Shanel Thomas-Henry
American politician
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Shanel Thomas-Henry is an American politician serving as a member of the New York City Council from the 21st district. A Democrat, she was elected in 2025 to succeed term-limited Democrat Francisco Moya.
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Shanel Thomas-Henry | |
|---|---|
Thomas-Henry in 2026 | |
| Member of the New York City Council from the 21st district | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Francisco Moya |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Shanel Thomas March 31, 1979 |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Ty Henry |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Howard University (BA, MAPA) |
| Website | Official website Campaign website |
Early life and career
Thomas-Henry was born and raised in Corona and Elmhurst, Queens. She graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts in international relations and with a Master of Arts in Public Administration.[1]
Thomas-Henry worked on community engagement and outreach for the LaGuardia Redevelopment Program. She was appointed to the Queens Community Board 3 by borough president Donovan Richards in 2024.[2] She serves on the board of directors of the New York City Industrial Development Agency and Build NYC Resource Corporation within the New York City Economic Development Corporation.[3][4]
New York City Council
2025 election
Thomas-Henry and fellow candidate Yanna Henriquez successfully sued to get former councilmember Hiram Monseratte, who was previously imprisoned on federal corruption charges, kicked off the primary ballot.[5] She was endorsed by District Council 37 and state senator Jessica Ramos. After ranked-choice voting tabulations, Thomas-Henry was declared the winner with a narrow lead over Erycka Montoya.[6]
Issues
In August 2026, Thomas-Henry was the only member of the New York City Council Progressive Caucus to not sign a letter calling for Democratic leadership in the United States Congress to push for abolishing the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Thomas-Henry described ICE's actions as "deplorable" but stated the agency should be reformed instead.[7]
Electoral history
2025
| Party | Candidate | Maximum round |
Maximum votes |
Share in maximum round |
Maximum votes First round votes Transfer votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Shanel Thomas-Henry | 4 | 3,117 | 53.1% |
| |
| Democratic | Erycka Montoya | 4 | 2,751 | 46.9% |
| |
| Democratic | Yanna M. Henriquez | 3 | 1,944 | 27.9% |
| |
| Democratic | David Aiken | 2 | 1,566 | 20.1% |
| |
| Write-In | 1 | 64 | 0.8% |
| ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Shanel Thomas-Henry | 11,014 | 68.0 | |
| Working Families | Shanel Thomas-Henry | 1,339 | 8.3 | |
| Total | Shanel Thomas-Henry | 12,353 | 76.2 | |
| Republican | Giovanni Enrique Franco | 3,395 | 20.9 | |
| United Alliance | Giovanni Enrique Franco | 416 | 2.6 | |
| Total | Giovanni Enrique Franco | 3,811 | 23.5 | |
| Write-in | 43 | 0.3 | ||
| Total votes | 16,207 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||