Thomas J. Abinanti (born December 28, 1946) is an American politician, lawyer, and member of 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 ...

from

Greenburgh Greenburgh is a town in western Westchester County, New York. The population was 95,397 at the time of the 2020 census. History Greenburgh developed along the Hudson River, long the main transportation route. It was settled by northern Europeans ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, Abinanti was elected to the State Assembly in 2010 to replace Assemblyman

Richard Brodsky Richard Louis Brodsky (May 4, 1946 – April 8, 2020) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Early life and education Brodsky was born on May 4, 1946, in Brooklyn, New York City. In 1955, the family moved to Westchester County. He ...

, and represents central Westchester County,

Early life and education

Born in Brooklyn, Abinanti graduated from Xaverian High School in 1964. He received a B.A. in political science from

Fordham College Fordham may refer to: Education * Fordham Preparatory School, an all-male, Jesuit high school in New York City * Fordham University, a Jesuit university in New York City ** Fordham Rams, athletic teams of the above university ** Fordham Universi ...

in 1968 and a J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1972.

Career

Abinanti moved to Westchester in 1975 and lived in Greenburgh until 2011 when he moved to Pleasantville. He was legislative counsel to a Congressman and staff counsel to the Speaker of the New York State Assembly and various Assembly committees. He served as a prosecuting attorney for the villages of Ardsley and Dobbs Ferry. Abinanti has taught continuing legal education courses for

Pace Pace or paces may refer to: Business *Pace (transit), a bus operator in the suburbs of Chicago, US * Pace Airlines, an American charter airline *Pace Foods, a maker of a popular brand of salsa sold in North America, owned by Campbell Soup Compan ...

Law School A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

and courses in state and local government as an adjunct professor at Mercy College. Abinanti served as Greenburgh Town Councilman twice (1980–1984 and 1990–1991). Abinanti was elected as Westchester County Legislator ten times. For almost twenty years (1992–2010), he represented the 12th District on the Westchester County Board of Legislators, which included the villages of Irvington, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, Ardsley, and much of unincorporated Greenburgh, including East Irvington, Central Greenburgh, Hartsdale and Edgemont. On the County Board, he served as Majority Leader for three terms after the Democrats first assumed the majority on the Board for the first time in the history of the Westchester Legislature.

State Assembly

Abinanti was first elected as a member of the New York State Assembly in 2010 and has served five terms. He represents the 92nd District of the State Assembly which includes the towns of Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant, the villages of Ardsley, Elmsford, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington, Tarrytown, Pleasantville, and Sleepy Hollow, as well as parts of the Village of Briarcliff. He has served as chair of the Assembly Committee on Libraries, the Assembly Committee on Investigations, and the Assembly Committee on Banks. In 1996, Abinanti was defeated in a run for the 35th District 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 ...

against the incumbent Republican State Senator

Nicholas A. Spano Nicholas A. Spano (born May 21, 1953) is a Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from New York (state), New York. Biography Spano's paternal grandfather, also named Nicholas, emigrated with two brothers from the Italian provin ...

2020 Election Controversy

Three acquaintances of Abinanti filed identical objections to the petition of his opponent, Jennifer A. Williams. Out of many objections, the only one deemed valid was that Williams used the term "New York State Assembly, District 92," to describe the office she was running for. They alleged that this was not sufficient in clearly describing the office Williams was running for. On April 13, Williams was struck from the ballot because of the objection. Williams then brought the case to court once more, Abinanti serving as co-counsel to defend his acquaintances. Williams claimed that she did sufficiently explain the office she is running for. Despite the

Westchester Westchester most commonly refers to Westchester County, New York, immediately north of New York City. __NOTOC__ It may also refer to: Geography Canada *Westchester Station, Nova Scotia, Canada United States *Town of Westchester, the original seat ...

Board of Elections, siding with Abinanti in the second round of hearings, Judge

Gretchen Walsh Gretchen Walsh (born January 29, 2003) is a competitive American swimmer. She holds two world junior records in mixed gender relay events as well as American records in the 50 yard freestyle, 100 yard backstroke, 4×50 yard freestyle relay, 4� ...

ruled in Williams' favor. As per Judge Walsh's order Abinanti will be running opposed in a primary for the Assembly for the first time. Williams and Abinanti both ran for membership in the

, representing the 92nd District, and both appeared on the ballot for the June 2020 primary.

Personal life

Abinanti is married to Janet Longo-Abinanti and they have two children. He is an advocate for people with autism. His son Justin has autism, where he advocates for rights of people with disabilities and daily living for those who have autism.

References

External links

New York State Assembly websiteAbinanti for Assembly website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abinanti, Tom Living people Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Xaverian High School alumni Fordham University alumni New York University School of Law alumni Legislators from Westchester County, New York People from Greenburgh, New York 21st-century American politicians Mercy College (New York) faculty 1946 births