Medalist Dinner 2015

Location: The Princeton Club Tuesday May 05, 2015 Guest of Honor: Senator John J. Flanagan Senator John J. Flanagan represents the Second Senate District, which includes the entire Town of Smithtown and portions of the Town of Brookhaven and the Town of Huntington. He was first elected to represent this part of Suffolk County in 2002 and overwhelmingly reelected in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014.

During his time in the Senate, Senator Flanagan has been a constant leader in the fight to reduce the tax burden facing Long Islanders – an effort he began when he served during his sixteen years in the New York State Assembly immediately prior to his service in the Senate. During his tenure in the lower house, he served as the ranking member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee where he fought for meaningful tax relief.

A fierce advocate for education, Senator Flanagan is currently the Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Education. He has been a constant voice for increasing the quality of education in New York State with a long history of fighting to ensure that all regions get their fair share of state aid to reduce class size and to protect property taxpayers. In the 2013-14 Enacted Budget, Senator Flanagan was instrumental in securing close to one billion dollars in additional aid for school districts throughout New York State.

To ensure that he has a complete understanding of the educational issues facing school districts throughout the state, Senator Flanagan has visited nearly a dozen of his colleagues’ communities to listen to the concerns of local school leaders in an effort to foster an open dialogue on education policies. Senator Flanagan has supported the Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act (Project SAVE) and worked to permanently extend the Child Safety Zone law which gives otherwise ineligible children access to bus service to increase safety in New York schools. To enhance the ability of all students to receive a quality education, Senator Flanagan has worked to expand funding for pre-kindergarten programs, has strived to make college more affordable by maintaining funding for New York State's tuition assistance program and has supported college savings programs that allow for tax-free savings and increased deductions for future college tuition payments.

To protect New York children from drug abuse, he has joined with parents who are at the forefront of the fight to get drugs out of their communities. He was a leader in the successful effort to ban the possession and sale of “legal” drugs like salvia divinorum, synthetic marijuana and "bath salts". And he also worked to enact the Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing (“I-STOP”) Act and include “real time” prescription tracking to provide more information to doctors and pharmacists, in an effort to prevent deaths from abuse and overdoses of prescription drugs, particularly painkillers.

As a state senator, he has also demonstrated his commitment to the disabled community, school organizations and women’s groups by delivering increased state funding and enacting critical legislation in support of their causes.

Senator Flanagan was raised in Huntington where he attended Harborfields High School. In 1983, he earned a B.A. in Economics from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and in 1990 he received a law degree from Touro Law School. Senator Flanagan is proudly following the path of his father, the late John Flanagan, who served in the New York State Assembly from 1972 to 1986.

Senator Flanagan resides in East Northport with his wife, the former Lisa Perez of Maryland. Together, they have raised three children.

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