Kevin Parker (New York politician)

Kevin Parker is an American politician from the State of New York. Parker is a member of the New York State Senate representing the 21st district, which comprises portions of the neighborhoods of East Flatbush, Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, Park Slope, and Windsor Terrace in Brooklyn. A Democrat, Parker was first elected to the Senate in 2002. In December 2010, Parker was convicted of criminal mischief following an altercation with a photographer.

Kevin Parker
Parker in 2020
Member of the New York State Senate
from the 21st district
Assumed office
January 1, 2003
Preceded byCarl Kruger
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
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] Walker received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Service from Penn State.[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 in the New York City Council 45 Democratic primary, coming in fifth with 14.95% of the vote.[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 served 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] 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]

The State Senate passed the Reproductive Health Act on January 22, 2019. 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]

A Parker-sponsored bill that barred utility companies from shutting off customers' service during the COVID-19 pandemic and other states of emergency was signed into law on June 17, 2020.[17] On October 14, 2020, a Parker-sponsored bill recognizing Juneteenth (June 19) as an official state holiday was enacted, commemorating the day when the news of liberation came to Texas more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went into effect.[18]

New York City Comptroller

Parker has announced his candidacy for New York City Comptroller in the 2021 election.[19]

Parker is notable for what City & State NY referred to in 2019 as his "long history of making explosive remarks and getting involved in scuffles".[20]

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 charged with third degree assault, a misdemeanor. The charges were dropped after he agreed to take anger management classes.[21][22]

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.[20]

An aide filed charges against Parker in 2008, alleging that he pushed her during an argument and smashed her glasses.[21][23][24]

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, Parker broke the photographer's finger in the alleged attack.[25] Parker was charged with a felony due to the value of damage to the camera and car door.[26] As a result, he was stripped of his leadership position as majority whip and chair of the Energy Committee.[27] Parker was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief on December 6, 2010.[28] Had he been convicted of a felony, Parker would have automatically lost his seat in the Senate. The Senate had previously expelled Hiram Monserrate for misdemeanor charges earlier in 2010; however, Senate Democrats expressed an unwillingness to expel Parker as they had Monserrate.[29] On March 21, 2011, Parker was sentenced to three years' probation, and fined $1,000.[30][20]

Parker was restrained by colleagues during a profane tirade against Senator Diane Savino in February 2010. During the tirade, Parker referred to Savino as a "bitch".[31][32]

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.[33] "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".[33] 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,[21][34][35] but later apologized for the "white supremacists" accusation.[36]

A vehicle bearing Parker's official parking placard was parked in a New York City bicycle lane in December 2018. When questioned about the vehicle on Twitter, Parker replied, "Kill yourself!"[37][38] Incoming Senate President Andrea Stewart-Cousins expressed her "disappointment" at Parker's action.[39][40][41] As of January 27, 2019, no formal disciplinary action had been taken against Parker in regard to the "Kill yourself!" tweet.[42]

In an April 2019 closed-door meeting of Senate Democrats, an argument between Parker and Sen. Alessandra Biaggi occurred. Parker reportedly "ripped off his tie and threw it down in a rage".[43][44][20]

References
  1. "Kevin S. Parker". MIT CoLab.
  2. "About Kevin S. Parker". NY State Senate. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  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. "Making sense of the legislative pecking order". CSNY. 18 March 2019.
  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..." BKReader.com.
  15. "Abortion in America: How does NY's law compare to Alabama's law?". Pressconnects. May 17, 2019.
  16. Gormley, Michael (May 20, 2019). "State Legislature passes ban on 'undetectable guns'". Newsday.
  17. Dunne, Allison. "Advocates Say NY Utility Shutoff Prevention Law Should Be A Model For Other States". www.wamc.org.
  18. Wilcox, Anya; writer, Gazette staff. "Cuomo signs law making Juneteenth a state holiday – The Legislative Gazette".
  19. "Parker: 'I literally have the most relevant and significant experience'". City & State NY. January 27, 2021.
  20. "State Sen. Kevin Parker's most notable eruptions". CSNY. April 12, 2019.
  21. "NY Senator: 'You Racist People In Here'". wcbstv.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  22. 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
  23. "NY State Senator Kevin Parker tweets 'Kill yourself!' to woman who points out his wrong parking placard use". Metro.us. December 18, 2018.
  24. Lovett, Kenneth (September 18, 2008). "Brooklyn lawmaker accused of pushing aide, breaking her glasses". New York Daily News.
  25. "Convicted NY State Senator Loses 1 Leader Post". CBSLocal.com. January 11, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  26. Gendar, Alison; Lovett, Ken; Standora, Leo (May 8, 2009). "State Senator Kevin Parker busted over tussle with photographer". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  27. Baker, Al (May 10, 2009). "After Arrest, a State Senator Loses His Leadership Posts". The New York Times.
  28. Lovett, WILLIAM SHERMAN, Kenneth. "State Sen. Kevin Parker convicted of misdemeanor charges in beating of photographer". New York Daily News.
  29. "Sampson sees no Monserrate-Parker parallels". TimesUnion.com. December 7, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  30. Gorta, William J. (March 21, 2011). "State Sen. Parker sentenced to probation for attacking Post photographer". New York Post.
  31. Lovett, Kenneth (February 11, 2010). "Another Senate brawl in Albany: Sen. Kevin Parker charges towards then curses out female colleague". Daily News. New York.
  32. "Room Eight | LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE: SENATOR KEVIN PARKER VERSUS WELLINGTON SHARPE (AGAIN). Remember to vote on Tuesday Sept 14th".
  33. Katz, Celeste; Lovett, Kenneth (April 28, 2010). "Elliptical vs. treadmill: Which will give you the better workout?". Daily News. New York.
  34. "Kevin Parker Insists That Some State Senators Are 'White Supremacists'". Intelligencer. April 29, 2010.
  35. Paybarah, Azi (April 28, 2010). "Parker Attacked for 'White Supremacist' Remark". Observer.
  36. Peters, Jeremy (July 4, 2010). "Senator Parker Apologizes For Race Rant". HuffPost.
  37. 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.
  38. 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.
  39. "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.
  40. "NY Lawmaker Tweets to GOP Legislative Aide: "Kill yourself!"". spectrumlocalnews.com. December 18, 2018.
  41. Campbell, Jon (December 18, 2018). "Brooklyn senator tweets 'Kill yourself!' to GOP aide". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
  42. Khurshid, Samar (January 27, 2019). "Senate Democrats Pursue No Formal Consequences for Parker After 'Kill yourself!' Tweet". Gotham Gazette.
  43. Fink, Zack (April 12, 2019). "Nasty Fight Erupts Between State Senate Democrats". NY1.
  44. "[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.
New York State Senate
Preceded by
Carl Kruger		 New York State Senate, 21st District
2003–present		 Incumbent
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