Michael E. McMahon (born September 12, 1957) is an American politician and attorney serving as the
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 ...
for
Richmond County Richmond County may refer to places:
Australia
*Richmond County, New South Wales, a cadastral division
Canada
*Richmond County, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
*Richmondshire, the original Richmond County in Yorkshire, England
United States
...
, which is coextensive with
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
. A member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
, McMahon is a former
U.S. Representative
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 c ...
for , serving from 2009 until 2011, and a former member of 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 ...
.
Early life, education and career
McMahon is a lifelong resident of Staten Island. He is of
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
and Irish descent. He grew up in the
Stapleton neighborhood on the North Shore and attended parochial schools. He graduated from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
in 1979, later obtaining a
J.D. degree from
New York Law School
New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include E ...
. He then worked for Democratic
State Assembly members
Eric Vitaliano and
Elizabeth Connelly
Elizabeth Ann "Betty" Connelly (June 19, 1928 – May 25, 2006) was a politician from Staten Island, New York who represented the North Shore community from 1973 to 2000. She was the first woman to win elective office to any district encompassing ...
. He joined the staff of City Councilman
Jerome X. O'Donovan, whom he succeeded in the Council. Prior to being elected to public office, McMahon worked as a partner at O'Leary, McMahon & Spero law firm in Staten Island. Since 1981 he is member of the
student Corps Saxo-Borussia Heidelberg.
New York City Council
McMahon served as the Chair of 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 ...
's Sanitation & Solid Waste Management Committee focusing on minimizing the use of trucks to transport garbage and also more evenly distributing the load of waste processing across the five boroughs.
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee assignments
*
Committee on Foreign Affairs
**
Subcommittee on Europe
**
Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
**
Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
*
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives.
History
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was formerly known as the Committee on Public Works a ...
**
Subcommittee on Aviation
**
Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
**
Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
Political positions
In November 2009, McMahon voted along with 38 other Democrats against the
Affordable Health Care for America Act
The Affordable Health Care for America Act (or HR 3962) was a bill that was crafted by the United States House of Representatives of the 111th United States Congress on October 29, 2009. The bill was sponsored by Representative Charles Rangel. ...
and against the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presi ...
in March 2010.
He was the only member of the
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 ...
delegation to do so, and was only one of two
New York Democrats, the other being
Michael Arcuri
Michael Angelo Arcuri (born June 11, 1959) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He lost re-election on November 2, 2010, to Republican Richard L. Hanna.
Arcu ...
, to vote against it.
Political campaigns
2008
On May 28, 2008, the Staten Island Democratic Committee endorsed McMahon to run for the Congressional seat in
New York's 13th congressional district
New York's 13th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York City, represented by Adriano Espaillat. The district is the smallest congressional district by area in the U.S.
The ...
being vacated by retiring 12-year incumbent
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Vito Fossella
Vito John Fossella Jr. (born March 9, 1965) is an American politician serving as the Staten Island Borough President since 2022. A member of the Republican Party, Fossella previously represented the state's 13th congressional district in the U ...
. On September 9, 2008 McMahon defeated opponent Steve Harrison in the Democratic Party primary with 75% of votes to Harrison's 25%. Earlier, on June 11, 2008, McMahon had been endorsed by the city's 12 Democratic congressmen.
The 13th had long been considered to be the most conservative district of the 13 that divided New York City. It was based in Staten Island, which is the base of the city's Republican Party. Although Democrats have a 17-point edge in registration, its voters are somewhat conservative on social issues and matters regarding
"law and order", which kept Republicans in the seat for over a quarter century. However, the Republicans had considerable difficulty finding a replacement for Fossella on the ballot, eventually settling on former state assemblyman
Robert Straniere
Robert Alan Straniere (born March 28, 1941) is a Republican politician from New York City. He represented a district in Staten Island in the New York State Assembly from 1981 until 2004, serving as the Assistant Minority Leader from 1995 unt ...
. As a result, nearly all major pundits believed McMahon was almost certain to win the seat.
![Congressman Michael McMahon Feb 4 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Congressman_Michael_McMahon_Feb_4_2009.jpg)
In the November election, McMahon won in a landslide, taking 61 percent of the vote to Straniere's 33 percent. With his victory, New York City's congressional delegation became entirely Democratic for the first time in 76 years. This occurred despite the fact that
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
narrowly carried Staten Island in the presidential election; a Democratic presidential candidate has carried Staten Island only four times since 1952.
2010
McMahon was challenged by Republican and Conservative Party nominee
Michael Grimm, a former FBI Special Agent, and Libertarian nominee Tom Vendittelli. Grimm won the election, defeating McMahon.
He was one of a number of freshman
Democrats who lost reelection in the
GOP
The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the Two-party system, two Major party, major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by Abolitionism in the United Stat ...
landslide of 2010.
2015
McMahon had publicly expressed a "serious interest" for retaking his old seat, now numbered as the
11th District, in the
2015 special election to replace his successor
Michael Grimm. Grimm, who defeated McMahon for reelection in 2010, announced his plans to resign in January after pleading guilty to a felony tax evasion charge on December 23, 2014. McMahon, however, declined to run, deciding to enter the race for Staten Island (Richmond County) District Attorney, and the Democratic nomination went to
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 ...
man
Vincent J. Gentile, who was from the Brooklyn portion of the district.
In November, McMahon defeated Republican candidate Joan Illuzzi for Staten Island District Attorney.
References
External links
Michael McMahon for U.S. Congress''official campaign site''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McMahon, Michael
1957 births
21st-century American politicians
American people of German descent
American people of Irish descent
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)
Living people
Monsignor Farrell High School alumni
New York City Council members
New York University School of Law alumni
Politicians from Staten Island
Richmond County District Attorneys