Michael A. Montesano,15th Assembly District

Michael Montesano

Republican

BACKGROUND: Montesano, 64, of Glen Head, is on the Republican, Conservative, Independence and Reform party lines. He was elected to the New York State Assembly in a special election in 2010. Montesano is a member of the assembly’s committees on ethics and guidance, corporations and public authorities, codes, judiciary and oversight, analysis and investigation. Montesano earned an associate degree in police science from Nassau Community College, a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from St John’s University and a law degree from CUNY Law School at Queens College. A former New York City police officer and detective, Montesano served as an emergency medical technician (EMT) supervisor and investigator for the New York City Emergency Medical Service. Montesano started his own private law practice in 1990. He served as acting village justice in Roslyn Harbor, and also served as Roslyn Harbor’s village prosecutor. Montesano is a former member of the North Shore School District Board of Education. He is married.

ISSUES: Montesano said that as an assembly member he has been “leading the fight for stronger ethics reform and time limits for committee chairs and leaders.” Montesano added, “The big fight is always to bring home more funding for education, road and infrastructure repairs and funding to clean up the environment including waterways.” Montesano said he has supported providing “a lot of funding to help our water districts to detect new types of contaminants in drinking water and to develop the filtration system to remove them.” He added, “Funds were provided to clean up the bays, which have been reseeded with oysters and clams to aid natural filtration.” Montesano said he has co-sponsored legislation “to preserve open space throughout Long Island, including in the Pine Barrens region, to preserve what we have and try to protect our open spaces. Montesano said he “secured significant additional funding” to expand treatment and education to combat the opioid epidemic and for law enforcement “to detect and investigate MS-13 gang activity.”