Margaret M. Markey (born November 4, 1941) is an American politician who formerly represented District 30 in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

, which is made up of

Maspeth Maspeth is a residential and commercial community in the borough of Queens in New York City. It was founded in the early 17th century by Dutch and English settlers. Neighborhoods sharing borders with Maspeth are Woodside to the north; Sunnyside t ...

and Woodside, as well as portions of Middle Village, Astoria, Sunnyside and

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

. She is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Career

A graduate of Berkeley Business School, Markey began in public service as the assistant director of economic development for former Queens Borough President

Claire Shulman Claire Shulman (née Kantoff; February 23, 1926August 16, 2020) was an American politician and registered nurse from New York City. She served as director of community boards and deputy president of Queens Borough, before becoming interim boro ...

, later becoming the borough's director of marketing and tourism. She was first elected to the New York State Assembly in 1998. She is the current chairwoman of the Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development; as well as previously holding the position of president of the Irish American Legislators Society. In 2009, a controversial bill presented by Markey sought to tackle sex abuse cases in private schools. Critics have argued that the legislation is unfair because it appears to target Catholic schools, while the vast majority of sexual abuse has occurred in public schools under the state's control. In March 2010, Markey co-sponsored, along with assembly members

N. Nick Perry Noah Nickolas Perry (born August 1, 1950) is an American politician and diplomat who has served as the List of ambassadors of the United States to Jamaica, United States ambassador to Jamaica since 2022. He served as a member of the New York Stat ...

and

Félix Ortiz Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...

, a bill that would prohibit the use of all forms of

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

in the preparation and cooking of all restaurant food, with customers having the option to add salt once served. Markey lost re-election to the Assembly in 2016, defeated in the Democratic primary for District 30 to Woodside attorney Brian Barnwell, aged 30. Markey saw her political fortunes change for the worse when she failed to show up at community events and protests in relation to a proposed homeless shelter in the neighborhood of Maspeth, in a somewhat similar fashion to her Assembly predecessor

Joe Crowley Joseph Crowley (born March 16, 1962) is an American politician and consultant who served as U.S. Representative from New York's 14th congressional district from 1999 to 2019. He was defeated by Democratic primary challenger Alexandria Ocasio-C ...

's loss in his

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

primary two years later.

Personal life

Markey resides in Maspeth with her husband, State Supreme Court Judge Charles Markey. They have three children: Charles, John, and Margaret.

References

External links

NY Dems - Biographical information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Markey, Margaret 1941 births Living people Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Women state legislators in New York (state) Haas School of Business alumni People from Maspeth, Queens 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians