Kevin Parker (New York politician)

Kevin Parker (born March 6, 1967) is a member of the New York State Senate. Parker represents the 21st district, which comprises portions of the neighborhoods East Flatbush, Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, Park Slope, and Windsor Terrace in Brooklyn. A Democrat, Parker was first elected in 2002.

Kevin Parker
Parker in 2020
Member of the New York Senate from the 21st District
Assumed office
January 1, 2003
Preceded byCarl Kruger
Personal details
Born (1967-03-06) March 6, 1967
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materPenn State University (B.S.)
New School for Social Research (M.S.)
WebsiteOfficial website

Education and early career

Parker attended P.S. 193, Andries Hudde I.S. 240, and Midwood High School in Brooklyn, New York.[1] He has a B.S. in Public Service from Penn State University and an M.S. from the New School for Social Research's Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy.[2]

Prior to serving in elected office, Parker held a number of different public sector roles, including Special Assistant to Comptroller H. Carl McCall and New York City Urban Fellow under Manhattan Borough President and mayoral candidate Ruth Messinger.[3]

In 2001, Parker ran unsuccessfully for the New York City Council.[4]

New York State Senate

Elections

In 2002, Parker defeated former City Councilman Noach Dear in a tightly-contested Democratic primary for a newly drawn, open State Senate seat in Brooklyn.[5] He won the 2002 general election and was elected to the Senate for the first time.[6]

In the 2008 Democratic primary, Parker held off a strong challenge from New York City Councilmembers Simcha Felder and Kendall Stewart; he won the primary with less than 50% of the vote.[7]

In 2012, Parker's district was redrawn and became a majority African American district.[8]

After Democrats won the Senate majority in the 2018 elections, Parker was named Chair of the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications.[9] As of March 2019, Parker serves as Majority Whip.[10]

Tenure

On June 24, 2011, the State Senate passed the Marriage Equality Act.[11] Parker voted in favor of the legislation,[12] which was signed into law that evening; however, he stormed off the Senate floor in protest because he was not allowed to speak on the bill.[11] According to Parker, Senate Democrats had previously been informed that each Senator would have two minutes to explain his or her vote.[13] Sen. Parker added that the doors to the Senate chamber were locked on the evening of June 24 to prevent senators from leaving the chamber when the bill was voted upon.[13]

On January 22, 2019, the State Senate passed the Reproductive Health Act. Parker voted in favor of the bill.[14] Gov. Cuomo signed the bill into law.[15]

On May 20, 2019, the State Senate passed a Parker-sponsored bill that would ban undetectable firearms.[16]

Conviction of misdemeanor felony mischief

On May 8, 2009, Parker was charged with felony criminal mischief for attacking a New York Post photographer and damaging the photographer's camera and car door. According to prosecutors, the photographer's finger was broken in the alleged attack.[17] Parker was charged with a felony due to the value of damage to the camera and car door.[18] As a result, he was stripped of his leadership position as majority whip and chair of the Energy Committee.[19] Parker was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief. On March 21, 2011, he was sentenced to three years' probation and fined $1,000.[20][21] Had he been convicted of a felony, he would have automatically lost his seat in the Senate, and the Senate had already expelled Hiram Monserrate for misdemeanor charges earlier in the year. The Senate Democrats expressed an unwillingness to expel Parker as they had Monserrate.[22]

Other alleged altercations

In January 2005, Parker was arrested after allegedly punching a traffic agent in the face during a dispute over a traffic citation that he had been issued. He was subsequently charged with third degree assault, a misdemeanor. The charges were dropped after he agreed to take anger management classes.[23][24]

In 2005, a staffer alleged that Parker had hit and shoved her while she was working for him as an office manager. The staffer further alleged that after she made these accusations, Parker had threatened her at a restaurant.[21]

In 2008, an aide filed charges against Parker, alleging that he pushed her during an argument and smashed her glasses.[23][25][26]

Tirades

In February 2010, Parker was reportedly restrained by his colleagues during a profane tirade against Senator Diane Savino in which Parker referred to Savino as a "bitch."[27][28]

In April 2010, Parker launched into a tirade while colleague John DeFrancisco of Syracuse was questioning a black nominee for the New York State Power Authority. Parker objected to DeFrancisco's questions and asserted that he had never seen a white nominee treated in similar fashion.[29] "Amid the nearly two-minute tirade, committee chairman Carl Kruger told Parker he would be removed from the hearing room if he didn't settle down."[29] During the tirade, Parker accused his colleagues of racism. He followed up in a radio interview by accusing his Republican "enemies" of being white supremacists,[23][30][31] but later apologized for the "white supremacists" accusation.[32]

In an April 2019 closed-door meeting of Senate Democrats, an argument between Parker and Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (D) occurred; Parker reportedly "ripped off his tie and threw it down in a rage".[33][34][21]

'Kill Yourself' tweet

In December 2018, a vehicle bearing Parker's official parking placard was parked in a New York City bicycle lane. When questioned about the vehicle on Twitter, Parker replied, "Kill yourself!"[35][36] Incoming Senate President Andrea Stewart-Cousins expressed her "disappointment" at Parker's action.[37][38][39] As of January 27, 2019, no formal disciplinary action had been taken against Parker in regard to the "Kill yourself!" Tweet.[40]

References
  1. "Kevin S. Parker". MIT CoLab.
  2. "Senator Kevin S. Parker, New York State Senate | MD DC DE VA Solar Energy Industries Association". Archived from the original on 2019-12-13. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  3. Wilson, Michael (2005-01-21). "Senator Is Accused of Punching a Traffic Agent Over a Ticket". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  4. "Our Campaigns - New York City Council 45 - D Primary Race - Sep 25, 2001". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  5. "Our Campaigns - NY State Senate 21 - D Primary Race - Sep 10, 2002". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  6. "NY State Senate Bill S1823". NY State Senate. October 2, 2015.
  7. Confessore, Nicholas; Hicks, Jonathan P. (September 10, 2008). "Silver Sidesteps a Challenge, but Other Incumbents Fall in Primary". The New York Times.
  8. Tracy, Thomas. "Simcha Felder beats state Sen. David Storobin at the polls". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  9. "With Democrats in power, Brooklyn state senators to lead committees". Brooklyn Eagle. 12 December 2018.
  10. a_henning (18 March 2019). "Making sense of the legislative pecking order". CSNY.
  11. New York Times: Nicholas Confessore and Michael Barbaro, "New York Allows Same-Sex Marriage, Becoming Largest State to Pass Law," June 24, 2011, accessed June 25, 2011
  12. "FINALLY: NY State Senate Passes Gay Marriage". Gothamist. June 24, 2011. Archived from the original on July 19, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  13. "Why Sen. Kevin Parker Got Mad". Gothamgazette.com. 2011-06-25. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
  14. Leonhardt, Andrea (January 24, 2019). "NY Senate Passes Historic Reproductive Health Act to Protect Roe..."
  15. "Abortion in America: How does NY's law compare to Alabama's law?". Pressconnects.
  16. "State Legislature passes ban on 'undetectable guns'". Newsday.
  17. "Convicted NY State Senator Loses 1 Leader Post". CBSLocal.com. January 11, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  18. Gendar, Alison; Lovett, Ken; Standora, Leo (May 8, 2009). "State Senator Kevin Parker busted over tussle with photographer". New York: Nydailynews.com. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  19. Baker, Al (May 10, 2009). "After Arrest, a State Senator Loses His Leadership Posts". The New York Times.
  20. Gorta, William J. (March 21, 2011). "State Sen. Parker sentenced to probation for attacking Post photographer". New York Post.
  21. "State Sen. Kevin Parker's most notable eruptions". CSNY. April 12, 2019.
  22. "Sampson sees no Monserrate-Parker parallels". TimesUnion.com. December 7, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  23. "NY Senator: 'You Racist People In Here'". wcbstv.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  24. Carl Campanile; Max Jaeger (18 December 2018). "State Sen. Kevin Parker tells GOP rep to 'kill yourself' on Twitter". New York Post. Retrieved 19 December 2018. Parker — who was forced to undergo anger-management treatment after bashing a traffic cop in 2005
  25. https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/new-york/senator-kevin-parker-tweets-kill-yourself-over-parking-placard
  26. Lovett, Kenneth. "Brooklyn lawmaker accused of pushing aide, breaking her glasses". nydailynews.com.
  27. Lovett, Kenneth (February 11, 2010). "Another Senate brawl in Albany: Sen. Kevin Parker charges towards then curses out female colleague". Daily News. New York.
  28. "Room Eight | LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE: SENATOR KEVIN PARKER VERSUS WELLINGTON SHARPE (AGAIN). Remember to vote on Tuesday Sept 14th".
  29. Katz, Celeste; Lovett, Kenneth (April 28, 2010). "Elliptical vs. treadmill: Which will give you the better workout?". Daily News. New York.
  30. "Kevin Parker Insists That Some State Senators Are 'White Supremacists'". Intelligencer.
  31. "Parker Attacked for 'White Supremacist' Remark". April 28, 2010.
  32. nytimes.com, JEREMY W. PETERS (July 4, 2010). "Senator Parker Apologizes For Race Rant". HuffPost.
  33. "Nasty Fight Erupts Between State Senate Democrats". www.ny1.com.
  34. "[Updates] State Senator From Brooklyn Kevin Parker Tells Woman 'Kill Yourself!' In Response To Parking Placard Tweet". Gothamist. December 18, 2018. Archived from the original on July 19, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  35. Mills Rodrigo, Chris (January 18, 2018). "NY state senator tweets 'kill yourself' at user who called him out over parking placard". The Hill. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  36. BENJAMIN FEARNOW (18 December 2018). "'KILL YOURSELF!': NEW YORK STATE SENATOR KEVIN PARKER APOLOGIZED FOR TWEET OVER PARKING SPOT". Newsweek. Retrieved 19 December 2018. Parker responded with an irrational demand that she kill herself before he offered a weak Twitter apology using his verified account. But less than an hour after the apology, Parker continued his criticism of Giove.
  37. "Dem. State Senator Slammed For 'Kill Yourself!' Tweet To GOP Aide". WLNY-TV CBS. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018. The Senate’s incoming leader, Democrat Andrea Stewart-Cousins, said she was “disappointed” by Parker’s Tweet.
  38. "NY Lawmaker Tweets to GOP Legislative Aide: "Kill yourself!"". spectrumlocalnews.com.
  39. Campbell, Jon. "Brooklyn senator tweets 'Kill yourself!' to GOP aide". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
  40. Khurshid, Samar. "Senate Democrats Pursue No Formal Consequences for Parker After 'Kill yourself!' Tweet". Gotham Gazette.

Parker Slams Sharpe

New York State Senate
Preceded by
Carl Kruger		 New York State Senate, 21st District
2003–present		 Incumbent
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