Courtesy of Brian Moore

Brian Moore ’26 lost the Yale College Council presidential race last April by just nine votes. For Moore, the defeat marked both an end to the chaos of campaigning and a beginning of renewed focus on community engagement in New Haven.

“I checked my phone and looked at the results,” Moore said in an interview. “I just laughed, and then I went back to volunteering.”

He launched his campaign with no YCC record and focused on three pillars: increasing Yale’s support for New Haven, increasing transparency about how Yale’s endowment is invested and pushing administrators for accountability. Now, Moore has returned to his normal life as a student — running Bridges for English as a Second Language and Link New Haven, two student volunteer organizations.

Some attribute Moore’s campaign’s focus on engaging Yale students with New Haven as the impetus for conversations on campus about how the YCC should bridge the University with the city. After losing the race to be YCC president, Moore applied for the YCC’s New Haven engagement chair position but did not receive the position.

Moore said that after the election, YCC president-elect Andrew Boanoh ’27 suggested to him informally that the job of New Haven engagement chair could be his if he wanted it. 

“It would have been swallowing a bit of my pride to apply for a position under the person who had just beaten me,” Moore said. “But ultimately I felt I had to put personal things aside because this role could empower me to make the kind of change I wanted to see in New Haven.”

Boanoh denied having offered Moore the position, but said that he encouraged Moore to apply, describing him as a “strong potential” candidate. However, Boanoh said that the YCC “saw strength in many other applicants.”

Moore’s outsider campaign run

At first, Moore saw himself as a “dark horse” candidate, a perception he thinks was reflected in polls on Fizz, an anonymous campus forum app. 

“I am no stranger to my public image, an impassioned outsider who may lack the polish of a conventional candidate,” Moore wrote in an opinion piece for the News during his campaign. “For those still skeptical, I’m asking you to hear me out.”

Many students did. 

Moore described the days leading up to the election as a “fever dream,” defined by four hours of sleep each night, skipped meals and a frantic pace. Moore said he lost seven pounds during his run. He experienced what he called “the most stressful weeks of my life.”

But the intensity also gave him what he described as the most energizing experience of his Yale career. He felt “incredibly moved by the show of support” he received from fellow students, he said.

“Brian’s campaign gave real weight to issues, in a lot of cases, that were talked about on an abstract level,” David Min ’26, who served as Moore’s campaign manager, wrote to the News. 

When results came in, Moore initially felt a mix of disappointment and relief, but when he saw the exact margin of defeat — 1,047 to 1,038 — he could only laugh, he said. Moore, who quickly conceded, said he was touched by student claims circulated on Fizz that the election was “stolen,” but he dismissed them.

“I lost, and I lost fair and square,” Moore said. “Andrew ran a spectacular campaign, and I give him immense kudos.”

After viewing the results, Moore returned to his regular Saturday shift with Bridges ESL, a student-run program that teaches English to New Haven immigrants. The organization has served as a constant for Moore since his first year at Yale. 

“It’s honestly just delightful, seeing the melting pot of New Haven coalesce in our cultural houses every Saturday morning,” Moore said.

Beyond Bridges ESL, Moore co-founded Link New Haven, an initiative that consolidates information on city resources into guides for nonprofits, social workers and vulnerable residents. 

The work has deepened Moore’s ties to local nonprofits at what he considers a moment of crisis, pointing to the recent downsizing of New Haven’s Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, or IRIS, and a shortage of shelter beds for New Haven’s homeless population. 

An unsuccessful bid for YCC New Haven engagement chair

During his campaign, Moore called for the University to increase its voluntary financial contribution to New Haven.  

“I do think Brian’s messaging sparked some additional conversation about the relationship between New Haven and Yale, but not nearly enough,” Christian Thomas ’26, who served as the YCC financial policy director last year, said.

Min added that Moore’s dedication to Yale-New Haven relations “didn’t feel performative at all,” adding that his campaign created the idea that the YCC could “bridge” Yale and New Haven. 

“I think the YCC really missed an opportunity to have that perspective this year, but I think his legacy and the hope his campaign represented will linger for the years to come,” Min wrote.

Moore applied for the YCC’s New Haven engagement coordinator role after the election, a position he believed would have allowed him to advance many of the issues he raised on the campaign trail, though he ultimately did not receive the role. 

When the position went to another student, Moore said, it “soured” his view of the council. He pointed to what he described as “mixed messaging” from Boanoh.

Boanoh said he had encouraged several students to apply for the role.

“In the end, we felt that other candidates had stronger applications and interviews for the role and decided to move forward with them,” Boanoh wrote.

Rhea McTiernan Huge ’27, who recently ran an unsuccessful campaign to represent downtown New Haven on the Board of Alders, was ultimately tapped for the position over the summer.

McTiernan Huge declined the News’ request for comment.

Bonoah praised McTiernan Huge’s work in the role and added that she will work with Elias Theodore ’27 — who won the Democratic primary for the Ward 1 aldership — to engage the student body. 

Looking ahead, Moore said he plans to continue to spend his time volunteering in New Haven until graduation then pursue public service abroad. He hopes to spend a year in Mexico, where his mother was born, teaching English or volunteering in some other capacity. Longer term, he envisions returning to his hometown of Chicago.

“There’s something about an office setting and a steady workflow that didn’t really sit with my temperament,” Moore said. “After college, I’m planning on taking a leap. I want to devote my life to public service.”

The Yale College Council was established in 1972.