Micah Z. Kellner (born December 5, 1978) is an American politician from the state of New York. A Democrat, he was formerly a member of the New York State Assembly from the 76th district, which includes Manhattan's Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island. Kellner was elected to the Assembly in 2007 and served until 2014, when he did not stand for reelection. In September 2013, he lost the primary election for the Democratic nomination for the New York City Council seat for the 5th District to attorney Ben Kallos. During his Assembly tenure, Kellner was admonished twice by Sheldon Silver, then the Assembly Speaker, based on findings that he had engaged in sexual harassment.
Early life and career
An advocate for disabled people, Kellner was born with cerebral palsy. He attended the Pingry School, graduating in the class of 1997. He graduated from New York University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film, television and radio. He worked as an aide to Senator Chuck Schumer, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney and City Comptroller William C. Thompson before being elected to the Assembly in 2007.
New York State Assembly
Following the appointment of Assemblyman Alexander "Pete" Grannis as Commissioner of New York State's Department of Environment Conservation early in 2007, Kellner was selected as the Democratic nominee for the special election held to fill the vacancy. In that election, held on June 5, 2007, he received 64% of the vote, comfortably defeating his Republican opponent.
During the 2013–14 term of the Legislature, Kellner became Chair of the Assembly Committee on Libraries and Education Technology. On June 27, 2013, Kellner chaired a hearing on "The Sale of Public Library Buildings in New York City" at which Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Edmund Morris testified against the New York Public Library's controversial Central Library Plan.
In August 2010, New York State's Governor, David Paterson, signed "Elle's Law," legislation introduced by Kellner that allows for the suspension of up to six months of the New York State driver's license of any driver inflicting serious physical injury on another person while committing a traffic violation. The law was named after Elle Vandenberghe, a three-year-old Upper East Side girl living in Kellner's district who was seriously injured after being struck by a motorist who was illegally backing through an intersection against a red light to find a parking space.
He also sponsored Oreo's Law in the New York State Assembly, which required the release of a shelter animal to a rescue group upon request of the rescue group prior to euthanasia of the animal. The law is named in memory of Oreo, a dog who survived abuse at the hands of her former owner, recovered from her injuries, but was then euthanized by the ASPCA in New York City, despite the offer of a No Kill sanctuary to guarantee her lifetime care.
City Council campaign and admonition for sexual harassment
In early 2013, Kellner announced his intentions to run for the New York City Council seat in District 5 being vacated by Jessica Lappin. Initially, he received significant support, being endorsed by most local elected officials. In late June, however, the New York Post reported that he had accepted a campaign contribution from a taxi manufacturer whose handicapped-accessible vehicle was being considered for adoption by New York's Taxi and Limousine Commission.
On July 23, 2013, The New York Times reported that in 2009 Kellner had engaged in inappropriate Internet chat with a young female staffer. Kellner apologized in a statement to the Times, saying, "Over four years ago, for a few weeks while I was still single, I exchanged instant messages with a female member of my staff that were flirtatious. It was inappropriate. I was wrong and it was stupid. When I was told that my staffer felt the messages were unprofessional, I immediately stopped and regretted placing her in that position. I was sorry then and I am sorry now." The New York Daily News subsequently quoted an anonymous source identified only as a former Kellner staffer saying that Kellner had made life "horrible" for the other staffer after she had allegedly rebuffed his advances.