New York Theater Community Rallies Behind Jeffrey Omura for City Council

The kickoff featured Broadway legend Judy Kuhn. A recent rally featured Ali Ewoldt of Phantom of the Opera fame. Laura Benanti, Phillipa Soo, Kara Lindsay, Gavin Creel, and Ann Harada have all turned out. No, it's not the red carpet at the Tony Awards - it's a Jeffrey Omura for City Council campaign event.

Omura, an actor, activist, and labor leader running for City Council in District 6 (Central Park, Lincoln Square, Upper West Side, Clinton), has received an overwhelming amount of support from the New York theater community. To date, over 50 New York City theater professionals have officially endorsed Omura's campaign. For a complete list of theater professionals who've endorsed Omura's candidacy, please visit: https://www.jeffreyomura.com/endorsements

Omura-who recently announced endorsements from the LGBTQ Victory Fund, the Grassroots Law PAC, and the League of Independent Theater, as well as the Resilience PAC Builder Seal-has been pleased to see so much support from the community. "I got into this race because my community was hurting and needed a voice. We all know how important the Arts & Culture sector is for New York's economy; our theaters, museums, and attractions are huge drivers for tourism. But for New York to come back from this pandemic in a better place, we must implement a bold Arts & Culture recovery plan that is centered around arts workers."

For many in the theater community, watching one of their own jump into City politics has been invigorating. "Jeffrey has been a consistent and active advocate for artists for the many years that I've known him," said Kara Lindsay. "He understands that the Arts keep NYC alive and will work hard to bring back the heartbeat to our city."

Others point to his history as a labor leader. Two time Tony award nominated actor Alex Brightman points to Omura's history with #FairWageOnStage, a movement that helped Off-Broadway actors and stage managers win historic gains during contract negotiations five years ago. Brightman notes, "Jeffrey's not just the right person...he's a necessary fixture in this position."

Jeffrey Omura was recently elected to his second term as an officer of Actors' Equity Association, an AFL-CIO chartered labor union representing more than 50,000 stage managers and actors nationwide, including approximately 20,000 in the New York City area. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, and resides in Lincoln Square.