Kevin Parker

Kevin Parker represents District 21 in the New York State Senate, which comprises East Flatbush, Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, and Boro Park. He is African American.

Elected to the State Senate in 2003, Parker is the current Ranking Minority Member on the Energy and Telecommunications Committee as well as a member of standing committees on Environmental Conservation, Higher Education, Insurance, Commerce, and Veterans. He is also currently the chairman of the Senate Democratic Task Force on New Americans as well as that of an Alternative Energy Future.

Prior to his election-where he defeated former City Councilman Noach Dear in a very tightly-contested Democratic primary-Parker served in numerous capacities. Chiefly as the Special Assistant to former Comptroller H. Carl McCall, but also as a New York City Urban Fellow, a Special Assistant to former Manhattan Borough President and mayoral candidate Ruth Messinger, legislative aide to former City Councilwoman Una Clarke, and Special Assistant to Assemblyman N. Nick Perry.

He has also served as Project Manager with the New York State Urban Development Corporation, and as a consultant to Paine Webber. In addition to his work in the State Senate, Parker is also a professor of African-American Studies and Political Science at several colleges within the City University of New York system, primarily Brooklyn College, where he is also a faculty advisor to student organizations.

In January 2005, Parker was arrested after punching a traffic agent during a dispute over a traffic citation that he had been issued. He was subsequently charged with third degree assault, a misdemeanor.

He holds a B.S. in Public Service from Penn State University, an M.S. from the New School for Social Research's Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy, and is in the process of pursuing a doctoral degree in Political Science at the CUNY Graduate Center.

In the September 9, 2008 democratic primaries, Parker held off a strong challenge from New York City Councilmembers Simcha Felder and Kendall Stewart and held onto his seat with a little less than half the vote. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/nyregion/10primary.html?ref=nyregion]

References

External links

* [http://www.nyssenate21.com/ New York State Senator|21st Senate District|Kevin S. Parker] State Senate website.
* [http://www.kevinparker.org/ New York State Senator Kevin Parker] Official website.
* [http://www.lidbrooklyn.org/bp062104.htm Parker Slams Sharpe]