Daniel L. Squadron | |
|---|---|
 Squadron in 2016 | |
| Member of the New York State Senate from the 26th district | |
| In office January 1, 2013 – August 11, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Liz Krueger |
| Succeeded by | Brian P. Kavanagh |
| 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 | November 9, 1979 Riverdale, Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Other political affiliations | Working Families Party |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Weinstein |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, New York City, New York |
| Alma mater | Yale University (B.A.) |
| Occupation | Politician |
Daniel L. Squadron[1] (born November 9, 1979) is an American politician and former member of the New York State Senate for the 26th district.
A Democrat, Squadron was elected a New York State Senator in 2008, and was a candidate in the 2013 race for New York Public Advocate.[2][3] In August 2017, he resigned from the NY State Senate to work with entrepreneur Adam Pritzker and Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University to launch Future Now, a national initiative to promote "policies focused on creating a better, healthier, fairer future."[4]
Daniel Squadron was born in 1979.[5] His mother is Anne Strickland Squadron,[6] and his father was Howard Squadron[7][6][8][9][10] of the law firm Squadron, Ellenoff, Plesent & Sheinfeld and Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.[11] His brother, Bill Squadron, was the head of Bloomberg Sports.[10][12]
Squadron attended the private Fieldston School and graduated from Yale University in 2003. During his junior year, he cofounded and managed What Bar, a bar near Columbia University.[13]
Squadron served as a consultant to New York City's Department of Education and worked as a staffer on Congressman Anthony Weiner's 2005 mayoral campaign.[7] 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).
Squadron ran for the 25th district of the New York State Senate in 2008.[14] He received the endorsements of Schumer, Congressman Anthony Weiner, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.[15] Assisted by family friends, Schumer supporters, and an aggressive campaign strategy,[16] Squadron defeated incumbent state senator Martin Connor and took 54% of the vote.[17] 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%.[19] Squadron won reelection in 2014 in a landslide over Republican candidate Wave Chan; and he ran unopposed in 2016, running on both the Democratic and Working Families Party lines.[citation needed]
Squadron's platform included opposition to luxury development in Brooklyn Bridge Park. He negotiated a deal that reduced and delayed housing in the park, and has been credited with returning $11 million in capital funding that had been cut from the park's budget.[20][21] Squadron also secured millions for a waterfront park project on the Lower East Side at Pier 42, along with Schumer,[22] and also helped secure the future of Governors Island.[23] Squadron's proposal to link New York's wealthiest parks conservancies with under-resourced neighborhood parks[1] resulted in hundreds of millions in new funding for community parks.[24]
In 2010, Squadron sponsored the law that brought billions in federal dollars to New York City's public housing.[25] Squadron also passed legislation expanding middle class eligibility for the Mitchell-Lama Housing Program.[26]
Squadron's tenure included a noted focus on ethics and campaign finance reform.[27] He passed the law prohibiting public officers from using government resources for their own for-profit business.[28] Squadron also unsuccessfully pushed to close the "LLC Loophole," which allows nearly unlimited, often anonymous campaign contributions to flood the political process.[29]
On August 9, 2017, Squadron announced his resignation from the Senate in an opinion piece published in the Daily News.[4] He cited "heavily invested special interests" and "cynical political deals," adding: "And the status quo has proven extraordinarily durable: It barely shuddered when the leaders of both legislative chambers [Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver] were convicted of corruption."
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Main article: 2013 New York City Public Advocate election |
In the race for Public Advocate, Squadron had the endorsements of mentor Senator Chuck Schumer, and former Public Advocates Betsy Gotbaum and Mark Green.[30] Squadron placed second in the primary and advanced to an October 2013 runoff primary,[30][31] which he lost to Letitia James, by 59% to 41%.[32]
In August 2017, Squadron announced he would be working with entrepreneur Adam Pritzker and Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University on a national initiative focused on "stronger candidates, a sharpened approach and better policies at the state level", emphasizing "policies focused on creating a better, healthier, fairer future".[4] In October 2017, that initiative was launched as Future Now. The initiative is now known as The States Project.[33][34]
Squadron is married to Elizabeth Weinstein, a former director in Mayor Bloomberg's Office of Operations.[35] 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.[36] Squadron lives in Carroll Gardens with his wife and two sons.[37]
According to Squadron, a trust fund established for him and 18 other family members was lost in the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme.[38][39]