Jim Gaughran

James F. Gaughran (born January 5, 1957) is an American attorney and politician from Suffolk County, New York, who served as a member of the New York State Senate from the 5th district. The district is located around the border of Nassau County and Suffolk County, encompassing the town of Huntington and the northern part of the town of Oyster Bay. Gaughran is a member of the Democratic Party.

Gaughran served as the chair of the Suffolk County Water Authority from 2010 to 2018. He previously served as a member of the Suffolk County Legislature from 1988 to 1993, and as a member of the Huntington Town Board from 1984 to 1987.

Following the retirement of SCWA chair (and former interim Suffolk County Executive) Michael A. LoGrande in May 2010, Gaughran was appointed as the new SCWA chair. As chair, he implemented reforms emphasizing accountability and transparency. He also reduced the payroll of the SCWA by 6% over four years.

Suffolk County Comptroller election (2014) Gaughran ran for comptroller of Suffolk County in 2014, losing the general election to county legislator John M. Kennedy, Jr. by 6 percentage points.

New York State Senate (2019–present)

Elections

1992 election Gaughran first ran for the New York State Senate from the 5th district in 1992; his opponent in the general election was the long-time Republican incumbent, Ralph J. Marino.

In December 1991, Marino, who was the senate majority leader at the time, became known for his "budget-wrangling" which led to the infamous "Hamlet on the Hudson" incident, in which Gov. Mario Cuomo kept a plane bound for New Hampshire idling on a tarmac on the last day to file for the 1992 first-in-the-nation presidential primary in that state, while he tried to negotiate a state budget with the Republican-controlled senate. Although he had been perceived as a frontrunner for the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination, Cuomo declined to run for president, saying that he was "willing" but not "able" to campaign due to the unresolved state budget crisis.

In the campaign, Gaughran drew a surprising contrast between himself and Marino: he charged that Marino symbolized "clubhouse politics" and big government in Albany, and that Marino "voted for every state tax increase and every mandate on localities passed by the Legislature", while Gaughran himself signed a pledge to vote against any tax increase.

2016 election Gaughran ran against Marino's successor, Carl L. Marcellino, in 2016. Marcellino had won the special election on March 14, 1995, to replace Marino, and had been reelected to ten full two-year terms, remaining in office since then.

Gaughran was unopposed in the Democratic primary. The general election was closer than expected, but Marcellino defeated Gaughran by 1,761 votes out of almost 160,000 votes, or about one percentage point.

2018 election

Gaughran announced in February 2018 that he would seek a re-match with Marcellino, who was seeking his 12th full two-year term.

An analysis conducted by Politico found that, before 2018, the last Democratic candidate to win a state senate election on Long Island in a midterm year was Carol Berman in 1982; Berman defeated Dean Skelos to win a third term before losing to Skelos in a rematch in 1984.

Gaughran was endorsed by The New York Times, Newsday, and numerous local labor unions and activist groups. Campaign spending on behalf of both Gaughran and Marcellino was unusually prolific, reaching at least $2.8 million.

Gaughran won the 2018 election, defeating Marcellino by almost 10,000 votes out of about 118,000 votes, or about 8.5 percentage points. Gaughran's victory formed part of the successful campaign by the Democratic Party to retake the majority in the New York State Senate for the first time in a decade, and just the fourth time in 80 years.

2020 election

Gaughran ran for a second term in 2020. The Republican nominee was Huntington town board member Edmund Smyth.

A bail reform law passed in 2019 became a major campaign issue for Gaughran and other Long Island Democrats facing a difficult reelection. Smyth was endorsed by 23 police unions angered by the bail reform law, as well as by police reforms enacted in response to the police murder of George Floyd in May 2020; the reforms included the repeal of a state statute that had allowed departments to conceal records of police misconduct. The police unions, alongside separate independent expenditure groups including Safe Together New York (which received $1.7 million from businessman Ronald Lauder) Newsday endorsed Smyth in 2020. Assessing Gaughran's performance in his first term, the editorial board praised his successful efforts on the property tax cap and the bail reform law, but criticized his proposed bill to resolve local tax negotiations with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), calling it "unworkable". On November 4, the results showed Gaughran trailing Smyth, 55,132 votes to 69,015, a margin of over 11 percentage points. Election analysts estimated that Gaughran would have to win about 70% of the absentee ballots in order to make up the difference, but acknowledged that this was possible because the Democratic Party had encouraged postal voting while the Republican Party generally discouraged it. and Smyth conceded the election.

The final results showed Gaughran defeating Smyth by 3,135 votes out of about 167,000, or about 2 percentage points. Gaughran's victory in a competitive district helped the Democratic Party win a two-thirds supermajority in the state senate in 2020.

Committee assignments Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (2019–2020) Committee on Commerce, Economic Development, and Small Business (2019–2020) 'Committee on Energy and Telecommunications (2021–2022)

On January 17, 2019, Gaughran introduced a bill to make permanent the property tax cap of 2% enacted in 2011. Gaughran said the following about his rationale for introducing the bill: After an investigation by state attorney general Letitia James, Cuomo resigned in August 2021 facing a likely impeachment and removal by the state legislature.

In May 2021, Gaughran introduced a bill to establish a public water authority in Nassau County to replace New York American Water, the private supplier which charges residents the highest prices in the region. The bill was passed by the legislature in June 2021, and was signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul on November 3, 2021.

Political positions

In his 2018 endorsement by Newsday, which is the largest newspaper on Long Island by circulation and the largest suburban newspaper in the United States, Gaughran is described as a "moderate and suburbanite ... who would protect Long Island against a New York City-centric agenda". prohibiting outside income for legislators, In 2020, Gaughran's campaign website did not mention the New York Health Act.

LGBT and reproductive rights Gaughran supports classifying gender identity and expression as "protected classes", meaning that existing state laws prohibiting discrimination would then apply (viz. forbid discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression). alongside a conversion therapy ban. The bills were passed by the state legislature on January 15, 2019,

Schools Gaughran favors overhauling the Common Core State Standards Initiative, which New York has formally adopted, saying "this time we need to listen to our teachers, our parents, and our children about what works".

Gaughran advocates for legalizing, regulating, and taxing sports betting, and using the tax revenue to help fund school districts in order to alleviate the trend of rising property taxes.

Tax policy Gaughran opposes the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in late 2017, due to its cap on the state and local tax deduction, known as the SALT deduction. This cap raises the effective tax rate on many Long Island residents (300,000 households by Gaughran's estimation) since state and local taxes are higher on Long Island than they are on average nationwide.

Voting reform Gaughran supports expanding early voting and facilitating voter registration. He opposes requiring a reason to request an absentee ballot. He supports appointing an independent re-districting commission to prevent gerrymandering,

Personal life

In 1987, Gaughran married his wife, Carol, who works as a library media specialist. They reside in Northport, New York, and have two children, Kaitlin and Michael.

Electoral history