Levittown lawyer runs for Senate seat

Former Marine Ethan Irwin plans to run for the 6th District seat held by state Sen. Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City).

Irwin, 39, a Democratic civil litigation lawyer from Levittown, said he is upset by Senate Republicans' blocking votes on Democratic Assembly bills to increase the minimum wage, publicly finance campaigns and reduce gender-based pay discrimination.

"As a Long Islander, a voter, and a parent, I've been frustrated year after year with the paralysis of partisan politics that permeates Albany, particularly in the State Senate," said Irwin, who ran unsuccessfully in 2011 against Nassau Legis. Dennis Dunne (R-Levittown).

The Senate seat held by Hannon, first elected in 1989, has been targeted by Democrats repeatedly in recent years.-- Robert Brodsky