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Michael Benedetto

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Michael Benedetto
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 82nd district
Assumed office
January 1, 2005
Preceded byStephen B. Kaufman
Personal details
Born (1947-06-02) June 2, 1947 (age 77)
The Bronx, New York
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceThe Bronx, New York
Alma materIona College (B.A.)
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website

Michael Benedetto (born June 2, 1947) is a Member of the New York State Assembly representing the 82nd Assembly District, which covers the Co-op City, Throggs Neck, Westchester Square, City Island, Country Club, and Pelham Bay sections of the East Bronx. After a 35-year teaching career at the elementary and secondary school level, he was first elected to the State Assembly in 2004. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Early Life and Education[edit]

Benedetto was born in the Bronx in 1947. He holds a B.A. in History/Education from Iona College and a M.A. in Social Studies/Education. In 1981, Benedetto co-founded the Bronx Times-Reporter, a weekly newspaper, with John Collazzi.[1]

Political Career[edit]

Running for Office[edit]

Benedetto first ran for office in 1976, losing to Republican Assemblyman Guy Velella.[2] Two years later, Benedetto ran against Republican State Senator John D. Calandra and lost by 1,121 votes.[3]

In 1980, Benedetto attempted to run again against Calandra. Bronx Democratic leaders, who maintained a non-aggression pact with Calandra, allowed him to run in the Democratic primary.[4] Calandra defeated Benedetto to win the Democratic nomination,[5] and in the general election as the candidate of both the Republican and Democratic parties, Calandra easily defeated Benedetto, who ran on the Liberal Party ticket.[6]

New York State Assembly[edit]

Benedetto was elected to the State Assembly in 2004.[7] Since 2019, he has served as chair of the Education Committee.[8][9] City & State ranked him 8th on "The most powerful education leaders in New York" and 18th on "The 2021 Bronx Power 100" in 2021.[10][11]

Many of his legislative priorities relate to children and education.[7] With the support of teachers' unions, he has opposed the expansion of charter schools in New York State.[12][13]

He has introduced laws aimed at protecting young children from concussion-related developmental problems. Since 2013, he has worked to prohibit tackle football for children. The proposed law is named the John Mackey Youth Football Protection Act after the former NFL star who developed dementia.[14][15] He has also sponsored a bill that would require youth baseball players to wear helmets with chin straps.[16]

Benedetto supports the repeal of the Hecht-Calandra Act, a state law which established the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test as the only admissions criteria for the city's specialized high schools. He believes that the state should have less control over the city's educational policies.[17]

In 2022, Benedetto negotiated with fellow legislators to pass bills extending Mayoral control of schools and reducing class sizes in New York City.[18] The class size reduction bill was opposed by Mayor Eric Adams as being too costly and by some parents who believed that it would disproportionately benefit schools in richer neighborhoods and reduce access to popular schools.[19]

Primary Challenges[edit]

Since 2010, Benedetto has faced several primary challenges, including two challenges from former Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez staffer, Jonathan Soto.[20]

In the 2024 Democratic primary, Soto critiqued Benedetto's role in the Education Committee, saying that there is a lack of accountability, while Benedetto said: "We have allocated and sent more money to the schools of the state of New York more than any other time in the history of this state".[20]

New York Focus reported that Benedetto received support from Solidarity PAC, a Pro-Israel group that "resembles" AIPAC.[21][22] Additionally, he received funds from two pro-charter school groups, New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany and Moving New York Families Forward, that are supported by Michael Bloomberg.[23]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Chronicling America, Library of Congress. Accessed November 27, 2022.
  2. ^ New York Assembly 80th District: 1976, ourcampaigns.com. Accessed November 27, 2022.
  3. ^ New York State Senate 34th District: 1978, ourcampaigns.com. Accessed November 27, 2022.
  4. ^ "Bronx Democrats Back Calandra; Deal Denied By Simon", nytimes.com. June 14, 1980.
  5. ^ 1980 Democratic Primary: 34th Senate District, ourcampaigns.com. Accessed November 27, 2022.
  6. ^ New York State Senate 34th District: 1980, ourcampaigns.com. Accessed November 27, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Michael Benedetto - Assembly District 82 |Assembly Member Directory | New York State Assembly". nyassembly.gov. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  8. ^ Mitchell, Alex (2019-01-05). "Speaker names Benedetto to key Education Committee post – Bronx Times". BronxTimes. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  9. ^ "Michael Benedetto - Assembly District 82 |Assembly Member Directory | New York State Assembly". assembly.state.ny.us. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  10. ^ "The 2021 Education Power 100". City & State NY. 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
  11. ^ "The 2021 Bronx Power 100". City & State NY. 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  12. ^ Williams, Zach (2023-04-20). "New bill would cap charter school grades as Albany budget fight rages". NY Post. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
  13. ^ Campanile, Carl (2021-04-08). "NY lawmakers slammed for blocking charter schools expansion". NY Post. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
  14. ^ Belson, Ken (2018-01-24). "New York Legislator Renews Effort to Bar Tackle Football for Children". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  15. ^ Sequeira, Robbie (2023-03-03). "Bill to ban youth tackle football in New York state has been a decade in the making – Bronx Times". www.bxtimes.com. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  16. ^ Hamilton, Matthew (2017-04-09). "Lawmaker proposes bill to prevent concussions in youth baseball". Times Union.
  17. ^ Brennan, Rose (2021-04-18). "Long road still ahead for specialized high school reform". The Riverdale Press. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  18. ^ Stark-Miller, Ethan (2022-05-31). "State legislature reaches deal to extend mayoral control for two years". politicsny.com. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
  19. ^ Campanile, Carl (2024-04-16). "NYC parents give failing grade to public school class size law that could see 12K new teachers". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
  20. ^ a b Schneider, Aliya (2023-08-04). "Jonathan Soto, Benedetto's Progressive challenger, is back. – Bronx Times". BronxTimes. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  21. ^ Rock, Julia; Gelardi, Chris (2024-03-26). "New PAC Launches to Boost Pro-Israel Democrats Against Progressives". New York Focus. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  22. ^ Mahoney, Bill; Coltin, Jeff; Ngo, Emily; Reisman, Nick (2024-03-28). "Pro-Israel donors prep for the primaries". Politico. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  23. ^ Beeferman, Jason (2024-06-12). "How super PACs hope to change Albany this year". Politico. Retrieved 2024-06-18.

External links[edit]

New York State Assembly
Preceded by New York State Assembly, 82nd District
2005–present 		Incumbent
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