Monica Martinez


Monica R. Martinez is a Salvadoran-American educator and politician from the state of New York. A Democrat, she is a member of the New York State Senate representing the 3rd district. She formerly served in the Suffolk County Legislature, representing the 9th district. Former Assistant Principal at East Middle School in Brentwood, NY.

Early life and career

Martinez was born in El Salvador and moved to the United States at the age of 3. She received her bachelor's degree from Binghamton University, and subsequently a masters and administrative degree from New York University and Stony Brook University respectively. Martinez worked as a social studies teacher at Brentwood High School for 10 years before becoming the assistant principal of Brentwood's East Middle School.
In 2013, Martinez defeated incumbent Suffolk County Legislator Ricardo Montano in the Democratic primary and was subsequently elected to represent Suffolk County's 9th Legislative District. As a legislator, Martinez was known for taking legislative action on the issues of woman's equality and animal rights. Martinez was appointed Chairwoman to the Public Safety Committee and pledged to help eradicate the Long Island gang violence epidemic through collaboration with local law enforcement officials.
Martinez resides in Brentwood, New York. She is the younger sister of the Town of Babylon, New York councilman Antonio Martinez.

New York Senate

On June 5, 2018 Martinez announced her intention to seek the New York State Senate seat being vacated by Thomas Croci. On November 6, 2018 Martinez defeated Assemblyman Dean Murray by more than 2,500 votes, flipping a seat held by the Republican Party for more than a decade.
Martinez was named Chair for the Committee on Domestic Animal Welfare.

Controversy

Martinez was among the seven Democratic senators that opposed the Driver's License Access and Privacy Act. The other six were: James Skoufis, Kevin Thomas, Todd Kaminsky, John E. Brooks, Anna M. Kaplan, and Jim Gaughran. Of all Senators voting against the bill, Senator Martinez faced the most criticism, as she had previously been a supporter of the effort to restore access to drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants, but changed her position after becoming a New York State Senator. Martinez has faced protest and has been accused of flip-flopping on the issue and of betraying her own community of origin.