Michael G. Miller (born December 12, 1960) is an American politician and a Democratic former member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 38th Assembly District, which includes the
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
Ozone Park
Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens, New York, United States. It is next to the Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, a popular spot for Thoroughbred racing and home to the Resorts Wor ...
and
Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''.
It may refer to:
Places Australia
* Glendale, New South Wales
** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre
*Glendale, Queensland, ...
.
He has lived in Glendale for 40 years. Miller is a graduate of
Archbishop Molloy High School
Archbishop Molloy High School (also called Molloy, Archbishop Molloy, or AMHS) is a co-educational, college preparatory, Catholic school for grades 9-12, located on on 83-53 Manton Street, Briarwood, Queens, New York. It is part of the Roman C ...
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
. He was branch manager of the Tiger Federal Credit Union. He also served as member of
Queens Community Board 5
The Queens Community Board 5 is a local government in the New York City borough of Queens, encompassing the neighborhoods of Ridgewood, Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth, Fresh Pond, and Liberty Park.
Miller has been a member of the New York State Assembly since 2009, when he won a
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 ...
held after the resignation of former Assemblyman
Anthony Seminerio
Anthony S. Seminerio (February 15, 1935 – January 6, 2011) was an American politician from New York.
Life
Seminerio graduated from the New York Institute of Technology with a Bachelor's degree. Then he became a corrections officer. He was an ...
. Miller won the subsequent 2010 general election with 69 percent of the vote. Miller was defeated by
Jenifer Rajkumar
Jenifer Rajkumar (born September 1, 1982) is an American politician and lawyer. A Democrat, she is a member of the New York State Assembly from the 38th district, representing Queens neighborhoods of Glendale, Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Ridge ...
Miller was born to an Italian mother and German father, both first generation immigrants.
New York State Assembly
Same sex marriage
On December 2, 2009, Miller sided with the conservative minority, by voting against a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. Miller voted against a similar bill that became the Marriage Equality Act in 2011.
Controversy
Appointment
In New York, candidates for special election are nominated by the party's county executive's selection. Miller's party nomination was met with a lawsuit filed by fellow Democrats. His nomination was seen by some as a back room deal. Al Baldeo, who claims he was promised the nomination by Congressman Gregory Meeks, State Senators John Sampson and Malcolm Smith, argued that the selection process was undemocratic. Farouk Samaroo argued that the selection process was to prevent an
Indian-American
Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...
on the ballot.
Disclosure
The New York Daily News reported that Miller was among the Assemblymen that refuse to disclose his outside income. This came 14 weeks after the state legislature publicly supported and approved a bill requiring them to disclose their outside income. The bill that was vetoed by Governor
David Paterson
David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. ...
.
Harassment Investigation and Sanctions
Miller became the subject of a 2019 internal investigation by the Assembly Ethics Committee stemming from a harassment complaint filed by a female staffer. The committee found evidence of inappropriate and unprofessional conduct, though the review did not "support a finding that Miller engaged in harassment and/or discrimination." The investigation came to light in June 2020 when it was revealed that the committee's investigator uncovered multiple instances in which Miller discussed the case with outside parties in breach of confidentiality and with what the committee determined as having the "effect of intimidating potential witnesses." In August 2020, Assembly Speaker
Carl Heastie
Carl Edward Heastie (; born September 25, 1967) is an American politician from New York. Heastie has served in the New York State Assembly since January 2001, and was elected Speaker of the New York State Assembly on February 3, 2015.
Early li ...
announced that he would formally sanction Miller for these actions, following the committee's recommendation.
Election results
* September 2009
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, 38th AD
:
* November 2010 general election, NYS Assembly, 38th AD
: