Yassamin Ansari

Yassamin Ansari (born April 7, 1992) is an American climate policy leader and politician who served on the Phoenix City Council from 2021 to 2024. At the time of her election, she was the youngest person to be elected to the council and the first Iranian American elected to public office in Arizona.

Early activities
Ansari was born April 7, 1992, to parents who immigrated to the United States from Iran. In high school, she organized with the Arizona Democratic Party in support of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and worked with her mother to tutor Somali refugees. Ansari attended Stanford University, and received a bachelor's degree in international relations. During college, Ansari interned for Nancy Pelosi. After graduating, she was selected for The John Gardner Fellowship Program and started working in the office of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. She worked as a senior policy advisor with Ki-moon, spending a year working on the Paris Agreement, and later worked in the same role with Ki-moon's successor, António Guterres. She started working towards a master's degree in international relations and politics from St. John's College, Cambridge in 2016, which she ultimately received. She continued to be involved in promoting climate action, helping plan the Climate Action 2016 Summit, the Global Climate Action Summit, and the first U.N. Youth Climate Summit.

Personal life
Ansari Ansari is a former U.N. policy staffer.

Ansari has been described as a millionaire landlord. Ansari has said “I don't consider myself a millionaire” but reported well above $1 million in assets on a financial disclosure. Her father loaned her between $250,000 and $500,000 “for condo payment,” according to the disclosure. Ansari's financial disclosures from October 2023 showed that she owns two properties in downtown Phoenix and made between $15,000 and $50,000 in 2023 by renting one. Ansari also estimated in the disclosure that her assets were worth between $2.5 million and $8.3 million.

Phoenix City Council
Ansari ran in a November 2020 election to fill the seat vacated by Michael Nowakowski, representing Phoenix's 7th District. The top two of the five contenders in the general election, Ansari and Cinthia Estela, continued to a runoff election that took place on March 9, 2021. Ansari took office as a council member on April 19, 2021.

While in office, she created an Office of Heat Response and Mitigation. It has sought to plant trees, reduce pavement heat absorption, educate residents, and distribute resources including water. She helped develop a plan to promote use of electric vehicles, and advocated for the city to purchase hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric public buses. She attended the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference with Phoenix mayor Kate Gallego, as well as the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

Along with other Phoenix City Council members, Ansari was criticized in 2022 for using a suite at Footprint Center, a sports venue owned by the city, to watch games and concerts; following the criticism, the council voted to review its economic development efforts and consider leasing out the suite.

Ansari resigned her City Council seat on March 28, 2024, to focus on her congressional campaign. Former Hayden Mayor Carlos Galindo-Elvira was appointed to fill the remainder of her term.

Candidacy for US House of Representatives
At the beginning of February 2023, journalists reported that Ansari was a potential contender for Arizona's 3rd congressional district. On April 4 of that year, she announced her candidacy. She is running as a Democrat and led early fundraising in the race. In September 2023, Axios reported that Ansari and Raquel Terán would likely dominate the race. Ansari raised over $325,000 in the first quarter of 2024, bringing her total raised to more than $1.35M.

Ansari faced criticism for taking "hundreds of thousands of dollars from MAGA donors who have bankrolled Donald Trump and anti-abortion extremists," which if accurate would amount to about 14% of Ansari’s total campaign receipts.

Political positions
Ansari has advocated for climate action and sustainability efforts. Ansari has expressed support for unions and LGBT rights. She has also supported expanding temporary and affordable housing options to help address homelessness in Phoenix.

Ansari had been endorsed by the political arm of the pro-Israel advocacy group, Democratic Majority for Israel.

Awards and honors
In 2019, Ansari was selected for the Grist 50, an annual list of people taking environmental action. In 2020, Ansari was selected for the Forbes 30 under 30: Policy and Law list.