Nomiki Konst

Nomiki Daphne Konst (born January 27, 1984) is an American journalist, progressive activist,[1] and political commentator who is known for her work on The Young Turks and Our Revolution.[2][3] In 2019, Konst was a candidate for New York City Public Advocate. She was a candidate in the Democratic primaries of the 2022 New York State Senate election, for the 59th district, scheduled on August 23, 2022; she eventually dropped out and endorsed her former opponent, Kristen Gonzalez.

Nomiki Konst
Born
Nomiki Daphne Konst

(1984-01-27) January 27, 1984
Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Occupations
  • Activist
  • Journalist
  • Political Commentator
Years active2012–present

Early life and education

Konst was born in Tucson, Arizona, and as a child she moved with her family to Buffalo, New York. Her mother was a legislator in Erie County, New York, and also served as a "Commissioner of Economic Development".[4] All four of her grandparents were Greek. Her paternal grandfather (whose surname was Κωνσταντάκης [Konstantákis]) is from Cephalonia, her paternal grandmother was from Kalymnos and her maternal grandparents were members of the ethnic Greek minority in southern Albania.[5]

Politics

Konst served as a national co-chair on Barack Obama's 2012 presidential re-election campaign.[6] In 2012, Konst announced her intention to run for Arizona's 2nd congressional district,[7] but withdrew prior to the primaries.[8] In 2016, she was a national surrogate for Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign[6] and she served on the Democratic National Convention's platform committee.[9] After the 2016 Democratic National Convention, she served on the party's Unity Reform Commission,[10] which reviewed the party's nominating process.[11] Konst also worked for Our Revolution, a progressive political action organization and offshoot of the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign.[12] She was also appointed as a national surrogate in Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign.[13]

In 2018, Konst announced her candidacy in the 2019 New York City Public Advocate special election.[6][14] Politico described her campaign as ambitious; including her proposals to decentralize the role to a representative in every borough, integrate the New York City Department of Investigation into the Advocate's office, and remove the office from the mayoral line of succession.[12]

In June 2022, she announced her intention to run in the Democratic primaries of the 2022 New York State Senate election, for the 59th district; scheduled on August 23, 2022.[8][15] She eventually dropped out and endorsed her former opponent, Kristen Gonzalez.[16]

Activism

In 2011, Konst became an anti-fracking activist, and was involved in a successful campaign to ban fracking in New York.[12]

Konst was a vocal opponent of the Independent Democratic Conference; a group of Democratic New York State senators who routinely sided with Republicans to block progressive agenda items.[6]

In 2019, Konst co-founded Matriarch, a progressive advocacy group dedicated to getting working-class women elected to public office.[17] In 2020, Cori Bush, one of Matriarch's founding members, was elected to the United States House of Representatives.[18]

During her 2019 campaign for New York's Public Advocate office, Konst joined efforts[19] to sink a proposed deal between New York City and Amazon to establish the corporation’s headquarters in Queens.

Journalism

In 2012, Konst and journalist Wayne Barrett founded the Accountability Project; a nonprofit investigative journalism outlet.[12]

Konst hosted The Filter, a show on SiriusXM Progress radio.[20] In 2015, she started to upload videos of interviews on her YouTube channel.[21] She also worked for the liberal and progressive show The Young Turks[22] as an investigative reporter until 2018.[23][24]

Konst is currently the host of her own political commentary program, The Nomiki Show,[25] and a contributor to The Majority Report with Sam Seder. She has regularly appeared on cable news channels as a Democratic political strategist.[12] Konst was a political analyst for CBS News and frequently contributed to CNN.[26]

References
  1. "Nomiki Konst". Fox News. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  2. Gaudiano, Nicole (August 3, 2016). "Bernie Sanders seeks contributions for 'Our Revolution'". OnPolitics. USA Today. Gannett Company. Archived from the original on June 2, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  3. Hensch, Mark (August 3, 2016). "Sanders fundraising 'to transform American society'". Blog Briefing Room (News). The Hill. Capitol Hill Publishing Corp. Archived from the original on June 2, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  4. "Nomiki Konst: the Face of 2016 Presidential Politics". The National Herald. March 18, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  5. Konst, Nomiki (December 26, 2018). Nομική Κονστ: Νέα, ασυμβίβαστη, Ελληνοαμερικανή υποψήφια συνήγορος του Πολίτη στη Νέα Υόρκη [Nomiki Konst: Young, uncompromising, Greek-American candidate for public advocate in New York City]. HuffPost Greece (text article with embedded video clips of interview, which was conducted in English, with Greek subtitles). Interviewed by Fourlis, Antonis. sec. NOMIKI KONST: ΒΟΡΕΙΟΗΠΕΙΡΩΤΙΣΑ ΚΑΙ ΚΑΛΥΜΝΙΑ...ΣΤΗ ΝΕΑ ΥΟΡΚΗ [NOMIKI KONST: NORTHERN EPIROTE AND KALYMNIAN...IN NEW YORK CITY]. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  6. Gray, Briahna (September 26, 2018). "Democratic Socialist Nomiki Konst Announces Campaign for New York City Public Advocate". The Intercept. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  7. McCombs, Brady (February 14, 2012). "Konst, civil discourse group founder, joins congressional race". Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on November 9, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  8. "Nomiki Konst". Ballotpedia. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  9. Weigel, David (July 31, 2016). "For one Sanders delegate, a long journey finally comes to an end in Philadelphia". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  10. "Unity Reform Commission Members". Democrats. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  11. "Unity Reform Commission". Democrats. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  12. Rubinstein, Dana; Nahmias, Laura (February 21, 2019). "Who is Nomiki Konst?". Politico. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  13. Gruskin, Abigail. "'This Is A Whole New Race'". www.ourtownny.com. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  14. Chávez, Aída (December 19, 2018). "Is Jumaane Williams a True Progressive? A Rising Star Makes His Case to Be New York City's Top Watchdog". The Intercept. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  15. Murray, Christian (June 2, 2022). "Astoria Progressive Launches Campaign for State Senate Seat, Angers Many Left-Leaning Democrats". Astoria Post. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  16. Murray, Christian (August 15, 2022). "Nomiki Konst Drops Out of Race for Senate District 59, Endorses Kristen Gonzalez". Astoria Post. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  17. Al-Sibai, Noor (December 22, 2020). "Nomiki Konst Lost Her Race—But is Winning the War". Blue Tent. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  18. Gregory Krieg (August 5, 2020). "Lacy Clay defeated by progressive primary challenger Cori Bush, CNN projects". CNN. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  19. McNichols, Joshua (December 6, 2018). "Resistance may not be futile as New York politicians join effort against Amazon". www.kuow.org. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  20. "Nomiki Konst describes the 'frightening standoff' at Standing Rock". SiriusXM. December 2, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  21. Nomiki Konst (December 31, 2014).Fox News Channel O'Reilly Factor Nomiki Konst on YouTube.
  22. Ellefson, Lindsey (January 20, 2017). "'She's Not a Journalist!': Cop Reportedly Yells At Reporter Covering Demonstration". Mediaite. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  23. Freedlander, David (February 19, 2019). "The obscure, overcrowded election that could change New York City politics". Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  24. "Young Turks Sheds Senior Employees in Staff Shakeup". TheWrap. June 14, 2018. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  25. "The Nomiki Show YouTube Channel". YouTube. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  26. "Nomiki Konst - SheSource Expert - Women's Media Center". womensmediacenter.com. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
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