Kevin Thomas (politician)

Kevin Thomas
Thomas in 2019
Member of the New York State Senate
from the 6th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2019
Preceded byKemp Hannon
Personal details
BornDubai, United Arab Emirates
Political partyDemocratic
Residence(s)Garden City, New York, U.S.
ProfessionAttorney
WebsiteOfficial website

Kevin Thomas is an American attorney and politician from the state of New York. A Democrat, Thomas has represented the 6th district in the New York State Senate since 2019. In July 2023, he announced his candidacy in the 2024 election for New York's 4th congressional district.[1]

Early life and career

Thomas is an Indian-American[2] of Malayalee descent.[3] He was born in Satwa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to a family originating from Kerala. He has an older sister.[4] Thomas attended St. Mary's School in Dubai before he immigrated to the United States as a ten-year-old boy.[5] He earned his bachelor's degree from St. John's University and his Juris Doctor from Western Michigan University's Cooley Law School.[6]

Thomas worked for the New York Legal Assistance Group as an attorney and was an appointee of the US Commission on Civil Rights to the New York State Advisory Committee, a federal agency tasked with civil rights oversight.[7]

New York Senate

In an upset victory, Thomas defeated incumbent Senator Kemp Hannon 50.8%–49.1% in the 6th Senate District in the 2018 New York State Senate elections.[8][9]

Thomas was sworn in for his first term on January 1, 2019, and is serving as Chair of the Consumer Protection committee.[10] He is the first South Asian American[11] and the first Indian-American[2] to serve in the New York State Senate.

In 2020, Thomas worked on a data bill entitled the New York Privacy Act, which would require companies to allow consumers to obtain the names of all entities with whom their information is shared and give those consumers the power to stop the company from sharing that data if they do not want it distributed.[12]

In October 2020, Thomas secured a second term after defeating Republican challenger Dennis Dunne.[13]

Personal life

Thomas and his wife, Rincy, have a daughter.[7]

References

  1. ^ Malaszczyk, Michael (July 26, 2023). "State Senator Kevin Thomas Announces 2024 Congressional Campaign". Long Island Press. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "First Indian-American New York Senator Kevin Thomas Shares Dubai Memories". NDTV.com. March 25, 2019.
  3. ^ Kumar, Arun (December 14, 2021). "Cricket to get big boost in New York state". AmericanBazaarOnline.com.
  4. ^ "First Indian-American New York Senator grew up in Dubai | Uae – Gulf News". Gulfnews.com. March 24, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  5. ^ UAE (February 24, 2022). "The senator from Satwa: Dubai-born Indian American keen to take UAE culture to New York". Thenationalnews.com. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  6. ^ "Democrat Kevin Thomas announces bid against GOP state Sen. Kemp Hannon". April 3, 2018.
  7. ^ a b November 23, 2020 (November 23, 2020). "Indian American N.Y. State Senator Kevin Thomas Re-elected with Improved Margin of Victory". American Kahani. Retrieved June 22, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Kevin Thomas wins New York State Senate bid". GCNews.com. November 16, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  9. ^ "State Sen.-elect Kevin Thomas on his unexpected victory | CSNY". Cityandstateny.com. November 12, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  10. ^ "New York State Senator Kevin Thomas". New York State Senate. nysenate.gov. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  11. ^ "2021 Power of Diversity: Asian 100". City & State NY. July 18, 2021.
  12. ^ Birsner, Chris (January 29, 2020). "Kevin Thomas, Michael Montesano Gear Up For 2020 Slate". Levittown Tribune. Excerpt also available under title "A look at Albany: A Chat with Senator Thomas," via Senator Kevin Thomas's page on the New York State Senate website, nysenate.gov. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  13. ^ Roy, Yancey; Gormley, Michael (November 16, 2020). "Dems' Thomas wins State Senate race after absentees tallied". Newsday.com.