Daniel J. O'Donnell

Daniel J. O'Donnell (born November 17, 1960) is a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 69th district in Manhattan, made up of the neighborhoods of Manhattan Valley, Morningside Heights, and portions of the Upper West Side and West Harlem.

In 2008 he was considered by New York Governor David Paterson to fill the Senate vacancy created by the appointment of Hillary Clinton as President Obama's Secretary of State. Paterson ultimately appointed upstate Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to the seat.

O'Donnell was the legislative sponsor of the Marriage Equality Act during its successful passage and signature into law on June 24, 2011.

Born in Queens, New York, O'Donnell is one of five siblings; American entertainer Rosie O'Donnell is his younger sister. Raised in Commack, New York on Long Island, he attended The Catholic University of America before transferring to George Washington University for his B.A. and received a J.D. degree from CUNY School of Law at Queens College.

He first ran for the legislature in 1998, making an unsuccessful bid for the New York State Senate in the 30th district, losing the Democratic primary to Eric Schneiderman. When Assemblyman Edward C. Sullivan announced his retirement in 2002, O'Donnell was one of eight Democrats who entered the race to succeed him. In the crowded primary election held on September 10, 2002, O'Donnell won 34 percent of the vote, twice as much as his nearest competitor. In the general election that followed, he prevailed with 82 percent of the vote.

O'Donnell was the first openly gay man elected to the New York State Assembly and currently serves as one of six LGBT members of the New York Legislature, alongside Assemblymembers Deborah Glick, Micah Kellner, Matthew Titone and Harry Bronson, as well as Senator Brad Hoylman. His campaigns have frequently won the backing of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.

He ran uncontested in the 2008 and 2010 general elections. He was opposed in the Sept. 13, 2016 Democratic Primary by Steven M. Appel, but won over 73% of the vote.

Committees

As of 2017, O'Donnell serves as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development and Chair of the Subcommittee on Criminal Procedure. Previously, O'Donnell served as Chair of the Assembly Committee Corrections, Assembly Committee on Ethics and Guidance, as well as Chair of the Subcommittee on Criminal Procedure of the Assembly Judiciary Committee. He also serves on a number of full committees, namely:

• Committee on Codes
• Committee on Education
• Committee on Environmental Conservation
• Committee on Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force

Legislation

On June 19, 2007 O'Donnell ushered the Marriage Equality Act, a bill that would have legalized gay marriage in New York State, to passage by a vote of 85–61. Although the bill passed the Assembly and had the support of then-Governor Eliot Spitzer, the Republican-controlled State Senate did not take up the measure. O'Donnell once again led the fight for a same-sex marriage bill in 2009, shepherding it to passage twice more, by a vote of 89–52 in May, and by a vote of 88–51 in December. O'Donnell introduced the Marriage Equality bill in the Assembly for the 2011-2012 legislative session on May 10, 2011. The Marriage Equality Act was passed by the NYS Assembly on June 15, 2011, and passed the NYS Senate and was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo slightly before midnight on Friday, June 24, 2011.

O'Donnell was also the prime sponsor of the Dignity for All Students Act, New York's anti-bullying law. The law was signed into law by Governor Paterson on September 8, 2010, and was one of the first laws in New York history to explicitly include protections based on gender identity and expression.

O'Donnell was an outspoken opponent of the legalization of mixed martial arts in New York State, at one point likening the grappling of the two combatants to "gay porn, only with a different ending."

In 2011, O'Donnell was featured in Out Magazine's "Out 100," the magazine's list of the year's 100 most inspiring individuals.

On January 29, 2012, O'Donnell married his partner of 31 years, John Banta. The ceremony and reception were attended by over 400 people including New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, NY State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, NY State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, many of his colleagues from the Assembly and State Senate, family, and friends. The couple were married by Judith Kaye, the former chief justice of the state Court of Appeals, New York's top court.

He has been interviewed in periodicals for the "Bear" community.