
Elected to the
New York State Senate in November, 2002, Martin
Malave Dilan is serving his first term in the 17th
Senatorial District after representing the 37th Council District for
ten years. In an unusual twist for a Senate freshman, Senator Dilan
was appointed the Assistant Minority Leader of Conference Operations.
As a Senator representing Brooklyn, Senator Dilan continues his extraordinary
career in public service. The 17th District encompasses the North
Brooklyn communities of Bushwick, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Cypress
Hills, City-Line, East New York, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Brownsville.
Prior
to being elected to the State Senate, Senator Dilan served ten years
as a member of the New York City Council. During his tenure in the City
Council, Senator Dilan distinguished himself as a diligent legislator,
while maintaining a strong constituent services operation through his
district office. As a council member, Senator Dilan wrote the law to
aggressively penalize anyone found guilty of illegal dumping. He also
was the prime sponsor of legislation that gave oversight powers to the
City Council as it relates to city contracts that jeopardized city jobs.
Senator
Dilan has a long track record of being an advocate for youth and senior
citizen issues. He is well known in his community for being a strong
supporter of education. His basic philosophy on education is that students
must have the basic tools to achieve and level the educational playing
field. Having served 14 years as a member of Community School Board
#32, (seven as Chair) Senator Dilan was instrumental in addressing overcrowding
by advocating for new school construction. As a council member, he successfully
obtained state of the art computers for every elementary school and
middle school in his district, and was successful in obtaining $20 million
in Capital Funding for Public School 89, the Cypress Hills Community
School.
Senator
Dilan has an impeccable reputation amongst his colleagues in all levels
of government. As the City Council's Chair of the Standards and Ethics
Committee, he advocated for greater access to information about conflict
of interest issues among elected officials and government employees.
As a former businessman, Senator Dilan understands the importance of
economic development and business retention programs in New York. He
is also a strong supporter of environmental causes, and the beautification
and preservation of parks.
Senator
Dilan grew up in the community of Bushwick where his parents, Esther
and Gilberto, who migrated from Puerto Rico in 1947, instilled in him
the importance of community service and cultural heritage. In 1965,
the young and ambitious Martin first involved himself in electoral politics
when he worked as a volunteer in a mayoral campaign before graduating
from high school and going on to Brooklyn College where he participated
in the Special Baccalaureate Degree Program.
Senator
Dilan is a former legislative assistant for the U.S. House of Representatives
and has served as a Democratic District Leader and Democratic State
Committeeman from the 54th Assembly District. Senator Dilan has been
elected 3 times as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
in 1992, 1996 and 2000. He is married to Debra Hicks and they have three
children: Erik (a Council Member from Brooklyn, NY), Melissa and Nicole.
Standing
Committee Assignments 2004: Social Services (Ranking Minority); Banks;
Consumer Protection; Education; Energy and Telecommunications; Judiciary;
Tourism, Recreation and Sports Development; Transportation.
VOTE
IN 2002 GENERAL ELECTION
Martin
Malave Dilan, Dem 19,851
Nellie R. Santiago, Rep 6,648; Lib 1,056; Wor 1,210 8,914
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