Isaac Bryan

Isaac Gregory Bryan (born January 16, 1992) is an American politician serving as a Member of the California State Assembly where he represents the 55th district, which includes much of South Central Los Angeles. Bryan was previously the executive director of the University of California Los Angeles's Black Policy Project, and served as the Director of Public Policy for the UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center. From July to November 2023, he served as Assembly Majority Leader.

Early life and education Bryan was born in Dallas, Texas, to a teenage mother in poverty who gave him up at birth. Bryan was adopted as an infant and has lived in California since he was in the sixth grade.

Bryan attended seven public schools and two California community colleges before earning a Bachelor of Arts in political science and sociology from the University of Arizona. He worked as a research fellow for the Rombach Institute on Crime, Delinquency and Corrections. In 2017, Bryan was named a David Bohnett Foundation fellow,

Career UCLA Black Policy Project Bryan is the founding director of UCLA's Black Policy Project (BPP). The BPP aims to build connections between black scholarship at UCLA and public policy decision making. Bryan also served as director of Public Policy for UCLA's Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies. Bryan regularly provided media commentary on issues of racial inequality in the United States. During the summer of 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, Bryan led peaceful protests in Los Angeles.

Criminal justice reform Bryan was one of the leading scholars who articulated that "defunding police" was really a call to question the size of our tax contributions to policing and criminalization at the expense of social services. Bryan was the co-chair for Los Angeles County's historic Measure J, which was approved by over 2.1 million voters and diverts at least 10% of the county's general funds "to address the disproportionate impact of racial injustice through community investment and alternatives to incarceration". Bryan regularly writes and provides commentary on policing and justice reform in the United States. He has been an outspoken advocate on the need to end the criminalization of poverty.

California State Assembly Election In 2021, Bryan announced that he would be a candidate for the California Assembly to succeed fellow Democrat Sydney Kamlager, who was elected to the California Senate. Bryan's campaign for the Assembly was endorsed by many people across Los Angeles.

During his time in the Legislature Bryan established the UCLA Center on Reproductive Health Law and Policy, ended prison gerrymandering, returned millions in stolen foster youth benefits, shut down the largest urban oil field in California, established a registry for people living with ALS, improved student health insurance coverage, expanded restorative justice practices, and started a select committee on Poverty and Economic Inclusion.

Bryan is a member of the California Legislative Progressive Caucus. In 2024, Bryan was elected to serve as Vice-Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus.

Electoral history