Matthew J. Titone (born January 24, 1961) is an American politician and lawyer from

Staten Island, New York 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 and ...

. A Democrat, he served as a 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 Ass ...

from the 61st District, on Staten Island's North Shore from April 1, 2007 to January 1, 2019. Titone currently serves as a surrogate court judge of Richmond County.

Early life, education, career

Titone was born on Staten Island, the son of Vito J. Titone, a former judge of the

New York State Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by ...

. Titone was raised in the

Grymes Hill Grymes Hill is a tall hill formed of serpentine rock on Staten Island, New York. It is the second highest natural point on the island and in the five boroughs of New York City. The neighborhood of the same name encompasses an area of and has a ...

and West Brighton neighborhoods. He went on to attend

St. John's University School of Law St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University. The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers Juris Doctor degrees and degrees for Maste ...

, while working full-time as a law clerk for the late John S. Zachary. After being admitted to the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

in 1992, Titone worked

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

for the Staten Island AIDS Task Force and Project Hospitality. In 1993, he joined the

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for ...

law firm of Morgan, Melhuish, Monahan, Arvidson, Abrutyn & Lisowski, where he was a senior trial associate and managed the firm's labor law litigation department. In 1998, he established a private law practice on Staten Island. Titone garnered national attention when he took on the New York State adoption industry representing a family who adopted a baby boy. The family was never informed by the adoption agency that the child was born with the AIDS virus and resulted in the child being untreated for his illness for eleven years after the adoption was completed. Not only did Titone provide legal support and guidance for the family, he also helped the young man establish the Justin LiGreci HIV/AIDS Foundation for Children and Teens, a not for profit organization that provides educational services to the youth of Staten Island and New York metropolitan area.

Political career

Titone was the Democratic nominee for 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 comp ...

in 2006, losing the 24th District race to Republican Andrew Lanza. Following the death of Assemblyman John Lavelle in January 2007, Titone was selected as the Democratic nominee for the special election held to fill the vacancy.Wrobleski, Tom. "Dems select Titone as Assembly candidate". ''

Staten Island Advance The ''Staten Island Advance'' is a daily newspaper published in the borough of Staten Island in New York City. The only daily newspaper published in the borough, and the only major daily paper focused on a borough, it covers news of local and ...

''. February 28, 2007. On the third ballot of Democratic committeemembers, Daniel Lavelle, son of the late Assemblymember, dropped out and Titone was unopposed. Titone was backed by City Councilman Mike McMahon, whose support was crucial.Wrobleski, Tom. "McMahon flexes his muscle and ally Titone gets the nod". ''

''. March 1, 2007. Mimi Cusick, mother of assembly member Mike Cusick and "mother of the party", also endorsed Titone's candidacy. In the election held on March 27, 2007, Titone received 49% of the vote in a three-way contest to succeed Lavelle, comfortably defeating his Republican and Independence party opponents who won 32% and 19% respectively.

2018 Richmond County Surrogate election

In March 2018, Titone announced that he would vacate his Assembly seat that fall to seek election as Richmond County (Staten Island) Surrogate. Titone’s announcement was quickly followed by endorsements from Diane Savino, Michael Cusick,

Debi Rose Deborah Rose is a New York City politician. She was the Council member for the 49th district of the New York City Council. She is a Democrat and was the first African American elected to higher office from Staten Island. The district includes ...

, and former

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

Staten Island Borough President

James Molinaro James P. Molinaro (born March 11, 1931) is an American politician who is a former Borough President of Staten Island. Molinaro first won election as borough president of Staten Island on November 6, 2001, defeating his Democratic opponent Coun ...

Personal

Titone is openly gay and married his partner of 18 years, Giosue Pugliese, in a ceremony at Staten Island Borough Hall in September 2011, shortly after same-sex marriage was legalized in New York State. He was one of five

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

members of the

New York Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official te ...

, alongside Assemblymembers Deborah Glick, Daniel O'Donnell, and

Harry Bronson Harry B. Bronson (born May 22, 1959) is an attorney and politician from Rochester, New York who serves as a member of the New York State Assembly. A former member of the Monroe County legislature, he was elected to the Assembly in 2010. He is a ...

, as well as Senator

Brad Hoylman Brad Madison Hoylman (born October 27, 1965) is an American Democratic politician. First elected in 2012, Hoylman represents the 27th District in the New York State Senate, covering much of Lower and Midtown Manhattan in New York City. He is C ...

. His Assembly campaigns have won the support of the

Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund The LGBTQ Victory Fund (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund), commonly shortened to Victory Fund, is an American political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of openly LGBTQ public officials in the United States. Victory F ...

, which provides financial and strategic assistance. He is the first openly gay man elected to higher office on Staten Island.

Election results

* November 2006

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, NYS Senate, 24th SD : * March 2007

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

, NYS Assembly, 61st AD : * November 2008

, NYS Assembly, 61st AD : * November 2010

, NYS Assembly, 61st AD : * November 2012

, NYS Assembly, 61st AD : * November 2014

, NYS Assembly, 61st AD :

References