Todd Kaminsky

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Todd Kaminsky
Member of the New York Senate
from the 9th district
Assumed office
May 3, 2016
Preceded by Dean Skelos
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 20th district
In office
January 1, 2015 – May 3, 2016
Preceded by Harvey Weisenberg
Succeeded by To be determined
Personal details
Born Lido Beach, New York
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Ellen
Children Rafe Alexander
Residence Long Beach, New York
Alma mater New York University
University of Michigan
Profession Lawyer
Religion Judaism

Todd Kaminsky is a New York State Senate member representing the 9th District on the South Shore of Long Island.

Early life and career

Kaminsky was born and raised in Long Beach, New York. He received his bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Michigan, and his law degree, magna cum laude, from New York University Law School.[citation needed]

Kaminsky worked as an assistant district attorney in the Queens D.A. office, prosecuting domestic violence cases, robberies, shootings and other violent crimes. He then joined the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District as an assistant U.S. Attorney, where he worked for six years.[1] There he became acting deputy chief of the Public Integrity Section, successfully prosecuting elected officials including State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr., Assemblyman Jimmy Meng, and U.S. Representative Michael Grimm.[2] Giving his closing remarks in the Espada, Jr. case, the New York Times wrote, "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."[3] Kaminsky also successfully prosecuted former music mogul and drug dealer James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond, securing an indictment after Rosemond was captured by DEA agents after remaining a fugitive for a month.[4][5] For that prosecution, Kaminsky was awarded the True American Hero Award from the Federal Drug Agents Foundation.[citation needed]

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

Assemblyman

Kaminsky was elected to the New York State Assembly in November 2014, succeeding Harvey Weisenberg. As NY Magazine noted in a profile of Todd, "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."[6] In 2015, Kaminsky was named one of City & State's 40 Under 40 Rising Stars.[7] In his first legislative session, Kaminsky set a record for recent years for most bills 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.[8]

State Senate election

Following the expulsion of Dean Skelos from the New York State Senate, the Democratic Party selected Kaminsky as their nominee for his seat in the upcoming special election.[9] 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.[10] He was then sworn in the next day.[11]

Issues

Ethics reform

Kaminsky's experience as a former federal prosecutor lead to him becoming a leader on ethics reform in New York State politics and at the forefront of decision-making around recent corruption scandals.[12] As The Wall Street Journal wrote, "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."[1] Kaminsky was appointed by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to a panel charged with finding an executive director for the Assembly's new ethics office.[13][14] Kaminsky also played a role in helping put together the ethics reform package that was proposed in March by the Assembly and Governor Cuomo.[15]

Hurricane Sandy

Kaminsky considers Hurricane Sandy one of the reasons for his decision to run for Assembly.[16] 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 from FEMA and 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.[17][18][19] Kaminsky also introduced a bill passed by the Legislature that would require quarterly reporting on unpaid claims and unresolved Sandy-related cases.[20] 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.[21]

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.[22]

Long Beach Medical Center

Damage from Hurricane Sandy was so extensive that the Long Beach Medical Center had 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.[23] In early August, Kaminsky announced that New York State had given approval for a 24/7 freestanding emergency room to open.[24] The emergency room opened on August 10, 2015. [25]

Personal life

Todd and his wife Ellen, married since 2010, live in Long Beach with their son, Rafe.

Kaminsky is the great-nephew of entertainer Mel Brooks.[26] During Kaminsky's 2016 run for a seat in the New York State Senate the famed comedian recorded a robocall which was then employed by his nephew's campaign.[27]

References

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External links

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