John Brooks (born December 8, 1949) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

from the 8th district from 2017–2023.

Early life and education

Born and raised on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, Brooks earned an associate's degree from

Farmingdale State College The State University of New York at Farmingdale (Farmingdale State College or SUNY Farmingdale) is a public college in East Farmingdale, New York. It is part of the State University of New York. The college was chartered in 1912 as a school of ap ...

and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

New York Institute of Technology The New York Institute of Technology (NYIT or New York Tech) is a private research university founded in 1955. It has two main campuses in New York—one in Old Westbury, on Long Island, and one in Manhattan. Additionally, it has a cybersecu ...

Career

Brooks served for more than forty-five years with the

Seaford, New York Seaford is a township in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 15,294 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of whic ...

Fire Department. Brooks subsequently served as a member of the Seaford Board of Education. An insurance broker, Brooks also worked for

Geico The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is a private American auto insurance company with headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It is the second largest auto insurer in the United States, after State Farm. GEICO is a wholly owne ...

and United States Capital Insurance, and later served as Nassau County's Director of Risk Management. Brooks also served in the armed services as with the Rainbow Division of the

New York Army National Guard The New York Army National Guard is a component of the New York National Guard and the Army National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the United States Army's available combat forces and approximat ...

as a medic.

New York State Senate

In 2016, Brooks chose to run for the 8th Senate District seat held by Michael Venditto. Despite being a registered Republican, Brooks chose to accept the Democratic line. Brooks was unopposed in the primary. In October after the arrest of Venditto's father, Supervisor John Venditto, on corruption charges, along with

Ed Mangano Edward P. Mangano (born March 24, 1962) is an American politician from the state of New York. A Republican, he was the Nassau County Executive from January 2010 to December 2017, and a former legislator in Nassau County, New York. He was electe ...

, Brooks finally decided to campaign for the seat. The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and Brooks viewed Venditto as a free target despite having nothing to do with the scandal. On election night, Venditto was thought to have won by more than 2,000 votes, but when additional ballots were counted, Brooks pulled into the lead by less than 100 votes. Ballots were subsequently recounted. In the end, Brooks won by only 314 votes out of over 150,000 cast to take the seat. In the 2018 election, Brooks defeated Republican challenger Jeff Pravato by more than 10,000 votes. Effective January 2019, Brooks has been named Chair of the Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs Committee. His district includes portions of

Amityville Amityville () is a village near the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York. The population was 9,523 at the 2010 census. History Huntington settlers first visited the Amityville area in 1653 due ...

, Freeport, Lindenhurst and

Massapequa Park Massapequa Park is a village and hamlet located within the town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 17,008 at the 2010 census. Areas south and east of the village bo ...

as well as the unincorporated villages of Baldwin, Baldwin Harbor, Bellmore,

Copiague Copiague ( ) is a hamlet on Long Island (and census-designated place) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 23,429 at the 2020 census. Copiague is an unincorporated place within Babylon. Geography Copiague is located ...

East Farmingdale East Farmingdale is a hamlet and a census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York. The population of the CDP was 6,484 at the 2010 census. Located in the Town of Babylon, the residents are served by the Farmingda ...

East Massapequa East Massapequa (formerly known as West Amityville) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 19,069 ...

Massapequa Massapequa (, ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Massapequa area. The po ...

, Merrick, North Amityville, North Bellmore, North Lindenhurst, North Merrick,

Roosevelt Roosevelt may refer to: *Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president * Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president Businesses and organisations * Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation) * Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank * Rooseve ...

, Seaford,

South Farmingdale South Farmingdale is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population of the CDP was 14,486 at the 2010 census. The hamlet is a ...

Wantagh Wantagh ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, New York, United States. The population was 18,871 at the time of the 2010 census. Wantagh is known as "The Gateway to Jones Be ...

West Babylon West Babylon is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 43,213 at the 2010 census. Geography West Babylon is located at (40.713399, -73.357106). West Babylon is bord ...

Wheatley Heights Wheatley Heights is a census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 5,130 at the 2010 census. The CDP, located in the Town of Babylon, is named after the hamlet in the same general vicinity. In the past, some or ...

and

Wyandanch Wyandanch (, ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 12,990 at the 2020 census. In the past, some or all of Wyandanch was proposed to become part of the never-realiz ...

. Brooks, despite being a member of the Democratic caucus, was a registered Republican until after the 2017 local elections. In 2022, Brooks voted with all Senate Democrats against getting rid of school mask mandates.

References

External links

Senator John E. Brooks
''official site'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, John Living people New York (state) Democrats New York (state) Republicans People from Seaford, New York Farmingdale State College alumni New York Institute of Technology alumni New York (state) state senators 21st-century American politicians Place of birth missing (living people) 1949 births

Early life and education

Career

New York State Senate

See also

References

External links