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Michael Katz (politician)

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Michael Katz
Member of the Delaware Senate
from the 4th district
In office
2009–2013
Preceded byCharlie Copeland
Succeeded byGregory Lavelle
Personal details
BornJanuary 1962 (age 62)
Political partyDelaware Independent (2023–present)
Other political
affiliations		Democratic (until 2023)
Alma materGeorgetown University School of Medicine

Michael S. Katz (born January 1962) is an American physician and politician from the state of Delaware. Katz represented the 4th district in the Delaware State Senate for one term, serving from 2009 to 2013. Originally a member of the Democratic Party, Katz later joined the Independent Party of Delaware. He is currently the Independent Party's nominee for U.S. Senate in the 2024 election.

Professional career

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Katz is an anesthesiologist, having been trained in pediatric anesthesia at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He also owns a real estate company.[1] Katz received an MBA from Georgetown University School of Business, a BS from Bates College, and an MD from Georgetown University School of Medicine.[2]

Political career

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Katz ran for the 4th district of the Delaware Senate in 2008.[1] The Republican incumbent, Senate Minority Leader Charlie Copeland, was not seeking re-election, instead running for lieutenant governor.[3] The 4th district is historically competitive, due in part to its high amount of third-party and independent voters.[4] At the time, Republicans had a voter registration advantage in the district.[5] Katz campaigned on a platform of improving public schools and increasing access to healthcare.[3] Katz won the Democratic nomination over nonprofit executive Dee Durham with 63.0% of the vote before edging out Republican State Committee of Delaware member John Clatworthy in the general election by just 1.3%.[1] Katz raised $97,039 for his campaign.[6]

While in office, Katz supported the movement to preserve the historic Murphy House;[7] however, the house was demolished in 2012.[8] Katz also introduced several bills aimed at increasing transparency requirements for lobbyists, though none of them passed committee.[9] In 2011, Katz accused Democratic state representative Bryon Short of plagiarizing a bill he wrote to establish an accreditation process for abortion clinics. Katz also refused to list Short as a cosponsor on his bill due to what he perceived as Short's "poor treatment of the medical community during his private and public deliberations" on an earlier bill. Short acknowledged his bill was very similar to Katz's bill, but argued that both bills were based on language written by the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services and the Medical Society of Delaware months earlier. Short also believed that Katz's bill contained too many protections for doctors, saying "each piece of legislation Sen. Katz introduced has skewed in favor of his profession." Katz asked House Majority Leader Pete Schwartzkopf to open an ethics investigation into Short, but Schwartzkopf refused, pointing out that only members of the House could make such a request. Schwartzkopf also commented that Katz "doesn’t think anyone should propose legislation involving doctors except for him."[10] However, in 2012, Katz and Short collaborated on a bill to strengthen restrictions on door-to-door salesmen that successfully passed the legislature.[11]

Katz ran for re-election in 2012 and was unopposed in the Democratic primary. In the general election, he faced Republican Gregory Lavelle, the Minority Leader of the Delaware House of Representatives. Lavelle had chosen to run for state senate after he and 4 other Republican state representatives were placed in the same district as a result of the 2010 redistricting cycle.[12] Lavelle defeated Katz by a margin of 3.3%.[1] The race was one of the most expensive of the 2012 Delaware Senate elections,[13] with Katz raising $245,128 for his campaign.[6]

Katz returned to politics in 2023 when he accepted the Independent Party of Delaware's nomination for U.S. Senate at its July 1, 2023 convention in Dover.[2]

Personal life

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Katz lives with his wife Trish. He has three children, Abigail, Emily, and Sander.[1]

In 2011, Katz and his two daughters were riding a ski lift at a Maine ski resort when their chair detached and fell 35 feet to the ground.[14] All three were injured, with Katz suffering a broken back and a traumatic brain injury. One of his daughters was thrown from the chair on impact, while the other was dragged up the mountain because a piece of her ski equipment became stuck in the chair. The incident became a contentious issue during Katz's 2012 re-election campaign, as his opponent accused him of using his injuries as an excuse for frequently missing state meetings. In 2013, Katz filed a lawsuit against the ski resort.[13] The resort requested a dismissal on the grounds that Katz had signed a waiver before attending, but a judge rejected the request and allowed the suit to continue.[15] The suit was settled out of court in 2015 for an undisclosed sum.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Katz, Michael S." Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Former Democrat State Senator To Challange LBR For Carper's US Senate Seat". First State Update. July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Chadderdon, Jesse (August 4, 2008). "Katz says he has the experience to lead in Dover". Delaware Online. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  4. ^ Edelen, Joseph (November 11, 2022). "Incumbents, former Miss Delaware to be part of next Delaware General Assembly". Bay to Bay News. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  5. ^ Zewe, Adam (October 9, 2008). "Clatworthy, Katz win primaries, will face-off in 4th Senate District". Delaware Online. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "KATZ, MICHAEL S". OpenSecrets. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  7. ^ "Nemours gets the OK from DelDOT to demolish Little Murph". Save the Murphy House. December 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  8. ^ Bouchat-Friedman, Danielle (January 11, 2012). "FOLLOW UP: Murphy House demolished after preservation efforts fall short". Delaware Online. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  9. ^ Barrish, Cris (February 27, 2014). "Lobbying Reform Bill Met With Debate". Common Cause. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  10. ^ Denison, Doug (June 8, 2011). "Delaware House of Reps. clears abortion clinic accreditation bill". Delaware Online. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  11. ^ "Door to door bill". Hoy en Delaware. April 14, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  12. ^ Offredo, Jon (April 19, 2014). "Delaware redistricting bill faces key House test". Delaware Online. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Starkey, Jonathan (October 17, 2013). "Former state senator Katz sues Maine ski resort". Delaware Online. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  14. ^ Richardson, John (January 1, 2011). "Skier injured at Sugarloaf is Delaware senator". Portland Press-Herald. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  15. ^ "Delaware state senator's suit against Sugarloaf goes forward". Kennebec Journal. June 10, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  16. ^ "Lawsuit over ski chairlift accident at Sugarloaf is settled". Press-Telegram. June 22, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
Delaware Senate
Preceded by Member of the Delaware Senate
from the 4th district
2009–2013 		Succeeded by
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