Monica Martinez

Monica R. Martinez (born August 13, 1977) is a Salvadoran-American, civil servant, educator and politician from the state of New York. A Democrat, she is a member of the New York State Senate representing the 4th district. Martinez has also served in the Suffolk County Legislature, representing the 9th district. She is a former Assistant Principal at East Middle School in Brentwood, NY.

For the Spanish journalist, model and television presenter of the same name, see Mónica Martínez.
Monica Martinez
Member of the New York State Senate
Assumed office
January 1, 2023
Preceded byNew Seat
Constituency4th District
In office
January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2020
Preceded byThomas Croci
Succeeded byAlexis Weik
Constituency3rd District
Member of the Suffolk County Legislature from the 9th district
In office
January 2, 2014 – December 31, 2018
Preceded byRicardo Montano
Succeeded bySamuel Gonzalez
Personal details
Born (1977-08-13) August 13, 1977
El Salvador
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceBrentwood, New York
Alma materStony Brook University
New York University
Binghamton University
ProfessionEducator
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life and career

Martinez was born in El Salvador and moved to the United States at the age of 3.[1][2] She received her bachelor's degree from Binghamton University, and subsequently a masters and administrative degree from New York University and Stony Brook University respectively.[3] Martinez worked as a social studies teacher at Brentwood High School for 10 years before becoming the assistant principal of Brentwood's East Middle School.[4]

In 2013, Martinez defeated incumbent Suffolk County Legislator Ricardo Montano in the Democratic primary and was subsequently elected to represent Suffolk County's 9th Legislative District.[5][6] As a legislator, Martinez was known for taking legislative action on the issues of woman's equality and animal rights.[7][8] Martinez was appointed chairwoman to the Public Safety Committee and pledged to help eradicate the Long Island gang violence epidemic through collaboration with local law enforcement officials.[9]

Martinez resides in Brentwood, New York. She is the younger sister of the Town of Babylon, New York, councilman Antonio Martinez.[10]

New York Senate

On June 5, 2018, Martinez announced her intention to seek the New York State Senate seat being vacated by Thomas Croci.[11] On November 6, 2018, Martinez defeated Assemblyman Dean Murray by more than 2,500 votes.[12][13]

Martinez was named chair for the Committee on Domestic Animal Welfare.[14]

Martinez opposed the Driver's License Access and Privacy Act, a law that authorized undocumented immigrants to obtain New York driver licenses. Of all Senators voting against the bill, Senator Martinez faced the most criticism; she changed her position on the issue after becoming a New York State Senator.[15] Martinez faced protest[16] and has been accused of flip-flopping on the issue and of betraying her own community of origin.[17][18]

Bills introduced by Martinez that were signed into law include:

  • S1719C in the 2019-2020 session, criminalizing revenge porn[19]
  • S3852A in the 2019-2020 session, also known as "Shannon's Law", expanding coverage for mammograms under health insurance[20][21]
  • S8138 in the 2020-2021 session, a bill to allow municipalities to defer tax payments during a state of emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic occurring at the time.[22]

In November 2020, Martinez lost her re-election bid to Republican Alexis Weik.[23] However, on February 14, 2022, Martinez announced her candidacy to once again represent New York's 3rd Senate District in the 2022 general election.[24] Due to redistricting, Martinez later switched to run in the newly drawn 4th Senate District.[25] She was elected on November 8, 2022, defeating businesswoman Wendy Rodriguez with 49.18% of the vote, compared to Rodriguez's 46.85%. [26]

References
  1. Rohrbacker, Glenn (October 10, 2018). "Monica-Martinez-(D): People over parties". Long Island Advance. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  2. Cortés, Zaira (August 15, 2014). "Salvadorans: the Largest Minority on Long Island". Voices of NY. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  3. "Suffolk County Legislator Monica R. Martinez '08". Stony Brook University News. September 1, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  4. "About Monica Martinez". New York State Senate. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  5. Brand, Rick (September 11, 2013). "Monica Martinez defeats Suffolk Legis. Rick Montano". Newsday. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  6. Larocco, Paul (November 6, 2013). "Democrats retain control of Suffolk Legislature". Newsday. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  7. Redding, Kevin (February 15, 2018). "Suffolk legislators pass sexual harassment laws". TBR Newsmedia. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  8. Mahoney, Joe (January 5, 2019). "Proposed law would bar pet stores from selling commercially-bred dogs and cats". Niagara Gazette. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  9. Drier, Hannah (September 28, 2018). "Challenged by Long Island Lawmakers, Police Will Look Into Treatment of Immigrant Families Who Reported Missing Children". Pro Publica. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  10. Cortés, Zaira (August 15, 2014). "Salvadorans: the Largest Minority on Long Island". Voices of NY. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  11. Brand, Rick (June 7, 2018). "Suffolk Legis. Monica Martinez launches state senate campaign". Newsday. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  12. "Certified Results from the November 6, 2018 General Election for NYS Senate" (PDF). elections.ny.gov. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  13. Schwartz, David (November 24, 2018). "Minority turnout boosted Democrat Monica Martinez, hurt Republican Pete King in Suffolk". Newsday. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  14. "Senator Monica R. Martinez". NY State Senate. November 13, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  15. "Senadora salvadoreña contra licencias para indocumentados". Washington Hispanic. June 21, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  16. "Immigrants call on lawmakers to pass driver's license bill". News 12 Long Island. June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  17. Junio 2019, Por: Edwin Martinez | 18 de (June 18, 2019). "Indocumentados cuentan los días para tener licencias en diciembre". El Diario NY (in Spanish). Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  18. "Salvadoreña entre senadores que no apoyaron la licencia de conducir para indocumentados en Nueva York". elsalvador.com (in Spanish). June 18, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  19. Mejía, Paula (February 28, 2019). "NY State Legislature Votes Unanimously To Criminalize Revenge Porn". Gothamist. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  20. "Legislation inspired by Babylon woman expands access to annual mammograms". longisland.news12.com. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  21. Sager, Stacey (August 7, 2019). "Shannon's Law: Making mammograms affordable to more women in New York". ABC7 New York. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  22. "NYS Senator Monica Martinez introduces legislation to support residents during pandemic". OnTownMedia and OnSachem. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  23. "GOP flips LI state Senate seat held by Monica Martinez". Newsday.
  24. "Monica Martinez announces run for the 3rd State Senate District". Newsday. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  25. "Ramos, Martinez square off in realigned 4th State Senate District".
  26. "Monica Martinez Declared Winner for 4th District State Senate". November 8, 2022.
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