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Todd Kaminsky

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Todd Kaminsky
Member of theNew York State Senate
from the9thdistrict
In office
May 3, 2016 – July 29, 2022
Preceded byDean Skelos
Succeeded byPatricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick
Member of theNew York State Assembly
from the20thdistrict
In office
January 1, 2015 – May 3, 2016
Preceded byHarvey Weisenberg
Succeeded byMelissa L. Miller
Personal details
Born(1978-10-24)October 24, 1978(age 45)
Lido Beach,New York,U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseEllen
Children2
Residence(s)Long Beach,New York,U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Michigan(AB)
New York University(JD)
ProfessionLawyer
WebsiteOfficial website
Campaign website

Todd Kaminskyis an American attorney, lobbyist,[1]and former politician from thestateofNew York.ADemocrat,he was a member of theNew York State Senaterepresenting the9th district,which is based on the South Shore ofLong Island.He was the Democratic nominee for Nassau County District Attorney in 2021 but lost the general election to Anne Donnelly by a landslide.[2]

Kaminsky is the great-nephew of entertainerMel Brooks.

Early life and education[edit]

Kaminsky was born and raised inLong Beach, New Yorkon Long Island. He received his A.B. degree,summa cum laude,from theUniversity of Michigan,and hisJ.D.degree, magna cum laude, fromNew York University Law School.

Legal career[edit]

Kaminsky worked as an assistant district attorney in theQueens County District Attorney's Office, prosecuting domestic violence cases, robberies, shootings and other violent crimes. He then joined theU.S. Attorney's Officein the Eastern District of New York as anAssistant United States Attorney,where he worked for six years.[3]There he became acting deputy chief of the Public Integrity Section, successfully prosecuting elected officials includingState SenateMajority LeaderPedro Espada Jr., AssemblymanJimmy Meng,and U.S. RepresentativeMichael Grimm.[4]

Giving his closing remarks in the Espada, Jr. case, theNew York Timeswrote, "Pacing before the jury and cuing up slides on a computer presentation, Mr. Kaminsky often brought the jury and others in the courtroom to laughter, throwing out one-liners and making fun of Mr. Espada’s excuses for spending the money."[5]Kaminsky also successfully prosecuted former music mogul and drug dealerJames "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond,securing an indictment after Rosemond was captured by DEA agents after remaining a fugitive for a month.[6]For that prosecution, Kaminsky was awarded the True American Hero Award from the Federal Drug Agents Foundation.[7]

As a community advocate, Kaminsky raised funds and held free legal clinics followingHurricane Sandy.For his efforts, he was awarded the Community Service Award from the U.S. Attorney's Office for theEastern District of New Yorkand the Long Beach Martin Luther King Center’s Sandy Relief Service Award.[8]

State Assembly[edit]

Kaminsky was elected to theNew York State Assemblyin November 2014, succeedingHarvey Weisenberg.AsNew Yorkmagazinenoted in a profile, "The rookie assemblyman has already delivered some tangible results for his district — speeding up the state’s reimbursement schedule for Sandy housing reconstruction, and pushing to open a new emergency room to compensate slightly for the storm-induced closure of Long Beach Hospital."[9]

In 2015, Kaminsky was named one ofCity & State's 40 Under 40 Rising Stars.[10]In his first legislative session, he set a record for recent years for most bills[which?]passed by a first-year Assemblymember, and tied him at fourth overall in the Assembly this session with 18 of his bills passing the Assembly and 16 of those also passing the Senate.[11]

State Senate[edit]

Following the expulsion ofDean Skelosfrom theNew York State Senate,the Democratic Party selected Kaminsky as their nominee for his seat in thespecial electionin April 2016.[12]On May 2, two weeks after the election took place, Kaminsky was officially declared the winner after defeating Republican challenger Chris McGrath by 886 votes.[13]He was then sworn in the next day.[14]Kaminsky and McGrath faced off again in the November 2016 general election—this time for a full term. Kaminsky won that election by 6,422 votes, or approximately 5% of the electorate.[15]

He resigned unexpectedly in July 2022 to work for lobbying firmGreenberg Traurig.[16]

Issues[edit]

Ethics reform[edit]

Kaminsky's experience as a former federal prosecutor led to him becoming a leader on ethics reform in New York State politics and at the forefront of decision-making around recent corruption scandals.[17]AsThe Wall Street Journalwrote, "The confluence of federal prosecutors’ heightened interest in Albany and Mr. Kaminsky’s background has also vaulted him to prominence as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature have grappled with whether and how to institute another package of ethics overhauls, which also happens to be the freshman lawmaker’s legislative priority."[3]Kaminsky was appointed by Assembly SpeakerCarl Heastieto a panel charged with finding an executive director for the Assembly's new ethics office.[18][19]Kaminsky also played a role in helping put together the ethics reform package that was proposed in March by the Assembly andGovernor Cuomo.[20]

Hurricane Sandy[edit]

Kaminsky considers Hurricane Sandy one of the reasons for his decision to run for Assembly.[21]Sandy hit the South Shore of Long Island particularly hard, destroying thousands of homes and other property. Like many residents in the area, Kaminsky was unsatisfied with the response fromFEMAand NY Rising. Since being elected, Kaminsky has pushed for reforms to the NY Rising system, licensing for mold removal companies, and helped implement an information-sharing database in Nassau County to help better track abandoned properties.[22][23][24]Kaminsky also introduced a bill passed by the Legislature that would require quarterly reporting on unpaid claims and unresolved Sandy-related cases.[25]Another bill Kaminsky introduced, which would provide tax relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy who withdrew from retirement accounts to cover emergency payments, passed the Assembly.[26]

Upon hearing that National Grid was going to reinstate fees for disconnecting and reconnecting gas lines – fees that had been eliminated after Sandy to provide some relief to homeowners affected – Kaminsky wrote a letter to National Grid on August 21 urging them to reverse the decision. On September 10, after weeks of talks, National Grid announced that it would continue its post-Sandy policy of not charging those fees, in a major victory for Sandy victims.[27]

Long Beach Medical Center[edit]

Damage from Hurricane Sandy was so extensive that theLong Beach Medical Centerhad to be permanently closed. Kaminsky lead the push to call on South Nassau Community Hospital, the new owner, to reopen a full-service hospital in the former hospital's place.[28]In early August, Kaminsky announced that New York State had given approval for a 24/7 freestandingemergency departmentto open.[29]The emergency department opened on August 10, 2015.[30]

Personal life[edit]

Todd and his wife Ellen, married since 2010, live in Long Beach with their children, Rafe and Rory.[31]

Kaminsky is the great-nephew of entertainerMel Brooks.[32]During Kaminsky's 2016 run for a seat in the New York State Senate the famed comedian recorded arobocallwhich was then employed by his nephew's campaign.[33]

References[edit]

  1. ^Kinniburgh, Colin (June 8, 2023)."Chemical Industry Steps Up Lobbying as New York Weighs Major Waste Bill".NYS Focus.
  2. ^"Republican Anne Donnelly Beats Democrat Todd Kaminsky in Nassau DA Race".November 2, 2021.
  3. ^abOrden, Erica (March 25, 2015)."Freshman N.Y. Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky, a Former Prosecutor, Has Peers on Guard".The Wall Street Journal.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  4. ^"Ex-Queens Assemblyman Sentenced in Bribery Case".The New York Times.March 13, 2013.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  5. ^"Fraud Trial for Espada Is Concluding After 6 Weeks".The New York Times.April 25, 2012.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  6. ^Rutkoff, Aaron (June 21, 2011)."Hip Hop Manager Arrested After Month as Fugitive".WSJ.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  7. ^"Kaminsky speaks to CBS 2 New York about his marijuana and road safety roundtable".NY State Senate.January 8, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 30,2019.
  8. ^"In 9th Senate District, give Kaminsky another term".Herald Community Newspapers.November 2018.RetrievedJanuary 30,2019.
  9. ^"Kaminsky Prosecuted Albany Pols; Now He Is One".Daily Intelligencer.April 30, 2015.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  10. ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon August 11, 2015.RetrievedJuly 14,2015.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^"Assembly Republicans remain on margins under Heastie".Capitalnewyork.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  12. ^Burns, Alexander (January 6, 2016)."Democrats Pick Ex-Prosecutor to Seek SEnate Seat Left Vacant by Skelos".The New York Times.RetrievedMay 7,2016.
  13. ^"Democrats Take Over NY Senate as Skelos' Successor Certified".NBC New York. May 2, 2016.RetrievedMay 7,2016.
  14. ^"Kaminsky sworn-in, replaces convicted Skelos".Newsday. May 3, 2016.RetrievedMay 7,2016.
  15. ^"Archived copy"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on January 5, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 4,2017.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^"New York State Senator Todd Kaminsky resigns".August 2022.
  17. ^Erica Orden (January 30, 2015)."Newer Legislators Led Charge to Oust Speaker Silver in New York Assembly".WSJ.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  18. ^"Heastie Names Search Committee For Ethics Officer".Nystateofpolitics.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  19. ^"A Prosecutor Turned Assemblyman".WNYC.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  20. ^"In Ethics Push, Cuomo Strays From His Formula".The New York Times.March 19, 2015.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  21. ^"Lawmaker brings prosecutorial perspective to Assembly".Capitalnewyork/com.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  22. ^"Legislators call for NY Rising oversight".liherald.Nassau County. May 29, 2015.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  23. ^"Bills".Assembly.state.ny.us.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  24. ^"Kaminsky announces 'zombie home' database and cleanup plan".Long Island Herald.April 8, 2015.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  25. ^Yancey Roy."Legislature OKs bill requiring reporting on unresolved Sandy cases".Newsday.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  26. ^"Kaminsky Bill to Reduce Sandy Victims' Income Tax Burden Passes Assembly".LongIsland.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  27. ^"National Grid agrees to roll back fees - Island Park - LIHerald - Nassau County's source for local news, breaking news, sports, entertainment & shopping".liherald.September 10, 2015.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  28. ^JOHN ASBURY."Long Beach residents want FEMA medical funds to stay in city".Newsday.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  29. ^Ridgely Ochs (August 5, 2015)."Todd Kaminsky: Freestadning emergency department at Long Beach approved by state - Newsday".Newsday.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  30. ^RIDGELY OCHS."Post-Sandy emergency medical facility opens in Long Beach".Newsday.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  31. ^Zlabinger, Michael (December 3, 2010)."Ellen Tobin, Todd Kaminsky: Weddings".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedJanuary 30,2019.
  32. ^Dan Janison."20th A.D.: Mel Brooks robo-calls for Kaminsky, his relative".Newsday.RetrievedDecember 23,2015.
  33. ^"Mel Brooks robocall for great nephew in state senate race".New York Daily News.RetrievedMay 7,2016.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Todd_Kaminsky&oldid=1216707502"