John Brooks (politician)

John Brooks is an American politician, currently serving as a member of the New York State Senate, representing the 8th District . A Democrat, his district includes portions of Amityville, Freeport, Lindenhurst and Massapequa Park as well as the unincorporated villages of Baldwin, Baldwin Harbor, Bellmore, Copiague, East Farmingdale, East Massapequa, Massapequa, Merrick, North Amityville, North Bellmore, North Lindenhurst, North Merrick, Roosevelt, Seaford, South Farmingdale, Wantagh, West Babylon, Wheatley Heights and Wyandanch on Long Island. Brooks, despite being a member of the Democratic caucus, was a registered Republican until after the 2017 local elections.[1]

John Brooks
Member of the New York Senate from the 8th District
Assumed office
January 1, 2017
Preceded byMichael Venditto
Personal details
BornLong Island, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceSeaford, New York, U.S.
Alma materNew York Institute of Technology (BA)

Early life and education

Born and raised on Long Island, Brooks earned an Associate's degree from Farmingdale State College and a Bachelor of Arts from the New York Institute of Technology.[2]

Career

Brooks served for more than forty-five years with the Seaford, New York Fire Department. Brooks subsequently served as a member of the Seaford Board of Education. An insurance broker, Brooks also worked for Geico and United States Capital Insurance, and later served as Nassau County's Director of Risk Management. Brooks also served in the armed services as with the Rainbow Division of the New York Army National Guard as a medic.[3]

New York State Senate

In 2016, Brooks chose to run for the 8th Senate District seat held by Michael Venditto. Despite being a registered Republican, Brooks chose to accept the Democratic line. He was unopposed in the primary. In October after the arrest of Venditto's father, Supervisor John Venditto, on corruption charges, along with Ed Mangano, Brooks finally decided to campaign for the seat. The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and Brooks viewed Venditto as a free target despite having nothing to do with the scandal.[4]

On election night, Venditto was thought to have won by more than 2,000 votes, but when additional ballots were counted, Brooks pulled into the lead by less than 100 votes. Ballots were subsequently recounted.[5] In the end, Brooks won by only 314 votes out of over 150,000 cast to take the seat.[6]

In the 2018 election, Brooks defeated Republican challenger Jeff Pravato by more than 10,000 votes.[7] Effective January 2019, Brooks has been named Chair of the Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs Committee.[8]

References
  1. "32 Democrats In The Senate? Well… (Updated)". www.nystateofpolitics.com. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  2. "About John E. Brooks". NY State Senate. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  3. "Brooks biodata". Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  4. "Republicans claim victory in pivotal New York Senate races". Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  5. "Venditto/Brooks Race Now Too Close to Call - Merrick, NY Patch". Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  6. https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2016/General/2016Senate.pdf
  7. https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2018/general/2018NYSenate.pdf
  8. https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/politics/new-york-state/senate-democrats-announce-committee-chairs.html
Political offices
Preceded by
Michael Venditto		 New York Senate, 8th District
2017–present		 Incumbent
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