Exclusive: Justin Brannan’s chief of staff challenges GOP Assembly Member Alec Brook-Krasny

Last year, Democratic City Council Member Justin Brannan defeated an ex-Democrat in a hard-fought general election race. Now his chief of staff Chris McCreight is hoping to pull off a similar feat.

On Monday, McCreight formally announced his candidacy for the 46th Assembly District, a southern Brooklyn district stretching from Bay Ridge to Brighton Beach. The Assembly district, which overlaps with Brannan’s council district, is currently represented by Republican Assembly Member Alec Brook-Krasny – a former Democrat who switched parties in 2022.

McCreight’s campaign has already attracted a slew of endorsements from high-profile Democratic elected officials, including U.S Sen. Chuck Schumer, Rep. Dan Goldman, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, state Sens. Andrew Gounardes and Iwen Chu, Assembly Member Robert Carroll and (of course) his former boss Brannan.

“Look, it's clear that Assembly Republicans like Alec Brook-Krasny have no power to deliver anything except culture war talking points,” Brannan told City & State in a text message. “I need a partner in the Assembly that I can work with. Chris will not only treat everyone with dignity and respect, but he can actually deliver tangible results and get things done.”

 Brook-Krasny, then a Democrat, was first elected to represent the 46th Assembly District in 2006. He served in the Assembly for nearly nine years, before unexpectedly resigning in 2015. Two years later, he was arrested on charges of healthcare fraud. In 2019, a jury acquitted Brook-Krasny of felony charges and failed to reach a verdict on misdemeanor charges, and a judge later dismissed the case. 

In 2021, Brook-Krasny tried to break back into politics, running in the Democratic primary for an open City Council seat in southern Brooklyn. He was soundly defeated, winning only 9% of the vote and losing the Democratic nomination to Ari Kagan. The next year, he left the Democratic Party to become a Republican and launched a successful campaign to reclaim his old Assembly seat.

Brook-Krasny wasn’t the only southern Brooklyn politician who switched parties. After redistricting drew both Brannan and Kagan into the same council district, Kagan left the Democratic Party to become a Republican and challenged Brannan in the general election. After a heated campaign, Brannan ended up trouncing Kagan by 17 percentage points.