Candidate Profile: Keith Brown For NY Assembly District 12

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Election Day is right around the corner, and voters will choose between incumbent Republican state Assemblyman Keith Brown and Democratic challenger Thomas Cox in the general election on Nov. 5 for New York State Assembly District 12.

The 12nd Assembly District covers Northport, East Northport, Centerport, Eaton's Neck, Asharoken and portions of Fort Salonga, Halesite, Greenlawn, Commack, Elwood, Dix Hills, Deer Park, and North Bay Shore.

In anticipation of the election, Patch asked candidates in the contested races to answer questions about their campaigns and will publish candidate profiles as election day draws near. Here are their answers, lightly edited for clarity.

Note: Democratic challenger Thomas Cox is not running an active campaign, according to the Suffolk County Democratic Committee.

Name:

NYS Assemblyman Keith P. Brown

Campaign website:

VoteKeithBrown.com

City or town of residence:

Northport, NY

Office sought:

NYS Assembly – 12th District

Party affiliation:

Republican, Conservative

Education:

B.A. English SUNY Albany; J.D. Touro Law School

Occupation:

Attorney

Family:

Married 27 years, three sons, ages: 22, 19 and 16.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Age:

56

Previous public office, appointive or elective:

None

Why are you seeking this office?

I love representing my hometown! I will continue to speak up for communities, families, students and children on Long Island and beyond. I look forward to continuing to serve the people of the 12th Assembly District!

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

My opponent has none of the experience that I have as a municipal attorney and active member
of my community for 30 years.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

As Assemblyman, I will continue to work tirelessly to help make New York State safer, smarter and cleaner for all Long Islanders and New Yorkers.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I fought to improve public safety and tackle the opioid/fentanyl crisis head on by introducing
legislation to make a wider variety of opioid reversal agents available (A.10193, K. Brown). I
prioritized building an emotionally supportive educational environment in our schools by dialing
back on cellphone usage in school during classroom instruction (A.9687, K. Brown), and
protecting children from exploitative features in online products (A.8314, K. Brown) as well as
addictive social media platforms (A.8148-A, A.8149-A). And finally, I helped to improve water
quality around the Island by co-sponsoring the Suffolk County Sewer Commission (A.8993) and
protecting the environment by co-sponsoring the Packaging Reduction and Recycling
Infrastructure Act (A.5322).

What problems facing your district would you look to solve if you are elected/re-elected?

Reducing the number of overdose deaths, integrating our mental health and substance use system
of care and creating a Co-Occurring Disorder Committee here in Suffolk County.

Cancer is a prominent health issue for Long Islanders and is a leading cause of death for
children. What measures would you take to help lower cancer rates and bolster research in
the field?

A bill was passed in the Assembly in 2024 (A.4219, Rivera) that directs the NYS Department of
Health to conduct a study on the incidences of cancer clusters in cities and towns having a
population of more than 90,000. I voted YES on this bill.

I also supported several budget initiatives that would support cancer research. These include:

● Stony Brook Medicine’s National Cancer Institute: $1 million
● Tobacco Use Prevention and Control: $40.6 million for tobacco use prevention and
control and cancer research.
● Roswell Park Cancer Institute: $55.5 million

What would you do to help small businesses struggling with inflation and the cost of goods
needed to manufacture their products?

The Tax Foundation’s annual Business Climate Index has ranked New York as the second worst
State in the country for businesses for the past six years, and the policies the Governor and the
majorities in the legislature advance are only making it worse for our businesses. New Yorkers
face the highest State and local tax burden in the country, which stifles the ability of small
businesses to invest in themselves and limits growth. I am hopeful that we can work together to
reduce the burdens on our businesses, giving them the room they need to grow and thrive.

The Assembly Republican Conference has long been a supporter of reducing taxes and overall
costs on businesses and has been outspoken against the unemployment insurance surcharge that
has been imposed by the State. These include:

● A.2982 (Ra): Suspends employer contributions to the Interest Assessment Surcharge
(IAS) fund until December 31, 2025, and instead appropriates $500 million from the
Economic Uncertainties Fund to pay the interest on the outstanding loan for the
Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.
● A.2390 (JM Giglio): Establishes business franchise and personal income tax credits for
capital investments made in certain small businesses.
● A.2710 (Angelino): Direct the Department of Economic Development to study methods
for keeping small retail business within New York, and create a pilot program to train and
counsel owners, and potential owners, of small businesses.
● A.5389 (Barclay): Establish a division, led by a commissioner who has a fixed term, to
review and make binding recommendations for the elimination of burdensome
regulations. I am a multi-sponsor of this bill.
● A.2015 (Hawley): Reduce the amount a utility can be assessed for costs and expenses of
the Department of Public Service and the Public Service Commission, from one percent
to one-third of one percent.
● A.5637 (Friend): Prohibit State departments, offices, agencies, and authorities from imposing any fees, surcharges, or taxes that have not been approved by the State Legislature.
● A.3626 (Ra): Provides immediate assistance to small businesses by providing grants of up to $10,000 to support online marketing campaigns and social media strategies and provide valuable business assistance to locally-owned businesses.
● A.3695 (Bendett): Establish a small business tax credit of up to $5,000 for efforts to improve a facility in order to reduce the spread of infectious diseases.
● A.4809 (Norris): Expand the eligibility to receive the Minimum Wage Reimbursement Credit to employers who pay the minimum wage plus fifty cents to certain employees.
● A.5419 (Palmesano): Require legislative approval of minimum wage increases authorized through wage orders.
● A.2954 (Simpson): Creates a tax credit for small businesses that sell a certain percentage of products produced in New York State.
● A.2995 (Gallahan): Establishes the GrowNY pilot program, an economic gardening pilot program to stimulate investment in the State economy by providing technical assistance for expanding businesses.
● A.5217 (Barclay): Establishes the small business child and dependent care savings program allowing small businesses to offer pre-tax child and dependent care savings accounts for their employees.
● A.6068 (Hawley): Enacts the “New York Business Emergency Relief Act” to provide relief to small businesses with regard to repaying any outstanding debt owed to the federal unemployment insurance trust fund.

Water quality is critical to the region. What plans do you have to help improve water quality and keep it safe for generations?

I have pushed to create the SC Sewer Commission which is 50 years overdue, among other important environmental conservation bills which I have voted for. In addition, I helped the Greenlawn and Brentwood Water Districts secure grant funding for filtration infra-structure to improve water quality. I have also hosted seminars on the Federal MS4 Stormwater Program in an effort to develop stormwater plans the remaining areas of Huntington’s north shore to help improve the quality of our surface waters surrounding the Island.

How can the immigration crisis be addressed at the federal and local level? Can federal
and local officials work together?

Assembly Republicans have introduced numerous bills to address this exact concern. One bill of
note, “Laken’s Law” (A.9167-A, Gandolfo/K. Brown) would require law enforcement agencies
to forward copies of fingerprints and associated reports detailing an arrest of non-citizens to ICE,
and require all courts within the State to notify ICE upon the felony or misdemeanor conviction
of a non-citizen. The bill would also reinstate the maximum one-year sentence for a class A
misdemeanor for deportation purposes, and repeal provisions of law that currently prevent
certain immigration-related courthouse arrests.

Additional bills of note include:

● A.7319-A (Slater, K. Brown): Require New York State to register all migrants in order
to assist with background checks and to monitor refugees seeking asylum in the state.
● A.7508 (Ra): Require the Comptroller to examine and audit all state and federal funds
received/appropriated for humanitarian aid in New York City or any other municipality.
● A.8013 (Reilly): Ensure funding is not used to shelter migrants in schools, daycare
centers, or community-based organizations.
● A.8033 (Gandolfo): Prohibit the Governor from preventing state agencies and/or law
enforcement from working with federal agencies for the purposes of enforcing federal
immigration law.
● A.8034 (Barclay, K. Brown): Protect counties and municipalities from "Right to Shelter" confusion by requiring local governing bodies in New York State to opt-in to accepting migrants from other jurisdictions.

• Similar to Leader Barclay’s bill, Senator Tedisco and Democratic Assemblymember Buttenschon have introduced a bill, A.8008/S.7615, that empowers local governments to prevent migrants from being transported from New York City to upstate communities without getting home rule support from affected municipalities.

● A.9167-A (Gandolfo, K. Brown): “Laken’s Law” requires law enforcement agencies in
New York State to forward copies of fingerprints and associated reports detailing an
arrest of non-citizens to ICE. Requires all courts within the State to notify ICE upon the
felony or misdemeanor conviction of a non-citizen. Reinstates the maximum one-year
sentence for a class A misdemeanor for deportation purposes. Repeals provisions of law
that currently prevent certain immigration-related courthouse arrests.
● A.7566 (Gray): Prohibit the use of SUNY dormitories for the purpose of providing
housing for migrant populations.
● A.7706 “NY CARES ACT” (Flood): Prohibit local government actions that would
prevent the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
● A.8880 (Lemondes, K. Brown): Establish the class C felony of migrant trafficking to
criminalize the act of transporting undocumented immigrants from a location outside of
New York State to a location within New York State, or any location within New York
State to another location within New York State, with intent to drop off such person.

What can be done about inflation, which some say can be attributed to price gouging?

Assembly Republicans have long advocated in favor of reducing costs to consumers by
suspending State sales tax on necessary items. I am a co-sponsor of the "Inflation Relief &
Consumer Assistance Plan" which would achieve this goal, and grant local governments the
option to eliminate such taxes if they choose to do so.

● Inflation Relief & Consumer Assistance Plan: Immediately suspends State sales tax on
dozens of everyday items for two years, including gasoline, personal care products,
housekeeping supplies, prepared foods, and many others (A.1690, Barclay, K. Brown).

The median cost of renting on Long Island falls between $2,000 and $3,100. How can more
affordable housing options be created?

The affordable housing crisis reflects the State’s poor business climate, so initiatives to help
lower taxes, reduce high shipping and freight costs of building materials, and cut back regulatory
obstacles would encourage more building.

I have sponsored several bills to address the need for affordable housing:

● A.838, (Joyner, K. Brown) — Creates a task force on affordable housing lotteries to
review the affordable housing lotteries within New. York state and determine the
lotteries' effectiveness and recommend how the lotteries could be improved (Enacting
Clause Stricken).
● A.5525 (K. Brown) — Requires five percent of affordable housing units to be offered to
veterans (Not Considered).
● A.9065 (K. Brown) — Requires affordable housing funded by the state be used for
veterans and people with disabilities, with each group receiving five percent of such
affordable housing (Not Considered).
● A.4356 (Fitzpatrick) — Extends the authority, currently held only by New York City, to
issue affordable housing development loans to all other municipalities in the State (Held).
o I voted NO on the motion to Hold the bill in committee.
● A.6625 (Fitzpatrick) — Allows the use of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program
for developing one- to four-family residences, including condominiums and cooperatives,
in low-income, rural, or distressed areas (Held).

I voted NO on the motion to Hold the bill in committee.

Policies that may be suggested include tax credits to incentivize builders and developers to
construct more affordable housing and tax exemptions for new homeowners.

What is your stance on SALT (State and Local Tax Relief)?

I have supported a number of proposals related to state and local tax relief, including the Inflation Relief & Consumer Assistance Plan, which would eliminate the sales tax on dozens of everyday items for two years, including (but not limited to) gasoline, personal care products, housekeeping supplies, and prepared foods (A.1690, Barclay), and the Unfunded Mandate Moratorium, which would place a permanent moratorium on unfunded mandates and require fiscal notes on bills detailing estimated annual costs to localities (A.5447, Barclay).

What needs to be done to keep Long Island streets safe from crime?

We need to correct our bail laws and give judges discretion to hold defendants in jail if they are a danger to our community. In addition, I also secured a $150,000 in funding for the SC District Attorney’s Office to install ShotSpotter in Brentwood, which is one of the nine highest areas of Suffolk County with the most gun violence.

The DWI/DWAI rate is escalating island wide. What measures can you fight for, to address
the escalating addiction crisis?

I would pass A00174 to update our antiquated DWI laws here in NYS by creating an overall “impairment” standard, rather than the current archaic system where DAs cannot prosecute defendants for driving while high.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

My father, who said “to be a good lawyer you have to like and want to help people.” I have carried that throughout my life.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I am a very hardworking elected official. In fact, I have the most bills filed in the NYS Assembly
by any member of my Conference by a large amount.