Dan Donovan (politician)
Dan Donovan | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 11th district | |
Assumed office May 5, 2015 | |
Preceded by | Michael Grimm |
District Attorney of Richmond County | |
In office January 1, 2004 – May 12, 2015[1] | |
Preceded by | William L. Murphy |
Succeeded by | Michael McMahon |
Deputy Borough President of Staten Island | |
In office January 1, 2002 – December 31, 2003 | |
Preceded by | James Molinaro |
Succeeded by | Edward Burke |
Personal details | |
Born |
Daniel Michael Donovan, Jr. November 6, 1956 Staten Island, New York, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Residence | Great Kills, Staten Island |
Alma mater |
St. John's University (B.S.) Fordham University (J.D.) |
Profession | Attorney |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Signature |
Daniel Michael "Dan" Donovan, Jr. (born November 6, 1956) is an attorney and elected official from New York City. He is currently the United States Representative for New York's 11th congressional district, winning the seat in May 2015 special election against Brooklyn Councilman Vinnie Gentile after his predecessor, Rep. Michael Grimm, pleaded guilty to tax fraud charges.[2][3][4][5] He found himself in the national limelight in 2014 after failing to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo who put Eric Garner in a chokehold which some believed led to Garner's death.[6] The case is now under investigation by the F.B.I. and the Department of Justice.[7]
Early life
Dan Donovan was born into a working-class Roman Catholic family in Staten Island, New York in 1956. His Irish-American father, Daniel M. Donovan, Sr., was a longshoreman and lifelong Democrat, his Polish-American mother, Katherine Bolewicz Donovan, was a garment worker.[8][9] He was raised in the Tompkinsville section of the borough.[10] He attended Monsignor Farrell High School, an all-boys Catholic school, graduating in 1974.[11] He went to study Criminal Justice at St. John's University.[10] After graduating from there he attended Fordham University School of Law, earning his juris doctor in 1988.[10]
Early career
In 1989 Dan Donovan became an Assistant District Attorney in the office of Robert M. Morgenthau.[12] He served in with the office of the New York County District Attorney under Mr. Morgenthau until 1996. Later that year Donovan became Chief of Staff to then Staten Island Borough President Guy V. Molinari.[13] He remained in that position until 2002 when he was sworn in as Deputy Borough President of Staten Island; he had been appointed by his immediate predecessor and the then new Borough President James Molinaro.[13]
Richmond County District Attorney
In 2003, twenty-year incumbent Democrat, William L. Murphy decided not to seek re-election. Dan Donovan announced his intention to run to succeed him. In the election he faced Chief Assistant District Attorney David Lehr and won with over 53% of the vote.[14] One of the key parts of his platform was to start the county's first witness protection program, and his office led the city's prosecutors with the highest felony conviction rate in many of the years since he took office.[15] He was re-elected in 2007 with over 68% of the vote, defeating local Democratic attorney Michael Ryan.[16] This was in spite of a last minute endorsement for his rival by longtime friend and mentor Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro; Molinaro was angered that Donovan had referred his grandson's case to a special prosecutor.[17] Donovan's tenure as DA has seen several high-profile cases, including the second conviction of Andre Rand, long suspected in a string of kidnappings on Staten Island.[18] In 2010, famed rapper Method Man pleaded guilty to attempted tax evasion and was forced to pay about $106,000 in restitution and penalties.[19]
Eric Garner case
Donovan became the focus of a national controversy surrounding the death of Eric Garner in 2014 when he failed to prosecute Garner's killer before a Grand Jury.[20][21][22][23] Dan Donovan became a figure in the national controversy surrounding the death of Eric Garner the Richmond County Grand Jury decided not to indict Daniel Pantaleo, the officer whose chokehold medical examiner's considered instrumental in Garner's death, on any charges. The medical examiner's office ruled Eric Garner's death a homicide. After considering the medical examiner's findings that Eric Garner was killed by "compression of neck (choke hold), compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police"[24] Donovan's office decided that "it is appropriate to present evidence regarding circumstances of his death to a Richmond County Grand Jury."[25] Donovan asked the Grand Jury to consider whether there was "probable cause" for manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, but did not bring forward reckless endangerment charges.[26] After two months, that Grand Jury brought forward no indictment. Dan Donovan's office fought against releasing the trial proceedings citing New York confidentiality laws despite being pressured by activists and fellow lawmakers to release the records.[27]
2010 New York Attorney General campaign
On May 17, 2010, Donovan, a registered Republican, announced his candidacy for the New York attorney general election, 2010, becoming the front runner for his party's nomination.[28] In spite of this Bob Antonacci, Onondaga County Comptroller, announced his intention run for Attorney General.[29] Antonacci stepped aside and endorsed Donovan after earning forty percent of the vote at the 2010 Republican State Convention.[30] With a sixty percent win of the delegates at the convention and no primary opponent, Donovan became the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party.[31] A week prior he received the endorsement of the Conservative Party of New York.[32] He was defeated on November 2 by the Democratic nominee Eric Schneiderman.
U.S. House of Representatives
2015 special election
Donovan was selected as the Republican candidate for New York's 11th congressional district after the resignation of Michael Grimm. He defeated the Democrat, Vincent J. Gentile, and the Green Party candidate, James Lane, in the May 2015 special election.[5]
Tenure
Donovan was elected May 5, 2015 and sworn into office on May 12, 2015.[33]
Legislation
Donovan has sponsored two bills aimed at improving protection against terrorism in the United States. He introduced a bill called the Terrorist Asset Seizure Reform Act (TASR). TASR would allow the government to seize assets belonging to terrorists and spend that money on grants to help cities that are considered "high-risk" targets to defend against attacks. If TASR became law, banks would be required to freeze assets of an individual once that person is placed on the U.S. terrorist watchlist. The government would be able to seize interest that accrued from terrorist bank accounts. The government would redirect all money collected to the homeland security grant program called the Urban Areas Security Initiative. He also introduced the Cyber Preparedness Act, which aims to better coordinate communication between authorities at various levels of government.[34]
Committee assignments
2016 Re-election campaign
Donovan faces Democrat Richard Reichard in his first re-election bid.[35]
References
- ↑ "Chief ADA Daniel L. Master, Jr. Sworn In As Acting District Attorney" (PDF). Office of the District Attorney of Richmond County. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
- ↑ Friedman, Dan (January 5, 2015). Michael Grimm officially resigns in disgrace. New York Daily News. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
- ↑ Friedman, Dan (April 4, 2015). Democrats all but concede Rep. Michael Grimm's Congress seat to Republican Dan Donovan. New York Daily News. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
- ↑ Jorgensen, Jillian (April 23, 2015). Daniel Donovan Raises More Than $600,000 for Congressional Election. New York Observer. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
- 1 2 Shapiro, Rachel (May 5, 2015). Staten Island special election 2015: Dan Donovan wins Congress seat. Staten Island Advance. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
- ↑ "No Indictment of NYPD Cop in Garner Chokehold Death". Retrieved November 28, 2016.
- ↑ "Justice Dept. Shakes Up Inquiry Into Eric Garner Chokehold Case". The New York Times. October 25, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
- ↑ Gray, Geoffrey (September 19, 2010). "110 Minutes With Republican Attorney General Candidate Dan Donovan - New York Magazine". Nymag.com. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ↑ Archived December 21, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
- 1 2 3 https://web.archive.org/web/20100710132803/http://www.dandonovan.org/meet_dan.php. Archived from the original on July 10, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2010. Missing or empty
|title=
(help) - ↑
- ↑ "Richmond County District Attorneys Office". Rcda.nyc.gov. January 1, 2004. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- 1 2
- ↑ "Board of Elections in the City of New York". Vote.nyc.ny.us. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ↑ Advance File Photo (May 30, 2010). "Daniel Donovan swimming upstream in bid for state office". SILive.com. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ↑ "Staten Island DA Donovan survives challenge". Nydailynews.com. November 7, 2007. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ↑ "S.I. Borough President Backs Ex-Aide's Rival". The New York Times. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ↑
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100703024555/http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/06/dan-donovan-versus-method-man.html. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2010. Missing or empty
|title=
(help) - ↑ "Eric Garner Prosecutor Accused Of 'Doubling Down On Race-Baiting' In Congressional Campaign". The Huffington Post. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
- ↑ "Meet Dan Donovan, the Prosecutor Who Let Eric Garner's Killer Walk". The Daily Beast. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
- ↑ "Daniel Donovan Gets Wary Welcome to Congress After Eric Garner Case". The New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
- ↑ "Dan Donovan, prosecutor in Eric Garner death case, wins House seat". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/opinion/eric-garner-daniel-pantaleo-and-lethal-police-tactics.html
- ↑ "Federal grand jury hears evidence in Eric Garner chokehold case". Retrieved November 28, 2016.
- ↑ "DA didn't ask for reckless endangerment in Eric Garner case". Retrieved November 28, 2016.
- ↑ "Petition pressure on Dan Donovan to release Garner records". Retrieved November 28, 2016.
- ↑ Wrobleski, Tom (May 17, 2010). Staten Island D.A. Daniel Donovan announces A.G. run, vows to fight corruption in Albany. Staten Island Advance. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ↑ Mariani, Tom (May 17, 2010). Staten Island DA Daniel Donovan to declare attorney general candidacy in Syracuse. The Post-Standard. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
- ↑ Knauss, Tim (June 2, 2010). Staten Island DA Daniel Donovan to declare attorney general candidacy in Syracuse. The Post-Standard. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100809142333/http://www.nygop.org/page/new-york-state-republicans-nominate-dan-donovan-as-their-candidate-for-attorney-general. Archived from the original on August 9, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010. Missing or empty
|title=
(help). Retrieved July 13, 2010. - ↑ Hornak, Robert (May 31, 2010). State Conservative Party Meets: Endorse Townsend, DioGuardi, Donovan, Wilson and (Surprise!) Rick Lazio Archived December 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
- ↑ Katinas, Paula (May 11, 2015). "Donovan To Be Sworn Into Office May 12". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Donovan calls for smarter rules on cyberdefense, seizing terrorist funds - Homeland Preparedness News". 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
- ↑ "Democrat Richard Reichard to challenge Rep. Dan Donovan". SILive.com. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
External links
- Dan Donovan for Congress
- Official U.S. House site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile at Project Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
Political offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by James Molinaro |
Deputy Borough President of Staten Island 2002–2003 |
Succeeded by Edward Burke |
Legal offices | ||
Preceded by William L. Murphy |
District Attorney of Richmond County, New York 2004 – May 12, 2015 |
Succeeded by Daniel L. Master, Jr. as Acting |
United States House of Representatives | ||
Preceded by Michael Grimm |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 11th congressional district May 5, 2015 – present |
Incumbent |
United States order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
Preceded by Ryan Zinke |
United States Representatives by seniority 430th |
Succeeded by Trent Kelly |
Party political offices | ||
Preceded by Jeanine Pirro |
Republican Nominee for New York State Attorney General 2010 |
Succeeded by John P. Cahill |