About David
Hi! I’m David Alexis. I’m a driver, organizer, husband, father of two and East Flatbush resident. I’m running for State Senate in District 21, which includes the neighborhoods of Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, Flatlands, Bergen Beach and Mill Basin, against longtime incumbent Kevin Parker.
The son of Haitian immigrants, I grew up in a union household and only survived infancy thanks to quality healthcare at a public hospital. As an adult, it’s saddened me to see union membership decline, along with the quality of public healthcare. At times, my wife and I have struggled to make ends meet, pay our bills, and keep a roof over our daughters’ heads. We know from experience that a lack of quality public services is devastating Brooklyn.
My family’s struggles and those of my neighbors have taught me an important lesson: When you organize people, you can change their lives for the better.
When my kids’ educational needs weren’t being met, I banded together with other parents to connect families to early intervention programs. Together, we connected kids across East Brooklyn to these vital programs, and gave them new opportunities to learn. As a former home health aide, and the husband of someone with Sickle Cell Disease, I know all too well how difficult it is to navigate our for-profit healthcare system—which is why I’ve organized to help other families navigate the system, and why I fight for universal healthcare.
When I couldn’t support my family despite driving 40+ hours a week for Uber and Lyft, I organized with my fellow workers to win better pay and benefits for over 4,000 TLC drivers. Now, I’m a co-founder of the Drivers Cooperative, a rideshare company owned and operated by its employees, and the largest worker-run cooperative in the country.
I know from experience that true democracy is possible in the workplace, in the state legislature, and in our society, if we organize together. Unlike my opponent, I’m not taking a cent from real estate or fossil fuel interests, so when I get to Albany, you’ll know that I’m fighting for the people of Flatbush. That’s what I’ve been doing for years — because Flatbush is family.
