Martin Connor

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Martin Connor is a New York State Senator from Brooklyn, New York. He was first elected to the State Senate in a special election in 1978. He is a Democrat. His 25th Senate District covers lower Manhattan and an area of Brooklyn down the East River from part of Greenpoint to Carroll Gardens, and eastward to part of Downtown Brooklyn.

Connor served for eight years as Minority Leader of the Senate until he was defeated for the position in 2002 by Sen. David Paterson, who went on to become Governor of New York.

In 1999 Minority Leader Connor supported the repeal of New York City's commuter tax. A Senate seat was open in suburban Rockland and Orange counties, where the tax was unpopular. In a vain effort to bolster support for the Democratic candidate, Connor joined Republicans to repeal the tax, over the opposition of Mayor Rudy Giuliani and other Democrats.^[1]

Ken Diamondstone, a developer of affordable housing, challenged Connor in the 2006 Democratic primary, Connor's toughest election in years. Diamondstone criticized Connor's accommodation with Republicans, specifically the city's 1999 loss of the commuter tax.^[2] Connor won the race and went on to serve as Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Banks Committee. He has also served as Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Local Government Committee.

In early 2007 he was among at least 18 candidates for New York State Comptroller, in a special contest decided by the state legislature.^[3] Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli won the race.

[edit] External links

• Connor's response to the 2006 Candidate Questionnaire for State Senate and Assembly from the 504 Democratic Club of New York City
• Connor's NYS Senate homepage

[edit] References

Preceded by Carol Bellamy	New York State Senate, 25th District 1978 – present	Incumbent
Preceded by Manfred Ohrenstein	Minority Leader of the New York State Senate 1995–2002	Succeeded by David Paterson