Martin Edward Connor (born March 3, 1945) is a former member of the

New York State Senate 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

Brooklyn 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 ...

, New York. He was first elected to the State Senate in a special election in 1978. He is a Democrat. The 25th Senate District that he represented covers

lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

and an area of Brooklyn down the

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from part of Greenpoint to Carroll Gardens, and eastward to part of Downtown Brooklyn. He lost the 2008 Democratic primary to challenger Dan Squadron.

Education and early career

Born in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

, Connor attended parochial schools as a child, graduating first in his class from Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville. He earned a B.A. in politics from the Catholic University of America and a law degree from the Catholic University of America School of Law, where he served as an editor of the '' Catholic University Law Review''. While still a student, Connor worked part-time for the general Counsel of the

National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces United States labor law, U.S. labor law in relation to collect ...

. Later, he served as a clerk to the in-house counsel of the

International Brotherhood of Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a diverse members ...

. As a lawyer, Connor practiced corporate and anti-trust law for

White & Case White & Case LLP is a global white-shoe law firm based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the firm has 46 offices in 31 countries worldwide. History The firm was founded on May 1, 1901, when two Wall Street lawyers, Justin DuPratt White, 31, a ...

, a large Wall Street law firm, as well as the Xerox Corporation. He briefly maintained a private law practice in Brooklyn, but was appointed Assistant Counsel to New York State Comptroller Arthur Leavitt. He resigned that position upon his election to the Senate.

Senate career

He was a member of the

from 1978 to 2008, sitting in the 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 194th, 195th, 196th and 197th New York State Legislatures. After 30 years in office, Connor was the

's longest-serving Democrat. In his time in Albany, he accumulated an extensive legislative track record on a wide range of issues. He sponsored more than 100 laws.

Government Reform

In his time in office, Connor advocated for progressive cause

such as reform of the legislative process to open Albany to public scrutin

He claimed to have observed a voluntary ban on accepting gifts and meals from lobbyists and to have supported a recent law making such a ban mandatory for all legislator

He also supported limiting PAC and corporate campaign contributions to reduce the influence of special interest money in campaigns, as well as spending caps on state level campaigns to provide a level political playing fiel

Education

Connor supported the creation of a state college tuition savings program and tuition tax credi

He was also an advocate of changing the state public school aid formul

as well as better pay for teacher

and smaller class size

In 2007, he participated in negotiating an agreement to build the City's first ever green school in Battery Park Cit

Environment

In addition to his contribution to the construction of New York's first green school (cited above), Mr. Connor supported increased use of alternative fuel technology, cleanup of contaminated industrial sites, and funding for open space preservatio

According to EPL Environmental Advocates, Mr. Connor had the highest environmental rating in the Senate in 200

Civil and Human Rights

Connor supports the right of women to choice in reproductive matter

He s supported non-discrimination on account of sexual orientation as well as equal legal rights for the LGBT communit

http://nyblade.com/2008/7-23/news/localnews/1230EndorseNYC.cfm]. He is an opponent of the death penalty

but supported proposals to toughen gun law

and increase penalties for hate crime

Senate Leadership

Connor served for eight years as minority leader of the Senate until he was defeated for the position in 2002 by Sen. David Paterson, who went on to become

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

2006 Campaign

In 2006, Senator Connor was opposed in the Democratic primary by Ken Diamondstone, a developer of affordable housin

it was the most serious race the 25th District had seen in years. A key issue in the campaign was Diamondstone's opposition to Brooklyn Bridge Park, a project that Senator Connor supporte

Senator Connor won the race with more than 55% of the vot

Comptroller Candidacy

In early 2007 he was among at least 18 candidates for New York State Comptroller, in a special contest decided by the State Legislatur

Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli won the race.

2008 Campaign

In 2008, Senator Connor was opposed in the Democratic primary by Dan Squadron, a former aide to US Senator

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...

. Connor had been endorsed by Brooklyn Borough President

Marty Markowitz Martin Markowitz (born February 14, 1945) is an American politician who served as the borough president of Brooklyn, New York City. He was first elected in 2001 after serving 23 years as a New York State Senator. His third and final term ended ...

, and a number of his fellow state senators and members of Congres

Squadron had been endorsed by Schumer, Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

, Congressman Anthony Weiner, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

and the Working Families Party

A debate, sponsored by the Citizens Union, occurred on Sept. 3. Following the debate, the Citizens Union announced that it had decided to prefer the incumbent, Connor, over his challenger, stating that Connor "would undeniably be in a stronger and more experienced position to effectively advance critical reforms." Connor lost the 2008 primary to challenger Dan Squadron, who received approximately 54% of the vote.

Post-senatorial career

A longtime election lawyer by trade, Connor began to practice election law full time after leaving the senate. He is considered one of the "top" attorneys in this field, and has represented candidates at every level of government, from local, state, and congressional races, to presidential campaigns.

References

Connor for Senate 2008
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080915054731/http://www.citizensunion.org/www/cu/site/hosting/news_release/09_04_08_release.html Citizens Union Announces Final Candidate PReferences in September Primary Election]

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Connor, Martin 1945 births Democratic Party New York (state) state senators Columbus School of Law alumni Notre Dame High School (New Jersey) alumni Politicians from Trenton, New Jersey Living people 2000 United States presidential electors People from Brooklyn Heights 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature