By Hank Russell
A local assemblyman has announced that he will not seek another term.
Keith Brown (R,C-Northport), a three-term elected official, said he will not seek a fourth term. “This decision was a difficult one, but it is time,” he said.
According to his website, Brown was elected to the assembly in 2020. He represented the 12th District, which encompasses three towns: Huntington, Babylon and Islip.
His first experience in politics started when he interned with then-New York State Senator Norman Levy. As an assembly member, he authored or sponsored 120 pieces of legislation — the most in the Minority Conference, he said. Some of the bills included a cell phone ban in schools, property tax relief for widows and widowers of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty and new policies for people with co-occurring mental health and substance use issues, among others.
In addition, he helped establish high school mentoring programs in six local school districts, established the Long Island Drug Coalition, organized four Co-Occurring Disorder Conferences and, most recently, formed the LI Co-Occurring System of Care Committee, and worked with Western BOCES to establish a Co-Occurring Disorder Curriculum for local schools.
Brown also spoke of how he worked with town officials in strengthening the town’s vaping laws, revitalizing the waterfronts in Northport and Halesite, establishing a Veteran Mental Health Coalition for Long Island and working on veteran suicide prevention.
In addition to serving on the Assembly, Brown runs his own law practice and is also a partner in Certilman Balin’s Real Estate and Land Use & Zoning Practice Groups. Before establishing his law firm, he served as assistant attorney general in the Litigation Bureau of the Office of the New York State Attorney General, defending the state in federal and state courts.
Brown is a graduate of Touro College Law Center and the State University of New York at Albany. He also serves on Touro Law’s Advisory Board for the Institute on Land Use and Sustainable Development Law.
“Thank you to my family, staff, colleagues, our town and county GOP and Conservative chairmen and, most importantly, the constituents who placed their trust in me,” Brown said. “I look forward to continuing to serve our community on the projects I have initiated, refocusing on my law practice and being with my family!”
As his replacement, Suffolk County Republican committee members voted for Islip Town Board Member DawnMarie Kuhn, according to the Babylon Beacon. Kuhn previously served as chief of staff to Suffolk County Legislator Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holbrook), who was recently elected presiding officer.