Tom McKevitt gets No. 2 Assembly GOP post

Assemb. Tom McKevitt (R-East Meadow) has been elevated to the second-rank position in the Assembly Republican conference as the 2017 state legislative session gets underway.

McKevitt has been named minority leader pro tempore, a title that not only makes him the No. 2 Republican in the chamber but also the guy who will lead the party in floor debates over the state budget and other bills. Previously, McKevitt had been an assistant floor leader, a role in which he frequently fenced with Democrats over the legal details and intricacies of proposed legislation.

McKevitt moved up the GOP chain after Buffalo-area Assemb. Jane Corwin decided not to run for re-election.

Before winning an Assembly seat in 2006, McKevitt had served as Hempstead deputy town attorney where he had argued and won cases before New York’s highest court and the regional federal appeals court.