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Maya Kornberg

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Maya Kornberg
Personal details
Born1991 (age 33–34)
Political partyDemocratic
Children1
RelativesRoger D. Kornberg (father)
Arthur Kornberg (grandfather)
EducationStanford University (BA)
Columbia University (MPA)
Oxford University (PhD)
WebsiteCampaign website

Maya Kornberg (born 1991) is an American political scientist and commentator. A senior research fellow and manager in the Brennan Center's Elections and Government Program, she is the author of Inside Congressional Committees: Function and Dysfunction in Lawmaking, published by Columbia University Press. In 2025, Kornberg ran an unsuccessful campaign to unseat New York City Councilwoman Shahana Hanif in New York City's 39th City Council district.

Early life and education

Kornberg is originally from Northern California.[1] She is the daughter of Roger D. Kornberg, a Nobel laureate in Chemistry, and the granddaughter of Arthur Kornberg, a Nobel laureate in Medicine.[2][3]

As a student at Stanford University in 2013, she received a fellowship award to study in Israel for the summer.[4] She had previously studied for a year at the Nahshon academy at Kibbutz Shoval in the northern Negev, where she started an environmental initiative mobilizing pre-military academies to lobby the Knesset.[3]

She received a BA from Stanford University, an MPA from Columbia University and a PhD from Oxford University.[5]

Academic career

Kornberg is Senior Research Fellow and Manager at the NYU Brennan Center for Justice, where her research focuses on information and disinformation in politics, democratic governance, and political violence.[6][1] She has worked on democratic governance issues at several organizations and institutions. She has held positions at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), NYU Govlab, and Public Agenda. Kornberg has also taught undergraduate and graduate political science courses at NYU, Georgetown, Oxford, and American University.[5][7] Kornberg's commentary has appeared in The Washington Post, NPR, BBC, CSPAN, and Newsweek, and her work has been cited in The New York Times, Bloomberg News, and MSNBC.[8][unreliable source?]

in 2023, Kornberg published the book Inside Congressional Committees: Function and Dysfunction in Lawmaking,[5][9] in which she argues for the importance of Congressional committees and calls for reinvigorating committee procedures to make Congress more effective.[10][11] Although she initially did not intend to focus on gender in her research, she realized that women in Congress are not only underrepresented but also lack influence, with limited opportunities for committee leadership roles.[12]

2025 New York City Council campaign

On December 3, 2024, Kornberg announced her intention to run for the New York City's 39th City Council district seat against the incumbent, Shahana Hanif in the June 2025 Democratic primary.[13][7]

She calls herself a "pragmatic progressive" and has expressed that education, health care, transportation, and affordable housing are the issues she sees as important.[1][14] She views Hanif as prone to protest moves and political posturing rather than forming relationships to accomplish goals.[1] Like Hanif, she supports immigrant rights and reducing the cost of child care, but differentiates herself on public safety, which she says Hanif does not sufficiently prioritize.[1][15]

She opted into NYC public financing and, as of the end of the campaign, it was funded by 604 donors, with an average donation of $161.[1][16] Her campaign has received support from public figures including Leonard Stern, Alice Tisch, Daniel S. Loeb, and Len Blavatnik, who donated the maximum for council campaigns, $1,050.[17][18] A local progressive group, Indivisible Brooklyn, which endorsed Hanif, criticized Kornberg's acceptance of money from two donors, Loeb and Blavatnik who have also significantly supported Republicans in the past.[18] The group also noted that Kornberg had closer ties with Blavatnik than she had previously acknowledged to the press.[18]

Kornberg received support from several PACs, some of which formed specifically to challenge Hanif. These include real estate groups,[19] the Madison Square Garden and James L. Dolan-backed Coalition to Restore New York, and an Uber-funded PAC, which Hanif attributes to her own advocacy for gig workers.[6]

On the night of the primary, with more than 90% of votes counted, Kornberg trailed Hanif, who had nearly 70% of the vote.[20]

Personal life

Kornberg is a resident of Park Slope, Brooklyn, living in the borough for more than six years.[1][21] She has a son.[22] In addition to English, Kornberg speaks Arabic and Hebrew.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g McDonough, Annie (December 27, 2024). "Maya Kornberg pitches 'pragmatic progressivism' in Brooklyn council race". City & State New York. ProQuest 3149620397. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  2. ^ Kassel, Matthew (August 14, 2024). "Anti-Israel New York City councilwoman Shahana Hanif facing primary threat". JewishInsider. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Waldocks, Ehud Zion (February 2, 2010). "Pre-army academy students take green message to ministers. 'We realized that change must come from the gov't'". The Jerusalem Post. ProQuest 319712020. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  4. ^ "International Relations Senior Maya Kornberg Awarded Shultz Fellowship". Stanford University. May 3, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Maya Kornberg Senior Research Fellow and Manager, Elections & Government". Brennan Center for Justice. September 10, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Aponte, Claudia Irizarry (May 29, 2025). "Uber and DoorDash Accelerate Spending in Local Council Races". THE CITY - NYC News. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Maya Kornberg". mayakornberg.com. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  8. ^ "Maya Kornberg". Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  9. ^ Kornberg, Maya (2023). "Frontmatter". Inside Congressional Committees: Function and Dysfunction in the Legislative Process. New York; Chichester; West Sussex: Columbia University Press. pp. i–vi. doi:10.7312/korn20182-fm. ISBN 978-0-231-55428-2.
  10. ^ "A Look Inside Congressional Committees". The Takeaway. New York Public Radio. February 23, 2023. ProQuest 2780236123. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  11. ^ Birkhead, Nathaniel A. (August 29, 2023). "Kornberg, Maya L. Inside Congressional Committees: Function and Dysfunction in the Legislative Process". Congress & the Presidency. 50 (3): 367–368. doi:10.1080/07343469.2023.2249378.
  12. ^ Stabile, Bonnie (June 9, 2023). "Amplifying Women's Congressional Power". Ms. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  13. ^ Walker, Corey (December 6, 2024). "Jewish Democrat announces challenge against anti-Israel NYC councilwoman". world israel news. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  14. ^ "Maya Kornberg puts education, affordability at forefront of District 39 council campaign". News 12 - Default. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  15. ^ a b Bellafante, Ginia (May 23, 2025). "Could a Brooklyn City Councilwoman Lose Because of Her Stance on Gaza?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  16. ^ "Kornberg, Maya (2025) | City Council District 39". New York City Campaign Finance Board. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  17. ^ Isaacson, Gila (December 5, 2024). "New York: Maya Kornberg takes on Antisemite Shahana Hanif in Brooklyn's 39th District". JFeed. Archived from the original on January 14, 2025. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  18. ^ a b c "Progressive group calls on Democratic City Council candidate to return money from Republican donors". City & State NY. March 18, 2025. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  19. ^ Garber, Nick (May 13, 2025). "Real estate money pours into two Brooklyn City Council races". Crain's New York. Retrieved June 14, 2025.
  20. ^ O'Neil, Meaghan McGoldrick; Frangipane, Paul (June 24, 2025). "Hanif wins decisive re-election in closely watched District 39 council race • Brooklyn Paper". www.brooklynpaper.com. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  21. ^ "How Congress Works: Inside Congressional Committees". Good Neighbors of Park Slope. Archived from the original on March 23, 2025. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  22. ^ "About Maya Kornberg". Maya Kornberg, Democrat for City Council. Archived from the original on December 28, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
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