Félix W. Ortiz (born November 2, 1959, in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

) is an American politician, formerly representing New York's 51st Assembly District. He 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 ...

and served as Assistant

Speaker of the New York State Assembly The speaker of the New York State Assembly is the highest official in the New York State Assembly, customarily elected from the ranks of the majority party. As in most countries with a British heritage, the Speaker (politics), speaker presides o ...

Early life

Ortiz moved from Puerto Rico to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1980, becoming the first member of his family to move to the continental United States. He attended

Boricua College Boricua College is a private college in New York City designed to serve the educational needs of Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics in the United States. It was founded by Victor G. Alicea and several others. Faculty The school employs a larg ...

, graduating in 1983 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in business administration. He received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit est ...

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, th ...

in 1986. Ortiz then joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, serving from 1986 to 1988.

Children

*Felix W. Ortiz III (Technology Entrepreneur & US Army Veteran) *Felix A. Ortiz *Daniel F. Ortiz Sr

Political career

Ortiz was first elected to the assembly in November 1994, defeating the incumbent Javier A. Nieves. In 2000, Assemblyman Ortiz achieved passage of the nation's first law to ban the use of hand held cell phones while driving a motor vehicle. In 2001, he introduced a bill that would lower the

drinking age The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary between ...

to 18; he cited unfairness and difficulty with enforcement as his motivations. In March 2010, Ortiz introduced a bill, co-sponsored with assembly members

Margaret Markey Margaret M. Markey (born November 4, 1941) is an American politician who formerly represented District 30 in the New York State Assembly, which is made up of Maspeth and Woodside, as well as portions of Middle Village, Astoria, Sunnyside and ...

and

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 ...

, 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 quant ...

in the preparation and cooking of all restaurant food. Ortiz said he was inspired to introduce the bill after his father suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

due to high blood pressure. The bill quickly gained media attention, and prompted negative comments from New York chefs such as

Tom Colicchio Thomas Patrick Colicchio (; born August 15, 1962) is an American celebrity chef. He co-founded the Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and formerly served as a co-owner and as the executive chef. He is also the founder of Crafted Hospitality, whic ...

, who said a salt ban would mean "no one would come here anymore," and

mayor Michael Bloomberg, who called the bill "ridiculous".Reports Of Salt's Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
, Elizabeth Benjamin, ''The Daily Politics'', March 12, 2010 The proposal also earned Ortiz the title of "Nanny of the Month" for March 2010 from

Reason.tv ''Reason'' is an American libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 50,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the ''Chicago Tribune''. History ''Reas ...

. Responding to the outcry, Ortiz issued a statement saying that his intention was to have the bill only outlaw the use of salt "as an additive", not as "a functional component of the recipe". Ortiz has supported various progressive public policies. He has passed legislation in areas of worker rights and safety, obesity prevention, banning the use of cell phones while driving and advocating for increases in

organ donation Organ donation is the process when a person allows an organ of their own to be removed and transplanted to another person, legally, either by consent while the donor is alive or dead with the assent of the next of kin. Donation may be for re ...

s. Ortiz, who has worked with First Lady Michelle Obama on obesity prevention measures, also introduced legislation mandating that fast food restaurants post calories counts for food items on their menus. The calorie counts are now standard practice at fast food eateries. Ortiz has served as chair of several committees and legislative task forces including Cities, Veterans Affairs, Mental Health, Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Food, Farm and Nutrition and the Legislature's Puerto Rican and Hispanic Task Force. He has also served on the executive committee of the

National Conference of State Legislatures The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States. Background ...

(NCSL) and serves as co-chair of the NCSL Task Force on International Relations. He is the former chairman of the

National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators The National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL) is the non-partisan, 501(C)(3) organization founded in 1989 by then Colorado State Senator, Larry Trujillo. NHCSL today represents over 425 elected Hispanic State legislators throughout ...

(NHCSL) and is a member of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Caucus. In February 2015 Assemblyman Ortiz was appointed Assistant Speaker of the New York State Assembly; he is the first Hispanic to hold the position. Ortiz ran for the 38th district of the New York City Council in 2017, but lost in the primary to incumbent

Carlos Menchaca Carlos Menchaca (born September 11, 1980) is an American politician who served as a member of the New York City Council for the 38th district. He is a Democrat. His district included the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Sunset Park, Red Hook, Green ...

. On July 16, 2020, Ortiz conceded defeat against

Democratic Socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...

and political newcomer

Marcela Mitaynes Marcela Mitaynes is a Peruvian-American politician and tenant organizer. She is a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 51st district as a Democrat. Mitaynes is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Early life a ...

after absentee ballots from the June 23 Democratic primary had been counted. Once the votes were certified, Ortiz had lost by 280 votes in a 4-way primary.

References

External links

Assembly Member WebsiteGotham Gazette's Eye On Albany: New York State Assembly: District 51
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortiz, Felix W. 1959 births Living people American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New York (state) Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly New York University alumni People from Salinas, Puerto Rico United States Army soldiers 2012 United States presidential electors 21st-century American politicians