Kevin Byrne (politician)

Assemblyman Kevin Byrne

Kevin Byrne is the Assembly member for the 94th District of the New York State Assembly. He is a registered Republican who successfully ran with the Republican, Conservative, Independence, and Reform Party endorsements. The district includes portions of Putnam and Westchester counties in the Hudson Valley.

Byrne serves as the ranking member on the Aging Committee. He also serves on the Health, Labor, Banks, and Governmental Operations Committees. At 32 years old, Byrne is the youngest Republican member of the New York State Legislature.^[1]

Life and career

Byrne was born and raised in the Hudson Valley and attended Carmel High School before enrolling at the University of Scranton. As a high school student, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. At Scranton, Byrne participated in the Army ROTC program, but his aspiration to military service was jeopardized by a previous injury he sustained as a competitive student wrestler. Hoping to qualify for the Army physical, Byrne had a second surgery to remove the metal rod that had been used to repair his broken spine - to no avail. Despite that, Byrne did complete the academic portion of the ROTC program coupled with an internship with then Congresswoman Sue Kelly.^[2]

Following his graduation from the University of Scranton, Byrne returned to the Hudson Valley and eventually served as a member of the Putnam Valley Planning Board and as a Firefighter/EMT with the Kent Volunteer Fire Department where he served three terms as its president. He later served as Deputy District Director to Congresswoman Nan Hayworth and then as a Regional Director for the American Heart Association while finishing his M.P.A. concentrating in Healthcare Administration at Marist College.^[3]

2016 New York Assembly campaign

In 2016, Assemblyman Steve Katz announced that he would not seek another term. Byrne was one of five Republicans that announced they would seek the nomination to replace Katz.^[4] At the local Republican Convention, Byrne received 14,562 weighted votes (76%) over Somers Town Councilman Bill Faulkner's 3,681 (19%) and Carmel Councilwoman Suzanne McDonough's 974 (5%).^[5] Councilwoman McDonough immediately pledged she would continue a primary campaign.^[6]

The very next evening, Byrne suffered serious leg injuries after his vehicle was struck head on at high speed in an automobile accident by a vehicle travelling the wrong way in Byrne's lane.^[7] Byrne continued his campaign throughout his recovery and would later be victorious during the Republican primary. He easily beat McDonough 60% to 40%.^[8]

He would later defeat Democrat Brian Higbie in the 2016 general election, 61% to 39%, to take the seat.^[9]

References

External links

• New York State Assemblyman Kevin M. Byrne official site