Daniel Squadron

Daniel L. Squadron
Squadron in 2012
Member of the New York State Senate from the 26th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2013
Preceded by	Liz Krueger
Member of the New York State Senate from the 25th district
In office January 3, 2009 – January 1, 2013
Preceded by	Martin Connor
Succeeded by	Velmanette Montgomery
Personal details
Born	(1979-11-09) November 9, 1979 Riverdale, the Bronx, New York
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Weinstein
Children	1
Residence	Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, U.S.
Alma mater	Yale University (B.A.)
Occupation	Politician
Religion	Jewish

Daniel Squadron (born November 9, 1979, in Riverdale, the Bronx, New York) is a Democratic member of the New York State Senate for the 26th district.

He attended the Fieldston School and Yale University and worked as a staffer on Congressman Anthony Weiner's 2005 mayoral campaign.^[1] 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). He was elected a New York State Senator in 2008, and was a candidate in the 2013 race for New York Public Advocate.^[2][3]

Early life

Daniel Squadron was born in 1979.^[4] His mother was Anne Strickland Squadron,^[5] and his father was Howard Squadron^{[1][5][6][7][8]} of Squadron, Ellenoff, Plesent & Sheinfeld, and counsel to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. His brother, Bill Squadron, is the head of Bloomberg Sports.^[8][9]

Squadron attended the private Fieldston School and graduated from Yale University in 2003. During his junior year he and some friends founded and managed a local bar (they were all underage when they applied for a liquor license) that they sold a year later for a profit.^[10]

Career

Early career

Squadron served as a consultant to New York City's Department of Education for six months and spent a few years a special assistant to U.S. Senator Charles Schumer.^[11] It was during this time that he helped the New York senator on the book: Positively American: Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family at a Time^[12].

State Senate

Squadron ran for the 25th district of the New York State Senate in 2008.^[11] He received the endorsements of Congressman Anthony Weiner, mentor Senator Schumer, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.^[13] Assisted by family friends, Schumer supporters and an aggressive campaign strategy,^[14] Squadron defeated Connor and took 54% of the vote.^[15] Squadron campaigned on a platform of preventing residential development of Brooklyn Bridge Park. He negotiated a deal that did not fully eliminate housing in the park but reduced it in size and scope and has been credited with reducing and delaying the amount of luxury housing and returning $11 million in capital funding that had been cut from the park's budget by the city.^[16][17] For his run for public advocate Squadron has received $65,000 from the park's development groups.^[13]

In 2010, he voted to expand and regulate charter schools in New York State, helping to pass the education law amendments that allowed for this.^[18] In January 2011, the New York Daily News reported that he had exceeded the rent limit imposed by state senate leadership on his lower Broadway office by $100,000 over a period of two years.^[19] 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%.^[20]

Race for New York City public advocate

In the race for Public Advocate, Squadron had the endorsements of mentor Senator Chuck Schumer, former Public Advocates Betsy Gotbaum and Mark Green.^[21] According to his campaign website, Squadron was also endorsed by Congressman Jose Serrano, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, State Senators Bill Perkins, Brad Hoylman, Tony Avella, Adriano Espillat, Mike Gianaris, Jose Peralta, Gustavo Rivera, Jose Serrano, Assembly Members Alec Brook-Krasny, Deborah Glick, Dan Quart, Joan Millman, Mike Cusick, Jeff Dinowitz, Aravella Simotas, Luis Sepulveda, and Gabriella Rosa, Council Members Ydanis Rodriguez, James Vacca, the New York Times, and the Empire State Pride Agenda.^[22] Squadron also received support from Brooklyn developers Joe Sitt, Bruce Ratner and individual campaign contributions from Suroosh Alvi, Shane Smith, Eddy Moretti and Alex Detrick.^[23]

According to the online newssite Capital, Squadron fired a campaign consultant in February 2013 during her father's wake. After "venting her frustration" in an public email to Squadron, the individual donated to the campaigns of his public-advocate rivals.^[24] Squadron placed second in the primary and advanced to an October 2013 runoff primary^[21][25] which cost the city $13 million.^[26] He lost to Letitia James in a landslide, 41% to her 59%.^[27]

Personal life

Squadron is married to Elizabeth Weinstein, a director in Mayor Bloomberg's Office of Operations.^[28] 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.^[29][29] Squadron lives in Carroll Gardens with his wife and son.^[18][30]

According to Squadron, a trust fund, established for him and 18 other family members was lost in the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme. Squadron's brother Seth and step-sister Diane, sued their mother for her handling of the fund after Howard Squadron's death.^[6] Squadron and his relatives have also been named in one of a series of 1,000 "clawback" claims "filed by a Madoff bankruptcy trustee" but Squadron and his relatives have "not been accused of any wrongdoing".^[31][32]

References

External links

• New York State Senate: Daniel L. Squadron
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart