Melinda R. Katz (born August 29, 1965) is an American attorney and politician from
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, serving as
District Attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
of
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
since January 1, 2020. 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 ...
, she previously served as the
Queens Borough President. Katz was also a
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs.
The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...
woman from 2002 to 2009.
She had previously run for City Comptroller in 2009.
In June 2019, Katz won the Democratic nomination for
Queens County's District Attorney, and won the general election in
November 2019.
Early life and education
Melinda Katz grew up in
Forest Hills, Queens.
She comes from a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family with a long history of civic involvement. Her father, the late
David Katz, was founder of the Queens Symphony Orchestra in 1953, and her mother, the late Jeanne Dale Katz, founded the Queens Council on the Arts.
Katz earned a B.A. degree from the
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...
(''summa cum laude''), where she was named a Commonwealth Scholar, and later earned a
J.D. degree from
St. John's University School of Law.
Career
She was recruited by the law firm
Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is an American international law firm with approximately 1,100 attorneys, headquartered in New York City. With a gross annual revenue in excess of $1.8 billion, it is among the world's largest law firms according to ...
, where she worked as an associate for several years before running for 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 ...
.
In 1995 the ''
New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'' named her "one of the one hundred up-and-coming young leaders for the 21st Century."
New York State Assembly
Katz served as a Member of the New York State Assembly from 1994 to 1999, representing Queens' 28th District, which included Forest Hills,
Rego Park
Rego Park is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. Rego Park is bordered to the north by Elmhurst and Corona, to the east and south by Forest Hills, and to the west by Middle Village. Rego Park's boundaries include Queens ...
, and parts of Middle Village and Glendale.
During her tenure as an Assembly member, Katz drafted sixteen bills that became laws, including some crucial health care initiatives.
She wrote the law requiring
HMO
In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded heal ...
s to provide women direct access to gynecological care without forcing them to first see a
primary care physician
A primary care physician (PCP) is a physician who provides both the first contact for a person with an undiagnosed health concern as well as continuing care of varied medical conditions, not limited by cause, organ system, or diagnosis. The term ...
.
She also was the Chair of the subcommittee on Urban Health.
Additionally, she carried several bills to increase penalties for various forms of assault.
1998 Congressional Democratic Primary
In 1998, Katz ran for
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
from
New York's 9th congressional district
New York's 9th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York City, represented by Yvette Clarke.
The district is located entirely within Brooklyn. It includes the neighborhoods of ...
, which was the seat held by
Chuck Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...
, who was running for the
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
. She was defeated narrowly by 285 votes in the tightly contested vote, with
Anthony Weiner winning the primary, and the subsequent general election.
New York City Council
Katz then became Director of Community Boards for the Office of the Queens Borough President from 1999 to 2002,
before winning a seat on the
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs.
The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...
, where she served from 2002 to 2009,
representing the
29th district, which included Forest Hills, Rego Park,
Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...
and parts 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 ...
, South Elmhurst and
Richmond Hill.
Katz served as Chair of the Standing Committee on Land Use, which was responsible for approving rezoning measures for wide-ranging pockets of the city, including Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Jamaica.
As chair of the committee, Katz oversaw the rezoning of 6,000 city blocks, including the Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezoning in 2005.
Private sector
Term-limited out of the Council in 2009, Katz worked at the
Greenberg Traurig
Greenberg Traurig is a multinational law firm founded in Miami in 1967. As of 2022, the Greenberg Traurig is the 9th largest law firm in the United States.
The firm has 43 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and ...
law firm, where she specialized in government affairs and land use.
In that position, she was paid to lobby for
News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
.
2009 New York City Comptroller Democratic Primary
In 2009, Katz ran for
New York City Comptroller
The Office of Comptroller of New York City, a position established in 1801, is the chief financial officer and chief auditor of the city agencies and their performance and spending. The comptroller also reviews all city contracts, handles the s ...
in a four-person Democratic primary. She finished third with 20 percent of the vote, behind winner
John Liu
John Chun Yah Liu (born January 8, 1967) is an American politician in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, he is a member of the New York State Senate for the 11th district in northeast Queens. He previously served as the 43rd New Y ...
and second-place
David Yassky
David S. Yassky (born March 3, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician. He was a member of the New York City Council from 2002 until 2009, the chairperson of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, and the Dean of Pace University Schoo ...
.
Borough President
In 2012, Katz announced her plans to run for Queens
Borough President in 2013.
She was endorsed by Congresswoman
Grace Meng
Grace Meng (born October 1, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 6th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, her district is in the New York City borough of ...
, Councilman
Leroy Comrie
Leroy George Comrie Jr. (born August 10, 1958) is an American politician from New York City. He represents District 14 in the New York State Senate, which comprises St. Albans, Cambria Heights, Jamaica, Hollis, Rosedale, Laurelton, Kew Garde ...
and the
1199 Hospital Workers Union. She won the Democratic nomination and the general election easily in 2013 and was re-elected in 2017.
2019 Queens District Attorney
In December 2018, Katz announced her candidacy for
Queens District Attorney
The District Attorney of Queens County is the elected district attorney for Queens County in New York State, coterminous with the New York City borough of Queens. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state law ...
. In the Democratic primary, Katz faced
Tiffany Cabán
Tiffany Cabán (born July 24, 1987) is an American attorney, politician, and political organizer who has served as a member of the New York City Council for the 22nd District since the 2021 New York City Council election. She won the Democrat ...
, a
public defender who was endorsed by several progressive politicians, including
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of th ...
and
Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
. The initial results of the Democratic primary on June 25, 2019, showed Cabán with a narrow 1.3 percent lead over Katz. Katz performed particularly well in Assembly Districts 23–29, which comprise much of Southeast Queens. On July 3, 2019, election officials said Katz pulled ahead in the final count and led Caban by a mere 20 votes, triggering a recount. On July 29, 2019, the
Board of Elections
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
certified the results of the weeks-long recount, which resulted in Katz leading Caban by 60 votes and declaring victory. Caban said she would challenge the invalidation of over 100 ballots in court. On August 6, 2019, Caban conceded the race.
Katz was sworn in and assumed office on January 6, 2020.
Personal life
Katz was in a relationship with
Curtis Sliwa
Curtis Sliwa (; born March 26, 1954) is an American activist, radio talk show host and founder and chief executive officer of the Guardian Angels, a nonprofit organization for unarmed crime prevention. Sliwa was the Republican nominee for the ...
, the founder of the
Guardian Angels
A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role in ...
, and separated from him in 2014; they have two children together, conceived
in vitro
''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology an ...
over the previous five years. She is named in a court case involving Sliwa, accused by his ex-wife Mary of diverting money to Katz while still married to Mary, as part of a plan to build a "nest egg" with Katz prior to moving in with her.
On February 14, 2015, the ''New York Daily News'' reported that Katz and Sliwa had separated on Election Day 2014. Katz now lives with their children in Forest Hills.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Melinda
1965 births
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American women politicians
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
Jewish American state legislators in New York (state)
Lawyers from New York City
Living people
Queens County (New York) District Attorneys
Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly
New York City Council members
People from Forest Hills, Queens
Queens borough presidents
St. John's University School of Law alumni
University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni
Women New York City Council members
21st-century American Jews