Richard Gottfried

Richard Gottfried
Member of the New York State Assembly for the 75th District 64th District (1983-2002) 67th District (1973-1982) 65th District (1971-1972)
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 1971
Preceded by	Jerome Kretchmer
Personal details
Born	(1947-05-16) May 16, 1947 New York, NY
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Louise
Residence	New York City
Alma mater	Columbia Law School
Occupation	politician
Website	Assembly Website

Richard N. Gottfried (born May 16, 1947) is a U.S. Democratic Party politician from Manhattan representing the 75th District in the New York State Assembly for over forty years, making him the longest-serving member of that body.

Early life and career

Gottfried was born in New York City, NY on May 16, 1947. He is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School (where he was a colleague of U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler, and future political consultant Dick Morris^[1]), Cornell University (BA, 1968), and Columbia Law School (JD, 1973).

Gottfried is a fellow at the New York Academy of Medicine, as well as a member of the American Public Health Association and American Civil Liberties Union.

New York Assembly

Richard Gottfried represents District 75 in the New York State Assembly, which includes Murray Hill, Chelsea, Clinton, portions of Midtown Manhattan and the Upper West Side. Gottfried is a progressive Democrat consistently endorsed by the Democratic and Working Families parties.

Elected to the Assembly in 1970—while a matriculating student at Columbia Law School -- Gottfried currently serves as Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Health^[2] and is also a member of the Committees on Higher Education^[3] and Rules.^[4] He is also a member of the Assembly Steering Committee and the head of the Manhattan Assembly Delegation.

Some of his signature pieces of legislation-bills enacted into law that he has primary or secondary responsibility for include the creation of the Prenatal Care Assistance Program ^[5] as well as the Child Health Plus and Family Health Plus programs. He is also the author of the Physician Profiling Law, which allows patients to access information about their primary care physician; the Family Health Care Decisions Act, which prioritizes who would make health care decisions for a person who does not have a health care proxy and is incapacitated; and the Health Care Proxy Law-which allows individuals to designate a secondary party to make critical health care decisions for them if they become incapacitated-as well as the HIV Testing and Confidentiality Law.^[6]

Gottfried was the sponsor of the 1998 Hudson River Park Law, which established that park, as well as the legislation that created and the recent legislation to expand the Jacob Javits Convention Center. He was also instrumental in the enaction of the Omnibus Crime Act of 1978 and drafting of the 1976 Juvenile Justice Reform Act.

As chair of the Health Committee, and as a staunch supporter of reproductive freedom, he is a key player in keeping New York pro-choice, and sponsors Gov. Spitzer's recent Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act.

Gottfried introduced the first marriage bill in the Assembly in 2003. When Governor Eliot Spitzer submitted it as a Governor’s program bill in 2007, Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell, one of the Assembly’s openly gay members, became the lead sponsor.^[7][8] Marriage Equality finally became law in New York State in June 2011.

Other important bills he sponsors are: GENDA, the Gender Non-Discrimination Act which would make discrimination based on gender identity illegal;^[9][10] and a bill to make the medical use of marijuana legal^[11]

As the leading advocate for patient autonomy, he has a major responsibility for New York's renowned managed care reforms, and continues to sponsor legislation for stronger protections for consumers and health care providers, work toward public support for universal access to quality, affordable health care, and establish end-of-life and pain management protocols. Mr. Gottfried's NY Health bill,^[12] to establish universal, publicly funded health coverage, was the first of its kind to pass a legislative body (NYS Assembly, 1992).

During his time as a member of the New York State Assembly Richard Gottfried has served in various leadership capacities, including as Deputy Majority Leader, Assistant Majority Leader, Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Codes, and Children and Families, as well as Chairman of the Assembly Task Force on the Homeless, Campaign Finance Reform and Crime Victims. In his most recent re-election bid he received 82% of the vote.^[13]

References