Personality
new york elected officials who are really having a brat summer
elegy for a meme.
![It’s “brat summer.”](https://cdn.cityandstateny.com/media/img/cd/2024/07/24/elected_brats_main_1200x550/860x394.jpg?1721838171)
It’s “brat summer.” City & State
RIP to the brat meme, which became infinitely less cool (as all jokes are) when it got acknowledged by someone as official as the mayor of New York City (and tbh – publications like yours truly). For the folks not terminally online – “Brat” is the latest studio album from pop singer Charli XCX, and having a “brat summer” is a term that describes being “that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes, who feels herself but maybe also has a breakdown” – at least according to the artist herself. According to the internet it could mean basically anything, except apparently being Eric Adams – after his team put together a video trying to tie brat summer with his “Summer of Possibility” initiative, hundreds of X users chimed in to inform him he is SO NOT brat. Despite New York City Council Member and culture connoisseur Chi Ossé declaring the joke officially dead, here’s a list of elected officials we consider to actually be having a brat summer.
![Antonio Delgado](/media/ckeditor-uploads/2024/07/24/antonio-delgado-GettyImages-1200x700.jpg)
Antonio Delgado
He bucked Hochul to call for Biden to drop out, was vindicated shortly afterwards and now has his own letterhead – oh he’s bumping that.
![Jenifer Rajkumar](/media/ckeditor-uploads/2024/07/24/jennifer-rajkumar-flickr-1200x700.jpg)
Jenifer Rajkumar
It may not be brat green, but she’s got a signature color and she sticks to it. Whether the event is relevant to her district or not, she’s everywhere – she’s so Julia-ah-ah.
![Kenny Burgos](/media/ckeditor-uploads/2024/07/24/Kenny-Burgos-NYS-Assembly-1200x750.jpg)
Kenny Burgos
Deciding to pivot your career to have a baby is something Charli thinks about all the time – Kenny is actually doing it.
![Mike Lawler](/media/ckeditor-uploads/2024/07/24/mike-lawler-GettyImages-1200x700.jpg)
Mike Lawler
He made the brave choice to work it out on the remix with Biden, despite the majority of his colleagues criticizing the president’s decision not to seek reelection … girl, it’s so confusing (to be running in a swing district).
![Grace Meng](/media/ckeditor-uploads/2024/07/24/grace-meng-GettyImages-1200x700.jpg)
Grace Meng
One of the only New York Democrats who was brutally honest about feeling hurt that Biden was pushed out of the race - she doesn’t want to force a smile, could Kamala even be Joe if she tried?
![Brad Lander](/media/ckeditor-uploads/2024/07/24/brad-lander-flickr-1200x700.jpg)
Brad Lander
Taking his sweet time to announce his intentions for the 2025 mayoral primary, pissing off all the would-be comptroller candidates - he already knows you’re obsessed.
![Andrea Stewart-Cousins](/media/ckeditor-uploads/2024/07/24/andrea-stuart-cousins-flickr-1200x700.jpg)
Andrea Stewart-Cousins
We can’t be sure but it’s likely that she’s been having brat summers since the Democrats first got a supermajority in the state Senate - she’s just livin’ that life.
NEXT STORY: Editor’s note: The Penn Station redevelopment gets its own movie