Matthew J. Titone (born January 24, 1961) is an American politician and lawyer from

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

. A Democrat, he served as 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 the 61st District, on Staten Island's North Shore from April 1, 2007 to January 1, 2019. Titone currently serves as a surrogate court judge of Richmond County.

Early life, education, career

Titone was born on Staten Island, the son of Vito J. Titone, a former judge of the New York State Court of Appeals. Titone was raised in the Grymes Hill and West Brighton neighborhoods. He went on to attend St. John's University School of Law, while working full-time as a law clerk for the late John S. Zachary. After being admitted to the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

in 1992, Titone worked

pro bono ( English: 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. The term traditionally referred to provision of legal services by legal professionals for people who a ...

for the Staten Island AIDS Task Force and Project Hospitality. In 1993, he joined the

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law firm of Morgan, Melhuish, Monahan, Arvidson, Abrutyn & Lisowski, where he was a senior trial associate and managed the firm's labor law litigation department. In 1998, he established a private law practice on Staten Island. Titone garnered national attention when he took on the New York State adoption industry representing a family who adopted a baby boy. The family was never informed by the adoption agency that the child was born with the AIDS virus and resulted in the child being untreated for his illness for eleven years after the adoption was completed. Not only did Titone provide legal support and guidance for the family, he also helped the young man establish the Justin LiGreci HIV/AIDS Foundation for Children and Teens, a not for profit organization that provides educational services to the youth of Staten Island and New York metropolitan area.

Political career

Titone was the Democratic nominee for 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 ...

in 2006, losing the 24th District race to Republican Andrew Lanza. Following the death of Assemblyman John Lavelle in January 2007, Titone was selected as the Democratic nominee for the special election held to fill the vacancy.Wrobleski, Tom. "Dems select Titone as Assembly candidate". ''

Staten Island Advance The ''Staten Island Advance'' is a daily newspaper published in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City. It is the only daily newspaper published in Staten Island and the only major daily newspaper focused on covering it exclu ...

''. February 28, 2007. On the third ballot of Democratic committeemembers, Daniel Lavelle, son of the late Assemblymember, dropped out and Titone was unopposed. Titone was backed by City Councilman Mike McMahon, whose support was crucial.Wrobleski, Tom. "McMahon flexes his muscle and ally Titone gets the nod". ''

''. March 1, 2007. Mimi Cusick, mother of assembly member Mike Cusick and "mother of the party", also endorsed Titone's candidacy. In the election held on March 27, 2007, Titone received 49% of the vote in a three-way contest to succeed Lavelle, comfortably defeating his Republican and Independence party opponents who won 32% and 19% respectively.

2018 Richmond County Surrogate election

In March 2018, Titone announced that he would vacate his Assembly seat that fall to seek election as Richmond County (Staten Island) Surrogate. Titone’s announcement was quickly followed by endorsements from Diane Savino, Michael Cusick, Debi Rose, and former Conservative Party Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro.

Personal life

Titone is openly gay and married his partner of 18 years, Giosue Pugliese, in a ceremony at Staten Island Borough Hall in September 2011, shortly after same-sex marriage was legalized in New York State. He was one of five

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

members of the

New York Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an offici ...

, alongside Assemblymembers Deborah Glick, Daniel O'Donnell, and Harry Bronson, as well as Senator Brad Hoylman. His Assembly campaigns have won the support of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which provides financial and strategic assistance. He is the first openly gay man elected to higher office on Staten Island.

Election results

* November 2006

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

, NYS Senate, 24th SD : * March 2007

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

, NYS Assembly, 61st AD : * November 2008

, NYS Assembly, 61st AD : * November 2010

, NYS Assembly, 61st AD : * November 2012

, NYS Assembly, 61st AD : * November 2014

, NYS Assembly, 61st AD :

References