Daniel J. O'Donnell

For other people named Daniel O'Donnell, see Daniel O'Donnell (disambiguation).

Daniel J. O'Donnell
O'Donnell in 2006.
Member of the New York State Assembly from the 69th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2003
Preceded by	Edward C. Sullivan
Personal details
Born	November 17, 1960 (1960-11-17) (age 51) Queens, New York
Political party	Democratic
Domestic partner	John Banta
Residence	Morningside Heights, New York City
Alma mater	George Washington University CUNY School of Law
Profession	lawyer, politician
Website	Official website

Daniel J. O'Donnell (born November 17, 1960) is a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 69th district in Manhattan, made up of the neighborhoods of Manhattan Valley, Morningside Heights, and portions of the Upper West Side and West Harlem.

In 2008 he was considered by New York Governor David Paterson to fill the Senate vacancy created by the appointment of Hillary Rodham Clinton as President Obama's Secretary of State.^[1] Paterson ultimately appointed upstate Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to the seat.^[2]

Early life and education

Born in Queens, New York, O'Donnell is one of five siblings; American entertainer Rosie O'Donnell is his younger sister. Raised in Commack, New York on Long Island, he attended George Washington University for his B.A. and received a J.D. degree from CUNY School of Law at Queens College.

Political career

He first ran for the legislature in 1998, making an unsuccessful bid for the New York State Senate in the 30th district, losing the Democratic primary to Eric Schneiderman. When Assemblyman Edward C. Sullivan announced his retirement in 2002, O'Donnell was one of eight Democrats who entered the race to succeed him. In the crowded primary election held on September 10, 2002, O'Donnell won 34 percent of the vote, twice as much as his nearest competitor. In the general election that followed, he prevailed with 82 percent of the vote.^[3]

O'Donnell was the first openly gay man elected to the New York State Assembly and currently serves as one of five LGBT members of the New York Legislature, alongside Assemblymembers Deborah Glick, Micah Kellner, Matthew Titone and Harry Bronson, as well as Senator Thomas Duane.^[4] His campaigns have frequently won the backing of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.

He ran uncontested in the 2008 and 2010 general elections.^[5][6][7]

Committees

In the 2011 legislative session, O'Donnell serves as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Ethics and Guidance, as well as Chair of the Subcommittee on Criminal Procedure of the Assembly Judiciary Committee. He also serves on a number of full committees, namely:

• Committee on Codes
• Committee on Education
• Committee on Environmental Conservation
• Committee on Judiciary
• Committee on Oversight, Analysis and Investigation
• Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports

Legislation

On June 19, 2007 O'Donnell ushered the Marriage Equality Act, a bill that would have legalized gay marriage in New York State, to passage by a vote of 85–61. Although the bill passed the Assembly and had the support of then-Governor Eliot Spitzer, the Republican-controlled State Senate did not take up the measure. O'Donnell once again led the fight for a same-sex marriage bill in 2009,^[8] shepherding it to passage twice more, by a vote of 89–52 in May,^[9] and by a vote of 88–51 in December. O'Donnell introduced the Marriage Equality bill in the Assembly for the 2011-2012 legislative session on May 10, 2011. The Marriage Equality Act was passed by the NYS Assembly on June 15, 2011, and passed the NYS Senate and was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo slightly before midnight Friday, June 24, 2011^[10].

Personal life

O'Donnell has lived in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan with his partner, John Banta, for nearly 20 years.

He has been interviewed in periodicals for the "Bear" community.^[11]

References

1. ^ Peters, Jeremy W. (December 30, 2008). "Interviewing for the Job of U.S. Senator". The New York Times. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/interviewing-for-the-job-of-us-senator. 
2. ^ Hakim, Danny; Confessore, Nicholas (January 23, 2009). "Paterson Picks Gillibrand for Senate Seat". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/24/nyregion/24senator.html. 
3. ^ "Election results". Board of Elections in the City of New York. 2002. http://www.vote.nyc.ny.us/results.html. 
4. ^ Bull, Chris (May 26, 1998). "Senator O'Donnell?" (– ^{Scholar search}). The Advocate. Archived from the original on May 3, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080503100707/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_n760/ai_20620434. Retrieved 2007-11-02 ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ "Election Results 2008: New York State Legislature". The New York Times. 2008. http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/states/legislature/new-york.html. 
6. ^ "Election Results 2010: New York State Legislature". The New York Times. 2010. http://elections.nytimes.com/2010/results/new-york/state-legislature. 
7. ^ "Assembly Election Returns: November 2, 2010" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. 2010. http://www.elections.state.ny.us/NYSBOE/elections/2010/general/2010Assembly.pdf. 
8. ^ Peters, Jeremy W. (May 12, 2009). "Assemblyman Makes Gay Marriage Bill Personal". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/nyregion/12odonnell.html. Retrieved 2009-05-12. 
9. ^ Peters, Jeremy W. (May 13, 2009). "N.Y. Assembly Passes Gay Marriage Bill". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/13/nyregion/13marriage.html. Retrieved 2009-05-13. 
10. ^ Blain, Glenn (June 24, 2011, edited June 25, 2011). "Gay marriage legal in New York State after Senate passes historic bill 33-29". The New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2011/06/24/2011-06-24_gay_marriage_legal_in_new_york_state_after_senate_passes_historic_bill_.html. Retrieved 2011-06-27. 
11. ^ Michael Goldberg, "Danny O'Donell: Attorney, Assemblyman ... Bear!" A Bear's Life Autumn 2005, Cover, 18-19.

External links

• O'Donnell's NY State Assembly web page
• O'Donnell's Facebook page
• O'Donnell's Twitter feed
• State Assembly 69th district map
• Profile on the City Hall blog^{[dead link]}

New York Assembly
Preceded by Edward C. Sullivan	New York State Assembly, 69th District 2003–present	Incumbent

Persondata
Name	O'Donnell, Daniel J.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 17, 1960
Place of birth	Queens, New York
Date of death
Place of death