Amanda Septimo

Amanda Septimo is an American politician from the state of New York. A Democrat, Septimo is the Assemblymember for the 84th district of the New York State Assembly, based in the South Bronx; her term began in January 2021.^[1]

Amanda Septimo
Member of the New York State Assembly from the 84th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 4, 2021
Preceded by	Carmen Arroyo
Personal details
Born	(1991-01-03) January 3, 1991 (age 34) The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Residence(s)	The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Education	Vanderbilt University
Signature
Website	Campaign website Official website

Early life

Septimo was born and raised in the South Bronx, before attending Vanderbilt University on a full Posse Foundation scholarship in 2008. With one semester left at Vanderbilt, Septimo moved back to the Bronx in 2012 to work for Congressman José Serrano.^[2] Septimo returned to Vanderbilt in 2020 and completed her Bachelor of Arts in political science in December 2020.^[3]

Career

In 2018, Septimo ran for the New York State Assembly's 84th district, challenging incumbent Carmen Arroyo from the left. Despite receiving high-profile endorsements from 1199SEIU and former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Septimo lost in the Democratic primary, 63-37%.^[4][5]

Septimo announced a second run against Arroyo in 2020. Before the Democratic primary could be held, however, Arroyo was removed from the ballot for petition fraud, leaving Septimo as the de facto Democratic nominee.^[6] Although Arroyo ran in the general election on the Proven Leader Party line, Septimo defeated her easily and began her term the following January.^[7]