Cover credit – nyassembly.gov

Assemblyman Keith Brown

Candidate: Keith Brown
Residence: Northport
First Elected: 2020
Prior Elected Office: None
Office Sought: New York’s Twelfth Assembly District
Party Lines: Republican, Conservative
Committees: Ranking Member on Alcoholism and Substance Use; Judiciary; Environmental Conservation; Housing
Endorsements: All police unions, many construction trade unions, PEF, Suffolk AME, NYS Business Council, LIBI, Uniformed Firefighters Officers, Newsday

After four years in Albany, Assemblyman Keith Brown is seeking a third term. His opponent, Spencer Cox (D), is not actively campaigning.

Assemblyman Brown sat down with The Messenger for an interview for this candidate spotlight.

Q: What is your professional background and how does it equip you for the Assembly?

A: I’ve been a commercial real estate attorney for thirty years. All of the skillsets in my practice have helped me, such as constituent relations, bill drafting, and public hearings. I own my firm and I still practice

Q: What are some of your accomplishments for AD-12 and New York overall?

A: For the district, I got the LIPA Reserve Fund passed in both houses; we’re waiting for the Governor’s signature. When LIPA had brought the tax certiorari case for the Northport Power Station, the case was going to trial and the decision was made to settle and provide a glide path, where LIPA would slowly pay less and less of their tax liability in terms of property taxes for the school districts and the Town of Huntington. The LIPA reserve fund allows school districts to set aside further money to build a shoulder on the glide path so that it won’t be as dramatic a loss when that last piece of the puzzle in eight years goes away. It’s been done by other host communities that host LIPA power plants.

I’ve obtained more than $1 million in grant funding for my area, everything from a high school mentoring program that was established in Northport, Harborfields, and Cold Spring Harbor school districts, all the way to acquiring $350,000 for the Halesite Harbor Walk project to build the new esplanade for housing and businesses around the harbor.

For Islip, I’ve gotten money for Brentwood Library, I’ve gotten the Brentwood Fire Department a tax-exempt status, and a $150,000 grant for the D.A.’s office to install ShotSpotter in Brentwood.

When I got into office, as part of my appointment as Ranking Member on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, I worked on legislation and an statewide Overdose Awareness Day. I’ve also worked on co-occurring disorders, when someone has mental health issues along with substance abuse issues. Right now, under state policies, clinicians either treat one or the other; they don’t treat both. What we’ve been attempting to do is to bridge that gap between the Office of Mental Health and the Office of Special Enforcement (OES) so that both cases would be treated. It would help ensure that a clinician is dual-licensed, the place at which patients are seeking treatment is getting reimbursed on both budgets, and clinicians are trained properly. I formed the Long Island Drug Coalition, a group composed of providers that has expanded to the Boroughs and Upstate. We’ve put on a conference for the last three years, all geared towards reducing the overdose deaths here in Suffolk County.

Q: What is your top priority if re-elected?

A: The biggest issue is restoring some of the cashless bail procedures. One of the most powerful tools we had in fighting substance abuse was treatment in lieu of jail at the arraignment stage. That, coupled with increased judicial discretion, is probably the largest issue in our state.

The second priority is tackling driving while impaired on drugs. The bill, A.00174, would amend the definition of “drug” in Vehicle and Traffic law to include any substance that impair, to any extent, physical or mental capabilities and updating state law to include the roadside testing of oral/bodily fluids to detect impairment, among other things.

The third is dealing with the Child Victims Act. My bill, A.8076, would allow school districts to bond for settlements of Child Victm’s Act cases.

Congestion pricing will come back up and that would really be a problem for Long Island. The foundational aid report out of Rockefeller Institute in December will change the formula for state aid. We’re hopeful that there will be measures in place to accurately quantify the cost of education for certain school districts that are based on English Language Learners (ELL), children with disabilities, children with 504 plans and Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).

Q: What would you consider to be the “defining issue” of this election?

A: Easy: breaking up the one-party rule and supermajority in the Assembly and the Senate, so that NYC doesn’t dominate Albany politics.

Q: What’s your pitch to voters to return you to the Assembly as a member of the minority?

A: We have a powerful tool under Assembly and Senate rules where we can lay aside bills, which calls attention to issues we might have with it. We can slow down the approval process of some of these harmful bills. The supermajority can override that. For those Democrats that argue that there’s no role for a minority member: isn’t our country based on having multiple parties of disagreement and discord to come to a consensus? The biggest problem in Albany is there is no negotiation and consensus building when there’s a supermajority. It’s one of the things I’m most disappointed about. There’s no give-and-take.

Q: What is your favorite quote, motto, or work ethic?

A: My father, a former State Supreme Court Judge, said, “to be a good attorney, you have to really want to help people.” It’s one of my guiding principles.

Q: How do you like to connect with your community?

A: I represent thirty miles of coastline from the county line to Smithtown. One of my biggest priorities is trying to make our waterfront more accessible to residents. That’s where the Halesite Harbor Walk comes in.

I really love door-knocking, it’s retail politics. Residents are telling you what their concerns are, and whether or not you’re doing a good job. It’s invaluable. It’s direct feedback.

The Messenger thanks Assemblyman Brown for his time for this interview.

About the Twelfth District

The Twelfth District is mostly composed of Huntington, but includes parts of Babylon and Islip. Within Huntington, the district includes Lloyd Harbor, Cold Spring Harbor, Halesite, Huntington Bay, Eaton’s Neck, Asharoken, Centerport, Greenlawn, East Northport, Northport, and parts of Commack, Fort Salonga, and Elwood. Within Babylon, it has a part of Deer Park. Within Islip, it contains Baywood, Edgewood, and Pine Aire, as well as parts of Brentwood and North Bay Shore.