Jonathan Brostoff
Biography and cause of death of Jonathan Brostoff
Jonathan Brostoff (September 25, 1983 – November 4, 2024) was an American Democratic politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Wisconsin’s 19th Assembly district from 2015 through 2022. He subsequently served on the Milwaukee Common Council from 2022 until his death in November 2024.
Jonathan Brostoff Background
Born in Milwaukee, Brostoff was the son of Alan and Phyllis Brostoff. His father is a retired attorney, mediator, and arbitrator; his mother, a social worker and businesswoman in the home health care industry. Jonathan worked and volunteered at area non-profit organizations since the age of 14,
including being a youth facilitator for “The Other America Tour,” a social justice public education program for high school students in Wisconsin that was organized by the ACLU of Wisconsin. After high school, he did a stint with AmeriCorps.
Jonathan Brostoff attended the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where he met and married Diana Vang-Brostoff and served as co-president of UWM’s Campus Organization for Israel. He graduated in 2011 with a degree in political science, having worked as an aide for U.S. Senator Tom Harkin in Washington, D.C.
Brostoff worked as a legislative aide to Milwaukee County Supervisor Jason Haas, before becoming District Director for State Senator Chris Larson.
In 2022, Brostoff announced his intention to run for Milwaukee Common Council District 3’s Aldermanic seat. Brostoff made the announcement after sitting Alderman Nik Kovac stepped down to assume the role of Budget and Management Director for the City of Milwaukee. He was elected to the position on November 8, 2022.
Jonathan Brostoff Electoral history
2014
In 2014, Jon Richards announced that he was running for Attorney General of Wisconsin, leaving the 19th Assembly District seat open. In a heavily contested race with heavy spending by multiple parties,
Brostoff defeated Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic (endorsed by Milwaukee’s mayor Tom Barrett and Congresswoman Gwen Moore),
defense attorney Dan Adams (supported by Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele), and labor lawyer Sara Geenen in the Democratic primary for this heavily-Democratic district. Brostoff received 3,065 (35%) to Dimitrijevic’s 2,817 (32%), Adams’ 2,020 (23%) and Geenen’s 796 (9%).
His opponent in the November 2014 general election, which includes the central campus of his alma mater the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, was Joe Klein of the United States Pirate Party.
Jonathan Brostoff was considered the favorite to win the seat.[8] On November 4, 2014, Brostoff was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly, with 18,054 (82.1%) of the vote, to Klein’s 3,938 (17.9%).
2016, 2018
Brostoff was unopposed in 2016 in both the primary and general elections;[10] likewise in 2018.
2020
Brostoff was unopposed in the 2020 primary election; his opponent in the November 2020 general election was Helmut Fritz, of the Republican Party. Brostoff was again re-elected with 27,552 votes (78.52%) to Fritz’s 7,535 (21.48%) votes.
2022
In 2022, Brostoff ran unopposed for a seat representing the Third District of the Milwaukee Common Council replacing Nik Kovac who stepped down for a position in Cavalier Johnson’s mayoral administration. He was sworn into the Milwaukee Common Council on November 16, 2022.
Jonathan Brostoff Personal life and death
Jonathan Brostoff lived on the East Side of Milwaukee with his wife and four children.
Brostoff was an avid Magic: The Gathering player, consistently placing first on Magic: The Gathering Online during cube leagues. He helped to found and manage CubeCon, an annual convention dedicated to Magic: The Gathering cube.
On November 4, 2024, Brostoff was found dead in Milwaukee County’s Greenfield Park. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office later reported Brostoff’s cause of death was by suicide. He was 41.
Source: Wikipedia