Voters Guide: Senate District 4: Monica R. Martinez

MONICA R. MARTINEZ

DEMOCRAT

BACKGROUND: 

• Martinez, 44, of Brentwood, is a former Suffolk County legislator who served in the State Senate from 2019 to 2020 in the 3rd Senate District on Suffolk County’s South Shore. She was defeated by Republican Alexis Weik. She is also running on the Working Families Party line.
• Martinez is an immigrant from El Salvador, arriving in the United States when she was 3 years old. She has a bachelor’s degree in biology and history from Binghamton University and a master’s degree in secondary education from Stony Brook University.
• She worked as an assistant principal in Brentwood’s East Middle School. In 2021, she was appointed deputy regional director for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

ISSUES: 

• Martinez said she was the prime sponsor of nearly two dozen Senate bills that became law, including legislation to combat global warming and to increase access to mammograms and other women’s health services.
• She said if elected she would focus on women’s rights, including protection of abortion rights. She said as a former educator she would have an important perspective on making schools safe from mass shootings.
• Martinez also said she will continue to reach out to interest groups to form effective consensus on difficult policy issues. As an example, she pointed to her work with internet providers in crafting state law against revenge pornography.