Daniel O'Donnell (politician)

Infobox State Representative
honorific-prefix =
name =Daniel O'Donnell
honorific-suffix =

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height =150px
state_assembly =New York
district =69th
term_start =January 2003
term_end =
preceded =Edward C. Sullivan
succeeded =
birth_date =bda|1960|11|17
birth_place =Queens, New York
residence =Morningside Heights, New York City
party =Democrat
spouse =John Banta
website =

Daniel J. O'Donnell (born 1960-11-17) is a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly. He was first elected in 2002, taking office the following January. Openly gay, he represents the 69th district, which is located in Manhattan's Upper West Side.

Born in Queens, New York, O'Donnell is the brother of American entertainer Rosie O'Donnell. Raised on Long Island, he attended George Washington University for his B.A. and received a Juris Doctor degree from CUNY School of Law at Queens College.

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 2002-09-10, 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. [ [http://www.vote.nyc.ny.us/results.html Board of Elections in the City of New York: election results] ]

He has lived in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan with his partner, John Banta, for more than 10 years. O'Donnell is one of five LGBT members of the New York Legislature, alongside Assemblymembers Deborah Glick, Micah Kellner and Matthew Titone, and Senator Thomas Duane.citation |title=Senator O'Donnell? |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_n760/ai_20620434 |periodical=The Advocate |date=May 26, 1998 |first=Chris |last=Bull |accessdate=2007-11-02 ] His campaigns have frequently won the backing of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.

On June 19, 2007 O'Donnell led Assemblymembers in a vote to legalize gay marriage in New York State. Although the bill has the support of the Assembly which voted 85–61 to approve it, along with the backing of then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer, the Republican-controlled State Senate did not take up the measure.

References

External links

* [http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=069&submit=Go O'Donnell's NY State Assembly web page]
* [http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=069&sh=map State Assembly 69th district map]
* [http://www.cityhallnews.com/121106/feature2_121106.html Profile on the "City Hall' blog]