John J. Bonacic (born June 14, 1942 in New York City) is a retired politician from New York. A Republican, Bonacic represented

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 ...

District 42 District 42 may refer to: * California's 42nd congressional district * Maryland Legislative District 42 * Pennsylvania Senate, District 42 * Texas's 42nd House of Representatives district * School District 42 Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School Di ...

(which includes all or parts of Delaware, Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster Counties) from November 1998 to 2018. Prior to his Senate service, Bonacic served in the New York State Assembly.

Personal life and education

Bonacic's grandparents were immigrants from Croatia.Dnevno.hr
Ratko Martinović: Loš PR u dijaspori - Koje su svjetski poznate osobe podrijetlom Hrvati, a da to niste ni znali, 28. listopada 2012. (Croatian) He received his Bachelor of Arts from

Iona College Iona University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochell ...

in 1964, majoring in Economics. He received his JD at Fordham University School of Law in 1968.

Political career

On February 20, 1990, Bonacic was elected to 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 ...

, to fill the vacancy caused by the election of

Mary M. McPhillips Mary M. McPhillips is a politician from Middletown, Orange County, New York. Political career She entered politics as a Democrat, and was a member of the New York State Assembly (94th D.) from 1983 to 1989, sitting in the 185th, 186th, 187 ...

as Orange County Executive. Bonacic was re-elected four times and remained in the Assembly until 1998, sitting in the 188th, 189th, 190th, 191st and

192nd New York State Legislature The 192nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 8, 1997, to December 31, 1998, during the third and fourth years of George Pataki's governorship, in Albany. Backgr ...

s. In November 1998, he was elected to the

. Bonacic, a Republican, was the Chair of the Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee. He sponsored a bill that would legalize online poker. He supported the opening of a casino in Sullivan County, New York. While Bonacic cast a procedural vote against a 2013 bill that would have expanded abortion rights, he expressed support for the Reproductive Health Act in 2016. At a January 25, 2016 gathering of abortion advocates in Albany, the Senator commented, "'Both my daughter and my bride of 50 years believe in pro-choice and we should never deprive women of access of health care that they choose and their medical providers say is best for them.'" In 2015, Bonacic introduced a bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide. In 2011, Bonacic voted against allowing same-sex marriage in New York in a roll-call vote on the Marriage Equality Act, which passed in a close 33-29 vote. On May 6, 2018, Bonacic announced that he would not seek re-election in November 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonacic, John 1942 births Living people Fordham University School of Law alumni Iona College (New York) alumni Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Republican Party New York (state) state senators People from Mount Hope, New York County legislators in New York (state) American people of Croatian descent 21st-century American politicians

Personal life and education

Political career

See also

References