Thomas J. Abinanti (born December 28, 1946) is an American politician, lawyer, and member of the New York State Assembly from Greenburgh, New York. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, Abinanti was elected to the State Assembly in 2010 to replace Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, and represents central

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

, New York.

Early life and education

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, Abinanti graduated from

Xaverian High School Xaverian High School is a private Catholic high school located in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, serving grades 6 through 12. Grades 9-12 offer a college prep program and grades 6-8 are a middle school. History The school was ...

in 1964. He received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

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 New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in N ...

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 Law School 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 A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant, the

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

of Ardsley,

Elmsford Elmsford is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. Roughly one mile square, the village is fully contained within the borders of the town of Greenburgh. As of the 2010 census, th ...

, Dobbs Ferry,

Hastings-on-Hudson Hastings-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County located in the southwestern part of the town of Greenburgh in the state of New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of midtown Manh ...

, Irvington,

Tarrytown Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hu ...

, 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 against the incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

State Senator Nicholas A. Spano.

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 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 New York State Assembly, 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