Thomas J. Abinanti

Thomas J. Abinanti (born December 28, 1946)[1] is an American politician, lawyer, and former member of the New York State Assembly from Greenburgh, New York. A member of the Democratic Party, Abinanti was elected to the State Assembly in 2010 to replace Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, and represented central Westchester County, New York.

Thomas Abinanti
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 92nd district
In office
January 1, 2011 – December 31, 2022
Preceded byRichard Brodsky
Succeeded byMaryJane Shimsky
Personal details
Born (1946-12-28) December 28, 1946
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJanet Longo
Children2
Residence(s)Pleasantville, New York, U.S.
EducationFordham University (BA)
New York University (JD)

Early life and education

Born in Brooklyn, Abinanti graduated from Xaverian High School in 1964. He received a B.A. in political science from Fordham College in 1968 and a J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1972.[2]

Career

Abinanti moved to Westchester in 1975 and lived in Greenburgh until 2011 when he moved to Pleasantville. He was legislative counsel to a Congressman and staff counsel to the Speaker of the New York State Assembly and various Assembly committees. He served as a prosecuting attorney for the villages of Ardsley and Dobbs Ferry. Abinanti has taught continuing legal education courses for Pace Law School and courses in state and local government as an adjunct professor at Mercy College.[3]

Abinanti served as Greenburgh Town Councilman twice (1980–1984 and 1990–1991).[2] Abinanti was elected as Westchester County Legislator ten times. For almost twenty years (1992–2010), he represented the 12th District on the Westchester County Board of Legislators, which included the villages of Irvington, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, Ardsley, and much of unincorporated Greenburgh, including East Irvington, Central Greenburgh, Hartsdale and Edgemont. On the County Board, he served as Majority Leader for three terms after the Democrats first assumed the majority on the Board for the first time in the history of the Westchester Legislature.

State Assembly

Abinanti was first elected as a member of the New York State Assembly in 2010 and has served five terms. He represents the 92nd District of the State Assembly which includes the towns of Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant, the villages of Ardsley, Elmsford, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington, Tarrytown, Pleasantville, and Sleepy Hollow, as well as parts of the Village of Briarcliff. He served as chair of the Assembly Committee on Libraries, the Assembly Committee on Investigations, the Assembly Committee on Banks and the Assembly Committee on People with Disabilities

In 1996 and 2000, Abinanti ran unsuccessfully for the 35th District of the New York State Senate against the incumbent Republican State Senator Nicholas A. Spano.[4]

2020 Election Controversy

Three acquaintances of Abinanti filed identical objections to the petition of his opponent, Jennifer A. Williams. Out of many objections, the only one deemed valid was that Williams used the term "New York State Assembly, District 92," to describe the office she was running for. They alleged that this was not sufficient in clearly describing the office Williams was running for. On April 13, Williams was struck from the ballot because of the objection.[5]

Williams then brought the case to court once more, Abinanti serving as co-counsel to defend his acquaintances. Williams claimed that she did sufficiently explain the office she is running for. Despite the Westchester Board of Elections, siding with Abinanti in the second round of hearings, Judge Gretchen Walsh ruled in Williams' favor. As per Judge Walsh's order Abinanti will be running opposed in a primary for the Assembly for the first time. Williams and Abinanti both ran for membership in the New York State Assembly, representing the 92nd District, and both appeared on the ballot for the June 2020 primary.[6][7]

Personal life

Abinanti is married to Janet Longo-Abinanti and they have two children. He is an advocate for people with autism. His son Justin has autism, where he advocates for rights of people with disabilities and daily living for those who have autism.[8]

References
  1. James Feron (October 16, 1983). "12th District Takes On New Cast". The New York Times. Retrieved March 20, 2011. Abinanti, 36
  2. "Biography". Thomas J. Abinanti, Esq. Attorney at Law. 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  3. "Thomas J. Abinanti - Assembly District 92 |Assembly Member Directory | New York State Assembly".
  4. Donna Greene (September 29, 1996). "Abinanti Takes on Spano, as in David vs. Goliath". The New York Times. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  5. "Document List". iapps.courts.state.ny.us. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  6. "Document List". iapps.courts.state.ny.us. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  7. Walsh, Gretchen (23 April 2020). "DECISION + ORDER ON MOTION". New York Unified Courts.
  8. "Thomas J. Abinanti: Biography". New York State Assembly. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
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