Melinda Katz

Melinda Katz is an American Democratic Party politician in New York, and a member of the New York City Council from Queens. She represents the 29th Council District, which encompasses Forest Hills, Rego Park and Kew Gardens. Member Katz is presently the Chair of the Committee on Land Use of the New York City Council, and has held that position under former Council Speaker Gifford Miller and the present Council Speaker Christine Quinn. The Committee on Land Use is a critical part of the land use processes for the City mandated under the Charter of the City of New York ("ULURP"). The Committee is ultimately responsible for oversight over New York City Franchises, Zoning matters, and Landmarks and Historical Preservation.

Ms. Katz is a prominent member of the Queens County Democratic Party Organization. In 1998 she mounted a campaign for a congressional seat in the 9th District of New York, which was being vacated by Charles Schumer. Schumer ended up winning election to the United States Senate by defeating incumbent Alphonse D'Amato.

In a bitterly contested, four-way Democratic primary, Katz narrowly lost by a little over one half of one percent to City Councilman Anthony Weiner, a former legislative aide to Charles Schumer. [http://www.cnn.org/POLITICS/1998/09/16/primary.results/new.york.html] Although she retained almost all of her support in the Queens' portions of the 9th congressional district, she was not able to surmount the large amount of support Weiner and other candidates garnered within the portions of the district within the borough of Brooklyn.

Prior to running for Congress, Katz served as a New York State Assemblywoman, representing Queens. She was elected in a 1994 special election after Alan Hevesi resigned the Assembly seat to become city comptroller. She was reelected to the seat in the 1994 and 1996 general elections, giving up the the seat for the congressional race. From 1999 until her swearing in as a councilwoman in 2002, she served as Director of Community Boards on the staff of Queens Borough President Claire Shulman.

Katz is currently a Democratic candidate for New York City Comptroller, an election which will take place in 2009.

External links

* [http://council.nyc.gov/d29/html/members/home.shtml Official NYC Council Website about Melinda Katz]