Jack Martins

Martins was elected Mayor of the Village of Mineola, New York in 2003.[6] During his mayoral tenure, Mineola's comprehensive master plan received a Smart Growth Award from Vision Long Island.[7] He was named one of Long Island Business News' "Top 40 Under 40" in 2007.[8]

In 2008, Martins ran for Congress against incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola). He was defeated.[6]

Martins won election to the New York State Senate in 2010 as the representative for the Seventh Senate District (SD-7). He defeated incumbent Democratic senator Craig M. Johnson by 451 votes.[9] The election results were not certified until December 4, 2010.[10] Johnson challenged the results and demanded a hand recount, but the New York Court of Appeals rejected his appeal on December 20, 2010.[9]

As Senator, Martins voted for the law creating New York State's property tax cap, voted to cut income taxes for middle-class homeowners, voted to repeal the MTA payroll tax for small businesses and schools, and supported repealing the MTA payroll tax in its entirety.[11][12] He authored laws reducing busing costs for school districts;[13] creating a truss notification system to improve safety for volunteer firefighters;[14] and establishing a new state fund to help homeless veterans.[15]

Martins was highly critical of the New York State Education Department's implementation of the Common Core standards[16] and called for the resignation of the State's Commissioner of Education for cancelling public forums on the issue with parents and teachers.[17] While in the Senate, Martins repeatedly led Long Island's 31 state legislators in the number of bills sponsored that were ultimately passed by both houses of the State Legislature.[18][19]

In February 2016, Martins and Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel called for new state funding to support a comprehensive groundwater study for Long Island.[20] An expanded version of their proposal was adopted by Governor Andrew Cuomo.[21]

Martins urged officials to take action in response to incidents of anti-Semitism against students and faculty on CUNY campuses[22][23][24] and sponsored legislation that would prevent New York from entering into a state contract or investment with those who boycott Israel or other American allies.[25]

Martins served as Chairman of the State Senate's Labor Committee[26] and was Co-Chair of the Senate's Task Force on Workforce Development.[27] He previously chaired the Senate's Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business Committee and the Senate's Local Government Committee.[28] Martins also served on the New York State Mandate Relief Council, which was created to help reduce costs for local governments and school districts by eliminating or reforming regulations.[29]

Martins was named one of the 50 Most Influential Long Islanders by the Long Island Press in 2011.[30]

Martins ran in the 2016 Election to represent New York's 3rd Congressional District (CD-3) in the United States House of Representatives, and received the endorsement of the Republican Party, Conservative Party and the Independence Party.[31][32] Martins was defeated by Democrat Thomas Suozzi in the general election. Suozzi won 53% of the vote to Martins' 47%.[33]

On April 26, 2017, Martins announced that he would run for Nassau County Executive. Martins received the GOP nomination for County Executive and was uncontested in the primary.[34] Martins was defeated by the Democratic nominee, County Legislator Laura Curran, on November 7, 2017 election; Curran won 51% of the vote to Martins' 48%.[35]