SUFFOLK COUNTY LEGISLATOR  -  JOHN M. KENNEDY, JR  -  TWELFTH Legislative District

The 12th Suffolk County Legislative District (L.D.) is located in the western-central portion of Suffolk County encompassing the southern section of the Town of Smithtown, the northeastern section of Islip and western Brookhaven. The district includes Smithtown, Nesconset, Hauppauge, the Village of the Branch, Lake Grove and parts of Commack, Islandia and Ronkonkoma. The district is bounded roughly by Route 25 to the North, Larkfield Road to the West, the Long Island Expressway to the South, and Hawkins Avenue to the East with Veteran's Memorial Highway running through the heart of the district northwest to southeast. It consists of sixty-four (64) election districts (E.D.s) with 49,617 registered voters and approximately 24,000 residential homes. The 12th L.D. has 41 E.D.s in Smithtown, 15 E.D.s in Brookhaven and 8 E.D.s in Islip. The L.D. is generally upper middle class with 70% of incomes over $45,000. In general the district is young with 88% of registered voters under 65 years old.

Residents of the 12th L.D. are well educated with 90% of the adult population finishing H.S. and 33% with bachelor's degrees.

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John Kennedy was elected to the Suffolk County Legislature on November 2, 2004 on the Republican, Independence, Conservative and Working Families lines, receiving an overwhelming 60% of the vote.  For 2005, he was named Chairman of the Veterans & Seniors Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee.  Kennedy also serves on three other committees: Environment & Agriculture; Health & Human Services; and Public Works & Transportation.

In the ensuing months, John has passed legislation to properly recognize Veterans interred at private cemeteries in Suffolk County at Memorial Day observances.  He has made good on his promise to preserve open space and to protect our groundwater with legislation for acquisitions in Hauppauge, Lake Grove, Lake Ronkonkoma, and Nesconset.   He has obtained substantial monies for groundwater protection projects in Lake Ronkonkoma and Smithtown.  In August of 2005, the County Executive signed into law his landmark legislation to create a paperless, computerized system for prehospital care reports (PCRs) required in provision of emergency medical services, thereby ultimately enhancing EMS operations and improving patient care.

Immediately prior to his election, John served as the Official Examiner of Title for the Suffolk County Clerk’s Office.  He served in Riverhead with the County Clerk for eight years, directing the day-to-day operations for a staff of 130.  The Clerk’s office records all deeds, mortgages and other land records for over 500,000 parcels of Suffolk County land.  In 2003, the office collected over $400 million in fees and taxes through the use of enhanced technology and streamlined procedures.

John’s county service began in 1986 under County Executive Peter Cohalan in the Office for Aging.  He went on to serve successive County Executives LoGrande, Halpin, and Gaffney, working extensively on Federal Transportation, Health Care and Environmental issues, including protection of the ecosystems and water quality of Long Island Sound.  John also served as liaison to the Council on Environmental Quality.

Early in his career, John worked as a member of Local 25 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and with the Developmental Disabilities Institute (DDI).  He worked for the NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) at Kings Park Psychiatric Center while he attended SUNY at Stony Brook, receiving a B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in Biology in 1979.  John rose within OMH and became a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor and Administrator for an 80-person out patient day treatment program.  All the while, John pursued higher education, receiving his Master’s in Business Administration (concentration in Capital Budgeting) from Adelphi University.

John then gained his Juris Doctor from the St. John’s University School of Law.  Over the last nine years, John has practiced law with the firm of Sullivan & Kehoe, concentrating in the areas of Social Security & Long Term Disability benefits.  John is admitted to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and he has successfully represented World War II and Vietnam Veterans in their quest for disability benefits.  He has done work on the behalf of those afflicted with AIDS, and is Pro-Bono Counsel to a not for profit organization, The 343 House, dedicated to the assistance of widows and orphans of line of duty deceased New York City Firefighters. 

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