Bonnke escaped genocide as a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, living in a tent at a United Nations Refugee camp in Burundi from the age of 7-10. He came to America with his family, where he grew up on the Syracuse Northside. He worked hard, learned English, and proudly earned his American Citizenship.

Bonnke graduated from city schools as Valedictorian in 2016, before earning his engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Bonnke now works as an Operations Specialist for Wegmans Food Markets, where he works to promote efficiency and data-driven decision making in the private sector.

Bonnke gives back to the community every day as a facilitator for the Washington Square Neighborhood Task force and as a board member at the Onondaga County Resource Recycling Agency (OCCRA). He is the founder of a 501c3 non-profit aimed at supporting and mentoring youth in our community to become productive members of society. He personally works with several Northside youth to achieve this goal.

Bonnke is running to represent us. He’ll work to restore public safety, grow economic opportunity, serve the community and will be an accessible representative of the people.