Kevin Thomas (politician)

Kevin Thomas (born September 10, 1984) 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. Thomas is the first South Asian and the first Indian-American to serve in the New York State Senate.

Kevin Thomas
Thomas in 2019
Member of the New York State Senate
from the 6th district
Assumed office
January 1, 2019
Preceded byKemp Hannon
Personal details
Born (1984-09-10) September 10, 1984
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Political partyDemocratic
Residence(s)Levittown, New York, U.S.
ProfessionAttorney
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life and career

Born in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thomas immigrated to the United States as a ten-year-old boy. He received his J.D. from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School.

Thomas is an Indian-American[1] of Malayalee descent.[2]

Prior to elected office, Thomas was an attorney and an appointee of the US Commission on Civil Rights to the New York State Advisory Committee, a federal agency tasked with civil rights oversight. He lives in Levittown with his family.

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.[3][4]

Thomas was sworn in for his first term on January 1, 2019, and is serving as Chair of the Consumer Protection committee.[5] He is the first South Asian American[6] and the first Indian-American[1] 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.[7]

In October 2020, Thomas secured a second term after defeating Republican challenger Dennis Dunne. Although the initial count favored Dunne, the historically large number of absentee ballots cast in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic swung the race in Thomas's favor.[8]

References

  1. "First Indian-American New York Senator Kevin Thomas Shares Dubai Memories". NDTV.com. March 25, 2019.
  2. Kumar, Arun (December 14, 2021). "Cricket to get big boost in New York state". AmericanBazaarOnline.com.
  3. "Kevin Thomas wins New York State Senate bid". GCNews.com. November 16, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  4. "State Sen.-elect Kevin Thomas on his unexpected victory | CSNY". Cityandstateny.com. November 12, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  5. "New York State Senator Kevin Thomas". New York State Senate. nysenate.gov. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  6. "2021 Power of Diversity: Asian 100". City & State NY. July 18, 2021.
  7. 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.
  8. Roy, Yancey; Gormley, Michael (November 16, 2020). "Dems' Thomas wins State Senate race after absentees tallied". Newsday.com.
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