Michael Gianaris (born April 23, 1970) is an American politician and attorney from Queens, New York. He represented District 36 in the New York State Assembly from 2001 to 2010, and he has represented District 12 in the New York State Senate since 2011. A Democrat, Gianaris was appointed as Deputy Majority Leader of the New York State Senate in 2019.
Early life and education
Gianaris was born in Astoria and is the son of Greek immigrants Nicholas and Magdalene Gianaris. He graduated from New York City (NYC) public schools P.S. 84, Junior High School 141 and Long Island City High School. He received a B.A. summa cum laude in economics and political science from Fordham University and earned a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School.
Career
Gianaris has served as Associate Counsel to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection, Governmental Operations, Veterans Affairs, and Agriculture and Markets of the Assembly, and also served as an aide to former Queens Congressman Thomas Manton, an aide to former Governor Mario Cuomo's Queens County Regional Representative, and as a member of Queens Community Planning Board 1 and Legal Counsel to the United Community Civic Association.
New York State Assembly
In 2000, Gianaris was elected to the New York State Assembly in District 36. He is a Democrat.
In September 2007, he was named one of City Hall'''s "40 under 40".
New York State Senate
In 2010, Senator George Onorato decided not to seek re-election, and Gianaris was nominated to replace him. Gianaris easily prevailed in the District 12 election.
In 2019, following Senate Democrats' ascent to the majority, Gianaris was named Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate.
Gianaris has supported bail reform and the elimination of cash bail. In 2018, he introduced legislation to automatically register eligible voters otherwise interacting with state government.
According to The Guardian'', Gianaris was principally responsible for scuttling a proposal to locate Amazon's HQ2 in New York City. Gianaris has been noted for his support for antitrust enforcement, having introduced the "21st Century Antitrust Act" in the New York State Legislature and written in support of the federal American Innovation and Choice Online Act proposal.
Other campaigns
Gianaris ran for Attorney General of New York in 2018, but ended his campaign in May 2018 and endorsed fellow Democrat Letitia James.
Personal life
Gianaris is married and resides in Astoria.