Michael J. Fitzpatrick, state Assembly, 8th District

MICHAEL J. FITZPATRICK

Republican.

BACKGROUND:

• Fitzpatrick, 63, of St. James, is seeking a 10th term in the Assembly. He is also running on the Conservative, Independence and Safe Neighborhoods party lines.
• He won his first term in 2002 after serving as a Smithtown Town councilman for 15 years.
• He received his undergraduate from St. Michael’s College in Vermont.

ISSUES:

• Legislative priorities include control of costs of public employee pensions and changes in the ways public employee salaries are negotiated. He seeks to rework the Triborough Amendment to stop step pay increases while expired contracts are negotiated and cap binding arbitration at 2 percent.
• He has supported repeal of state bail reform and opposes issuance of driver's licenses for people in the country illegally.
• He has sponsored legislation on local matters including a master plan for Nissequogue River State Park, easing restrictions on Smithtown highway spending and expanding the St. James Fire District to encompass Head of the Harbor Village.