Luis R. Sepúlveda (born February 11, 1964) is an American attorney and politician who currently serves as the

New York State Senator The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

from the 32nd Senate District, which includes parts of the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. Prior to being in the state senate Sepúlveda was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

from 2013 to 2018. Sepúlveda is a close ally of

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...

, being the first assembly member to endorse him in his 2013 and 2017 mayoral runs. In January 2021, Sepúlveda turned himself in and was arrested and charged with assault, criminal obstruction of breathing, and harassment, but the charges were later dropped after prosecutors determined that there was a lack of evidence to proceed to trial.

Early life and education

Sepúlveda was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, and graduated from

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

, in Hempstead, New York, with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in the

natural sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

in 1988. Sepúlveda later attended the

Maurice A. Deane School of Law The Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University – also known as Hofstra Law School and colloquially as Hofstra Law – is a law school located in Hempstead (village), New York, Hempstead, on Long Island, in New York (state), New York, ...

at Hofstra on a full scholarship, obtaining his J.D. degree in 1991.

Career

In 2010, Sepúlveda made his first run for public office, losing a bid for the

to incumbent Peter M. Rivera in the Democratic primary. Two years later, Rivera retired and Sepúlveda was elected as his successor. He would be re-elected twice more. Sepúlveda has a history of endorsing

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

and progressive candidates. Sepúlveda was the first member of the Assembly to endorse future

New York City Mayor The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, ...

in the 2013 New York City Mayoral primary elections as well as the first Assembly member to endorse de Blasio in his 2017 reelection campaign. He was one of the few New York State politicians to back Vermont Senator

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

in the 2016 Democratic Primary over former New York Senator

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

. He endorsed Sanders again for the 2020 Primary. However, in 2018, Sepúlveda supported incumbent state senator

Martin Malave Dilan Martin Malavé Dilan (born September 12, 1950) is a former member of the New York State Senate representing the 17th and 18th Senate Districts. The 18th Senate District encompasses the northern Brooklyn communities of Bushwick, Williamsburg, ...

against a primary challenge from

Julia Salazar Julia Salazar (born December 30, 1990) is an American politician and activist. She is the New York State Senator for the 18th district, which covers much of northern Brooklyn, centered on Bushwick. She won the seat as a first-time candidate af ...

, a community organizer endorsed by the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a political organization in the United States and the country's largest Socialism, socialist organization. Sitting on the Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left of the politic ...

, and endorsed former

Independent Democratic Conference The Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) was a caucus consisting of several New York State Democratic Committee, Democratic members of the New York State Senate that existed from 2011 to 2018. The IDC is notable for having formed a power-shar ...

leader

Jeffrey D. Klein Jeffrey David Klein (born July 10, 1960) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party. He represented the New York State Senate's 34th District, serving parts of Bronx and Westchester Counties from 2005 to 2018. Klein also s ...

against challenger

Alessandra Biaggi Alessandra Rose Biaggi (born May 20, 1986) is an American politician from the state of New York. Biaggi is the granddaughter of former U.S. Congressman Mario Biaggi. A progressive Democrat, Biaggi served as a member of the New York State Senate ...

New York State Assembly

While in the Assembly from 2013 to 2018, Sepúlveda served on the Assembly's Committees on Aging, Agriculture, Banks, Correction, Mental Hygiene, and Housing. Sepúlveda also serves as the chair of the Subcommittee on Transitional Services, dealing with post-incarceration issues.

New York State Senate

In 2017, longtime Senator

Rubén Díaz Sr. Rubén Díaz Sr (born April 22, 1943) is a Puerto Rican citizenship, Puerto Rican politician from New York City and an ordained Pentecostalism, Pentecostal minister. He represented the New York City's 18th City Council district, 18th district ...

opted to run for the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

, and won. A special election was announced to replace him, and Sepúlveda announced his candidacy on December 18, 2017. Sepúlveda would easily win the endorsement of the county Democratic party, and in the overwhelmingly Democratic district, easily won the special election. Sepúlveda was elected to a full term in 2018 unopposed. In the Senate, he is serving as Chairman of the Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee. Sepúlveda sponsored the New York State Driver's License Access and Privacy Act, also known as the "Green Light" bill. Sepúlveda was elected in 2020 and faced no major party opposition. In support of

Kathy Hochul Kathleen Hochul ( ; ; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer who has served since 2021 as the 57th governor of New York. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she is New York's List of female ...

's nomination of Hector LaSalle as chief judge of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

, Sepúlveda spoke at a press conference, saying that "I don't care if this fight costs me my political career. This is the hill I'm gonna die on."

Alleged domestic violence

In 2015, Sepúlveda's wife requested an order of protection against him after she alleged that an argument between them turned violent. A restraining order was never issued. In 2021, the police responded to a 911 call from Sepúlveda's wife. When the police arrived, both Sepúlveda and his wife claimed the other had assaulted them. Later, Sepúlveda turned himself in and was arrested for allegedly assaulting his wife, and was charged with assault in the 3rd degree, criminal obstruction of breathing, and harassment. Prosecutors dropped charges in August of that year. Following these incidents,

Andrea Stewart-Cousins Andrea Alice Stewart-Cousins (née Stewart; born September 2, 1950) is an American politician and educator from Yonkers, New York. A member of the Democratic Party, Stewart-Cousins has represented District 35 in the New York State Senate since ...

removed Sepúlveda from his committee chairmanship of the Crime Victims Committee and Crime and Correction Committee, and elected officials like Nathalia Fernandez and

Rob Ortt Robert Gary Ortt II (born May 23, 1979) is an American military veteran, treasurer, and politician who is a member of the New York State Senate. Ortt represents the 62nd district, which covers Niagara and Orleans counties. First elected in 201 ...

called on him to resign if the allegations were true.

References

External links

Official website at the New York State Senate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sepulveda, Luis R. 1964 births 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New York (state) Living people Maurice A. Deane School of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) lawyers New York (state) politicians convicted of crimes Candidates in the 2021 United States elections Politicians from Brooklyn Politicians from the Bronx Hofstra University alumni 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature