Thomas W. Libous

Thomas Libous
Member of the New York Senate from the 52nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office 1989
Preceded by	Warren M. Anderson district # changed from 51 to 52 in redistricting
Personal details
Born	(1953-04-16) April 16, 1953 Johnson City, New York
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Frances
Children	Matthew and Nicholas
Residence	Binghamton, New York
Profession	Politician
Website	Official Site

Thomas W. Libous is the New York State Senator representing the 52nd Senate District representing Broome, Tioga, Chenango and Delaware County. He is serving his thirteenth term in the New York State Senate. He is currently Deputy Majority Coalition Leader.

Libous is a member of the Republican Party but he is also endorsed by the Conservative Party of New York and the Independence Party. He has served as Chair of the Transportation Committee, Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee, the Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Committee and the Select Committee on the Disabled.

Early life and education

Libous grew up on Johnson City, New York's North Side and attended Johnson City Central School District. At a young age, he worked at his family's grocery store in Binghamton. Libous graduated from Broome Community College in 1973 and from the State University of New York at Utica in 1975, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Finance with honors.

Career

Private sector

After graduation, Libous returned to Binghamton and was employed by Chase Lincoln First Bank from 1975 through 1983, eventually becoming the director of marketing. In 1983, Libous became vice president of marketing for the Johnson City Publishing Company in Binghamton. He held that position until his election to the New York State Senate.

A part-time instructor at SUNY Broome Community College, Libous has taught courses in banking, marketing and finance.

Early political career

Libous began his political career working on various campaigns for his uncle, Binghamton mayor Alfred Libous. In 1984, Libous was elected to Binghamton City Council representing the city's south side. He was re¬elected in 1987 and served as the council's minority leader. He also served as president of the New York State Association of City Councils.

New York State Senate

In 1988, Libous was elected to the New York State Senate, succeeding Senate Majority Leader Warren M. Anderson. From 2008 to 2012, he proceeded through a series of leadership positions including Deputy Majority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, and Chair of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee. Libous is currently Deputy Majority Coalition Leader.

Libous has served on a variety of committees including Alcohol & Drug Abuse, Select Committee on the Disabled, Mental Health & Development Disabilities, and Transportation. In his time as chairman of these committees, Libous has sponsored legislation which created the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, sought to curb underage drinking, created the Traumatic Brain Injury Program, tried to improve the quality of life for those with disabilities and mental health, worked to increase funding for transportation projects.

Libous opposed the Marriage Equality Act recognizing same-sex marriage (passed 33-29).^[1] He also voted against requiring background checks for gun purchases (passed 43-18),^[2] tightening labor standards for domestic employees (passed 35-26),^[3] and lessening penalties for those found with hypodermic needles (passed 43-18).^[4]

Controversy

Libous has been scrutinized on several different occasions upon his time as a New York State Senator. In 2012, he was highlighted in a Yonkers corruption trial for his role in attempting to help his son receive a job at a law firm there.^[5] On July 1, 2014, Libous was indicted on charges of lying to the FBI regarding the circumstances of his son's employment at the law firm.^[6] Libous has also been scrutinized for having ties to a real-estate company holding gas leases founded by his wife and run by a campaign donor.^[7]

Community projects and programs

As Senator, he has worked on economic development deals to bring and retain thousands of jobs to the Southern Tier, helped convince the Ottawa Senators to locate its American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton, brought the PGA Champions Tour's Dick's Sporting Goods Open golf tournament to Endicott, and kept the AA-Level Binghamton Mets Baseball Club in the Southern Tier.

In 1989, Libous founded YES! Safe Choices for Kids (now a partnership with Lourdes Hospital) to help kids learn about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. Each year, YES! trains hundreds of high school students to teach the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse to elementary school students, sponsors local events and programming and offers a drug and alcohol prevention resources for families on its website.^[8]

In 1998, Libous founded the Student Community Service Awards (SCSA) through a partnership with WBNG-TV and Broome-Tioga BOCES. Each year, the SCSA program awards scholarships to high school seniors based on community volunteer work. Each honoree is selected by his or her school district.^[9]

In 2000, he founded BOOKS (now a partnership with Morrisville State College) to encourage kids to become better readers. BOOKS takes a unique position on reading by rewarding kids for time spent reading rather than for the number of books finished and offers a variety of resources encouraging children to read on its website.^[10]

Personal life

Libous lives in Binghamton with his wife, Fran, who serves as Vice Chair of the Workers Compensation Board. The couple has two grown sons—Matt and Nick. In 2009, Libous was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He underwent treatment while still serving as State Senator. In 2010, he founded I Turned Pro to encourage men over age 50 to talk to their doctors about the risk for prostate cancer.^[11]

References

External links

• Tom Libous' official website