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Daniel Squadron

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Daniel L. Squadron
Squadron in 2016
Member of the New York State Senate
from the 26th district
In office
January 1, 2013 – August 11, 2017
Preceded byLiz Krueger
Succeeded byBrian P. Kavanagh
Member of the New York State Senate
from the 25th district
In office
January 3, 2009 – January 1, 2013
Preceded byMartin Connor
Succeeded byVelmanette Montgomery
Personal details
Born (1979-11-09) November 9, 1979 (age 45)
Riverdale, Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations		Working Families Party
SpouseElizabeth Weinstein
Children2
Residence(s)Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, New York City, New York
Alma materYale University (B.A.)
OccupationPolitician

Daniel L. Squadron[1] (born November 9, 1979) is an American politician and former member of the New York State Senate for the 26th district.

A Democrat, Squadron was elected a New York State Senator in 2008, and was a candidate in the 2013 race for New York Public Advocate.[2][3] In August 2017, he resigned from the NY State Senate to work with entrepreneur Adam Pritzker and Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University to launch Future Now, a national initiative to promote "policies focused on creating a better, healthier, fairer future."[4]

Early life

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Daniel Squadron was born in 1979.[5] His mother is Anne Strickland Squadron,[6] and his father was Howard Squadron[7][6][8][9][10] of the law firm Squadron, Ellenoff, Plesent & Sheinfeld and Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.[11] His brother, Bill Squadron, was the head of Bloomberg Sports.[10][12]

Squadron attended the private Fieldston School and graduated from Yale University in 2003. During his junior year, he cofounded and managed What Bar, a bar near Columbia University.[13]

Career

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Early career

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Squadron served as a consultant to New York City's Department of Education and worked as a staffer on Congressman Anthony Weiner's 2005 mayoral campaign.[7] He served as an aide to U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, helping the New York senator with his book Positively American: Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family at a Time (2007).

State Senate

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Squadron ran for the 25th district of the New York State Senate in 2008.[14] He received the endorsements of Schumer, Congressman Anthony Weiner, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.[15] Assisted by family friends, Schumer supporters, and an aggressive campaign strategy,[16] Squadron defeated incumbent state senator Martin Connor and took 54% of the vote.[17] On November 6, 2012, Squadron was elected to the state senate again, this time to represent the 26th district.[18] He beat his Republican opponent, J. Haro, 86% to 14%.[19] Squadron won reelection in 2014 in a landslide over Republican candidate Wave Chan; and he ran unopposed in 2016, running on both the Democratic and Working Families Party lines.[citation needed]

Squadron's platform included opposition to luxury development in Brooklyn Bridge Park. He negotiated a deal that reduced and delayed housing in the park, and has been credited with returning $11 million in capital funding that had been cut from the park's budget.[20][21] Squadron also secured millions for a waterfront park project on the Lower East Side at Pier 42, along with Schumer,[22] and also helped secure the future of Governors Island.[23] Squadron's proposal to link New York's wealthiest parks conservancies with under-resourced neighborhood parks[1] resulted in hundreds of millions in new funding for community parks.[24]

In 2010, Squadron sponsored the law that brought billions in federal dollars to New York City's public housing.[25] Squadron also passed legislation expanding middle class eligibility for the Mitchell-Lama Housing Program.[26]

Squadron's tenure included a noted focus on ethics and campaign finance reform.[27] He passed the law prohibiting public officers from using government resources for their own for-profit business.[28] Squadron also unsuccessfully pushed to close the "LLC Loophole," which allows nearly unlimited, often anonymous campaign contributions to flood the political process.[29]

On August 9, 2017, Squadron announced his resignation from the Senate in an opinion piece published in the Daily News.[4] He cited "heavily invested special interests" and "cynical political deals," adding: "And the status quo has proven extraordinarily durable: It barely shuddered when the leaders of both legislative chambers [Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver] were convicted of corruption."

Race for New York City Public Advocate

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Main article: 2013 New York City Public Advocate election

In the race for Public Advocate, Squadron had the endorsements of mentor Senator Chuck Schumer, and former Public Advocates Betsy Gotbaum and Mark Green.[30] Squadron placed second in the primary and advanced to an October 2013 runoff primary,[30][31] which he lost to Letitia James, by 59% to 41%.[32]

Post-Senate career

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In August 2017, Squadron announced he would be working with entrepreneur Adam Pritzker and Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University on a national initiative focused on "stronger candidates, a sharpened approach and better policies at the state level", emphasizing "policies focused on creating a better, healthier, fairer future".[4] In October 2017, that initiative was launched as Future Now. The initiative is now known as The States Project.[33][34]

Personal life

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Squadron is married to Elizabeth Weinstein, a former director in Mayor Bloomberg's Office of Operations.[35] The couple were set up by Schumer and his wife, Iris Weinshall, for whom Weinstein worked as chief of staff at the New York City Department of Transportation.[36] Squadron lives in Carroll Gardens with his wife and two sons.[37]

According to Squadron, a trust fund established for him and 18 other family members was lost in the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme.[38][39]

References

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  1. ^ a b Squadron, Daniel L. (May 24, 2013). "Can a Tree Grow in the Bronx?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  2. ^ "Election 2013: Other Races". Wnyc.org. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  3. ^ "A 2013 Contest Revs Up In 2012". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c "Why I'm leaving the N.Y. Senate". New York Daily News. August 9, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  5. ^ Hicks, Johnathan (September 4, 2008). "Primary for State Senate Seat Pits 30-Year Veteran Against Newcomer, 28". The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Bethune Gets A Deal From Madoff Victim". Forbes. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Weiner Endorses State Senate Challenger". The New York Times. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  8. ^ "Widow of bigshot NYC lawyer Howard Squadron sued by her stepkids for losing trust fund to Madoff". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  9. ^ "Squadron's Agenda: A More Open Albany". The New York Times. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Howard M. Squadron, 75, Influential Lawyer, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  11. ^ "Daniel Squadron, a true advocate". The Riverdale Press. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  12. ^ "Bill Squadron". Bloombergerglink.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  13. ^ Dana, Rebecca (January 18, 2002). "Two Yale juniors to sell their trendy Upper West Side bar". Yale Daily News. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  14. ^ Robbins, Tom. "A Former Charles Schumer Aide Tries to Upend State Senate Vet Marty Connor: A veteran progressive legislator faces the Schumer steamroller". Village Voice.
  15. ^ Hicks, Jonathan (September 14, 2008). "Squadron's Agenda: A More Open Albany". The New York Times. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  16. ^ "Daniel Squadron, The Mouthy Candidate Who Won't Talk". The Village Voice.
  17. ^ Benjamin, Elizabeth (September 9, 2008). "Silver, 68 Percent; Squadron Declares Victory". Daily News (New York). Archived from the original on February 2, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2008.
  18. ^ "A 11310 – Education Law Amendments Concerning Charter Schools – Key Vote". Project Vote Smart.
  19. ^ "Election 2012: New York Election Results: Live election results for all Assembly, State Senate and other local elections". New York Daily News.
  20. ^ "Brooklyn's Bridge Park Will See Fewer Luxury Condos and More Community Amenities After Albany Deal". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  21. ^ "Brooklyn Bridge Park Luxury Housing Controversy An Issue In Public Advocate Race". Manhattan.ny1.com. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  22. ^ "Day-O! Squadron and Schumer Go Bananas for Pier 42". Observer. October 1, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  23. ^ "Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Paterson, Assembly Speaker Silver, and Senator Squadron Announce Agreement on Development, Funding and Governance of Governors Island". The official website of the City of New York. April 11, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  24. ^ Foderaro, Lisa W. (November 13, 2015). "New York City's Low-Profile Parks to Get Conservancies' Help, and Some Cash". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  25. ^ "Mayor Bloomberg, HUD Secretary Donovan and NYCHA Chairman Rhea Announce More Than $400 Million in Public and Private Funding and $65-$75 Million in Annual Federal Funding to Support More Than 20,000 Public Housing Units". The official website of the City of New York. March 15, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  26. ^ "Income limits raised at Southbridge & other Mitchell-Lamas | DOWNTOWN EXPRESS". www.downtownexpress.com. December 4, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  27. ^ "Capitol Watch: Hygiene products in jails; vacant Senate seat". SFGate. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  28. ^ "Ethics Law Ends Officials Mixing Private and Government Business". WNYC. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  29. ^ Silberstein, Rachel. "Dan Squadron Fought the LLC Loophole and the Loophole Won". Gotham Gazette. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  30. ^ a b Taylor, Kate (September 26, 2013). "Bitter Tone in Debate Between Public Advocate Rivals". The New York Times. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  31. ^ Hernandez, Javier (September 11, 2013). "Democratic Runoff Is Likely in Contest for Public Advocate". The New York Times. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  32. ^ "Letitia James wins New York City Public Advocate primary in runoff". ABC News. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013.
  33. ^ "The States Project". The States Project. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  34. ^ Corasaniti, Nick (September 25, 2023). "How a Little-Known Group Helped Resurgent Democrats Wield Power". The New York Times. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  35. ^ Amira, Dan (January 9, 2009). "New Junior Senator: Daniel Squadron". New York Magazine. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  36. ^ "Senator, Senator, Make Me a Match: For Staff, Schumer Is Cupid". The New York Times.
  37. ^ "Biography".
  38. ^ "'Trust fund' pol says Madoff fleeced him". Crainsnewyork.com. July 29, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  39. ^ "» Daniel Squadron Being Sued By Madoff Trustee | City & State". Cityandstateny.com. January 23, 2012. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
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