Michael G. Miller (born December 12, 1960) is an American politician and a Democratic former 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 ...

, representing the 38th Assembly District, which includes the

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

neighborhoods of Woodhaven, Ridgewood, Richmond Hill,

Ozone Park Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens, New York, United States. It is next to the Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, a popular spot for Thoroughbred racing and home to the Resorts W ...

and Glendale. He has lived in Glendale for 40 years. Miller is a graduate of

Archbishop Molloy High School Archbishop Molloy High School (also called Molloy, Archbishop Molloy, or AMHS) is a four-year private, college preparatory, Catholic school for grades 9–12, located on on 83-53 Manton Street, Briarwood, Queens, New York. It is part of the D ...

and attended

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...

and the CUNA Management School at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. He was branch manager of the Tiger Federal Credit Union. He also served as member of

Queens Community Board 5 The Queens Community Board 5 is a local government in the New York City borough of Queens, encompassing the neighborhoods of Ridgewood, Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth, Fresh Pond, and Liberty Park. Miller has been a member of the

since 2009, when he won a

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 ...

held after the resignation of former Assemblyman

Anthony Seminerio Anthony S. Seminerio (February 15, 1935 – January 6, 2011) was an American politician from New York. Life Seminerio graduated from the New York Institute of Technology with a Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''bacc ...

. Miller won the subsequent 2010 general election with 69 percent of the vote. Miller was defeated by Jenifer Rajkumar in the June 2020 Democratic primary.

Early life and career

Miller was born to an Italian mother and German father, both first generation immigrants.

New York State Assembly

Same sex marriage

On December 2, 2009, Miller sided with the conservative minority, by voting against a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. Miller voted against a similar bill that became the Marriage Equality Act in 2011.

Controversy

Appointment

In New York, candidates for special election are nominated by the party's county executive's selection. Miller's party nomination was met with a lawsuit filed by fellow Democrats. His nomination was seen by some as a back room deal. Al Baldeo, who claims he was promised the nomination by Congressman

Gregory Meeks Gregory Weldon Meeks (born September 25, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who has been a U.S. representative from New York since 1998. He is a member of the Democratic Party and chaired the House Committee on Foreign Affairs from 20 ...

, State Senators John Sampson and Malcolm Smith, argued that the selection process was undemocratic. Farouk Samaroo argued that the selection process was to prevent an

Indian-American Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, who are also referred to as "Indians" or "Am ...

on the ballot.

Disclosure

The New York Daily News reported that Miller was among the Assemblymen that refuse to disclose his outside income. This came 14 weeks after the state legislature publicly supported and approved a bill requiring them to disclose their outside income. The bill that was vetoed by Governor

David Paterson David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer, who resigned, and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to ...

Harassment Investigation and Sanctions

Miller became the subject of a 2019 internal investigation by the Assembly Ethics Committee stemming from a harassment complaint filed by a female staffer. The committee found evidence of inappropriate and unprofessional conduct, though the review did not "support a finding that Miller engaged in harassment and/or discrimination." The investigation came to light in June 2020 when it was revealed that the committee's investigator uncovered multiple instances in which Miller discussed the case with outside parties in breach of confidentiality and with what the committee determined as having the "effect of intimidating potential witnesses." In August 2020, Assembly Speaker

Carl Heastie Carl Edward Heastie (; born September 25, 1967) is an American politician from New York. Heastie has served in the New York State Assembly since January 2001, and was elected Speaker of the New York State Assembly on February 3, 2015. Early l ...

announced that he would formally sanction Miller for these actions, following the committee's recommendation.

Election results

* September 2009

, NYS Assembly, 38th AD : * November 2010 general election, NYS Assembly, 38th AD :

References

External links

Official New York State Assembly government website

Map of district at the Official New York State Assembly government website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Michael G. Living people Politicians from Queens, New York Archbishop Molloy High School alumni Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly 1960 births 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature