candidate vote totals past Round 1.	0.4	86	0

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,240
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Endorsements

To view Osse's endorsements in the 2021 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Chi Osse has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Chi Osse, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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2025

Chi Osse did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.

2023

Chi Osse did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2021

Chi Osse completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Osse's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Chi Ossé is an activist, third-generation Brooklynite, and prominent figure in the Black Lives Matter movement. His lived experience growing up in Brooklyn was the tense dichotomy between a nourishing upbringing in a loving community, and the daily crush of individual and systemic bigotry.

In the wake of the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Ossé co-founded the activist collective Warriors in the Garden, and led hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers in the marches and rallies — the collective call for Black liberation.

Culture is a concept central to Ossé’s worldview. He has worked for years in New York’s gig entertainment gig economy, and his father, Reggie Ossé, professionally known as Combat Jack, was a hip-hop music attorney. But the “culture scene” is only a small slice of culture.

Culture is our clothes and food and language and history — and woven into the fabric of American culture are inequality, injustice, and racism.

Ossé is called to politics for its potential to combine the institutional power of government with the tidal strength of movements to enact policy and heal our culture. Diversity is our strength, and Chi Ossé is devoted to diversity’s bravest manifestation: democracy.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• We must reimagine the old systems that have lost their utility or failed us, devising improvements and, where necessary, developing new institutions entirely.
• We must Reinvest our resources from inefficient and ineffective uses and into our schools, parks, and community development programs.
• We must renew the relationships between government and citizen, between institutions and community, as those of mutual respect and shared prosperity.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Affordable housing. Our district is attractive to people from all over, thanks to our rich culture, delicious foods, beautiful streets and, of course, incredible people. An influx of people, however, paired with the greed of many large landlords and developers, is squeezing our residents. I believe it is the responsibility of the City Council to address affordable housing.

Education. Our schools are underfunded and segregated and the outcomes for students are in dire need of improvement. I am committed to education equity and excellence, through fully funding our schools, from pre-K to a college education at CUNY. We will incentivize more teachers into the workforce, bring more counselors into our schools, expand co-curricular workshops (including pushing for a high pay ceiling for small CBOs) and give the rising generation the recognition it deserves: as a top priority.

Sanitation. Our Sanitation Department was severely defunded and our rat problem has exploded. In office, I commit to clean streets and a fully funded Department of Sanitation that resembles the 2019 budget or higher. Clean streets in Central Brooklyn really means clean and rodent free.

Public safety. Too often, the police fail to keep us safe and abuse Black and brown New Yorkers. I believe that for the jobs police are necessary for, they should be adequately trained and supported. For the jobs they are not necessary for, the city must fund new institutions, such as mental health professional

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

I see the New York City Council as unique among legislatures. It serves a constituency whose size rivals many states, but its members live full-time in their own houses. They do not leave for half the year to govern in some far-off capital, because New York City is its own capital. Members of our Council take the subway each day to represent their neighbors in City Hall. They govern right from home. This is the job of the Citizen Legislator.

The City Council is so integral to New York’s self-government because our annual budget of over 80 billion dollars is overseen and directed by people who grew up in our communities, know us and our struggles, and are committed to bringing us results.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Her experience is that of countless New Yorkers — working for wages while watching our political system become ever more dysfunctional. She took to the streets to organize for Bernie Sanders and then, two years later, sought and won office herself. Real, working New Yorkers should be representing real, working New Yorkers in government. I look up to her for manifesting that.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The core responsibilities of someone elected to this office are to represent their constituents and effectively serve them. These two responsibilities go hand-in-hand, for even people who understand their neighborhood very well might not be an effective legislator, and someone with experience in government may not live in or understand the community they hope to serve. An individual raised in the community, in tune with the community, and having allies and organizers by their side, will be able to deliver results to their constituents with empathy and efficacy.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want to leave a legacy of a city that has broken free of a rigid and restricting past. While we will always strive to continue improving, as perfection is a horizon to sail toward, not a destination, we must remember that we can pursue our goals with a new mindset entirely. Currently, our leadership assesses our economic and governance systems and haggle over the necessary tweaks to improve people’s lives. I have a great deal of respect for the leadership that really cares about us, but I believe their methods are outdated.

I hope to leave a legacy of an improved New York City and improved district 36: one with funded education and sanitation, a clean environment, and safe neighborhoods. But I also want to leave a new set of tools, a new way to reform institutions and build new ones. Our system doesn’t need tweaks; it demands overhaul. We can reimagine both the way we run our city and the way we change it. That’s why I’m running for the New York City Council.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Alchemist, for my inability to put it down.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

Councilmember deference is a system in which decisions on projects which require full City Council approval are deferred to the councilmember who represents the district the project is planned for. It is a de-facto system that has persisted for many years, and means that very large projects that include tax dollars from the city coffers will be left up to individual councilmembers. This power is extremely important to be aware of because if a district elects a council member who is tied to developers and other corporate interests, they will have the power to welcome those organizations into the district, even if it is at the expense of the residents.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

The special role of the Citizen Legislator requires, first and foremost, that a representative is from the community. While there are benefits to having been immersed in government, there are also considerable drawbacks. These include a subconscious belief often developed by people who have spent much of their life in government that the institutions are themselves good for us. This belief holds that the job of members of our government is to make small adjustments to institutions in order to deliver results. An outsider to government is an insider to his or her community. They know what their community needs and are prepared to take those needs to the halls of power.

Non-profit workers, community organizers, and education leaders often prove to be the most effective and well-liked representatives, because they channel the needs of their communities, even when those needs include the reorienting or deconstructing of failed institutions.

In short, yes, there are benefits as well as significant drawbacks for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics. But it is certainly more important — and more beneficial — for holders of this office to have roots in their community, organizing experience, and a willingness to make changes to the system when their constituents need it.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Chi Osse campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. House New York District 8	Candidacy Declared general	$0	N/A**
Grand total			$0	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

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Officeholder

New York City Council District 36

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Footnotes

[show]

New York's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Kirsten Gillibrand (D)

Chuck Schumer (D)

Representatives

District 1

Nicholas LaLota (R)

District 2

Andrew Garbarino (R)

District 3

Tom Suozzi (D)

District 4

Laura Gillen (D)

District 5

Gregory Meeks (D)

District 6

Grace Meng (D)

District 7

Nydia Velazquez (D)

District 8

Hakeem Jeffries (D)

District 9

Yvette Clarke (D)

District 10

Daniel Goldman (D)

District 11

Nicole Malliotakis (R)

District 12

Jerrold Nadler (D)

District 13

Adriano Espaillat (D)

District 14

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D)

District 15

Ritchie Torres (D)

District 16

George Latimer (D)

District 17

Michael Lawler (R)

District 18

Pat Ryan (D)

District 19

Josh Riley (D)

District 20

Paul Tonko (D)

District 21

Elise Stefanik (R)

District 22

John Mannion (D)

District 23

Nick Langworthy (R)

District 24

Claudia Tenney (R)

District 25

Joseph Morelle (D)

District 26

Tim Kennedy (D)

Democratic Party (21)

Republican Party (7)

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Officeholder

New York City Council District 36

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