James Skoufis

James Skoufis (born October 18, 1987) is an American politician of the Democratic Party currently representing the 39th District of the New York State Senate since 2019.

James Skoufis
Member of the New York State Senate
from the 39th district
Assumed office
January 1, 2019
Preceded byBill Larkin
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 99th district
In office
January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2018
Preceded bySteve Katz
Succeeded byColin Schmitt
Personal details
Born (1987-10-18) October 18, 1987
Flushing, Queens, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceWoodbury, Orange County
Alma materGeorge Washington University (BA)
Columbia University (MA)
WebsiteOfficial website

Skoufis began his political career on the Woodbury town board in Orange County. In 2012 he was elected to the New York State Assembly, becoming its youngest member at 25. He was re-elected in 2014 and 2016.[1]

Background

Skoufis was born in Flushing, Queens in 1987, the son of a Greek immigrant. His family moved north to the town of Woodbury in the Hudson Valley in 1995. He graduated from Monroe-Woodbury High School in 2005. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree summa cum laude from The George Washington University and a masters from Columbia University.[2]

Before his time in the state legislature, Skoufis was a project manager at an electronic security firm and a member of the Woodbury Town Board. On the Town Board, Skoufis distinguished himself in the wake of Hurricane Irene by leading the local relief effort and helping affected families with food, shelter, and financial assistance.[2]

Skoufis married his wife Hillary at Manhattan's The Pierre in May 2017.[3] He has one sibling, a sister.[4]

New York State Assembly

After redistricting in 2012 following the decennial census, long-time Republican Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun decided to retire, leaving the seat vacant.[5] Skoufis received the Democratic nomination for the seat, defeating Larry Delarose at the party's county convention.[6] In the November general election, he defeated Republican Kyle Roddey, the Mayor of Goshen, with 56% of the vote.[7] At age 24, he became the youngest member of the Assembly.[2]

Skoufis introduced his first two bills within a week of being sworn in; both were inspired by the aftermath of Hurricane Irene in 2011.[8] Both bills passed the Assembly a few months later.[9]

Also in his first session, Assemblyman Skoufis was an outspoken supporter of increasing the minimum wage,[10][11] as well as tax incentives to attract new businesses to the Hudson Valley.[12] Skoufis also voted to repeal the payroll tax that funds the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in outlying counties it serves, co-sponsored legislation to prohibit tax breaks for businesses that outsource jobs, and supports an elimination of the property tax system in favor of a fairer, broader-based system.

Early in 2014, Skoufis introduced Tuition-Free NY, a proposal to make SUNY and CUNY in New York State tuition-free as long as students fulfill community service and residency requirements. The proposal garnered bipartisan support in the Assembly and won praise from some editorial boards.[13]

New York State Senate

In 2018, longtime Senator William J. Larkin Jr. decided to retire at the age of 88. He had served in the seat since 1991. While Skoufis had been rumored as an opponent to Larkin for sometime, he never opted to run. However, with Larkin no longer running, Skoufis entered the race. In a good year for Democrats, Skoufis defeated Republican Tom Basile, 54 percent to 46 percent.[14] Democrats also took the majority in the Senate in the same election.[15]

In the Senate, Skoufis serves as the Chair of the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations.[16]

Skoufis contracted COVID-19 during the pandemic.[17] On May 5, he announced he had been symptom-free for two weeks and was able to end his self-isolation. "The past two weeks [we]re the sickest I have ever felt", he said.[18]

Electoral history

New York State Assembly
New York's 99th Assembly District 2012 General Election[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic James G. Skoufis 26,325 50.22%
Working Families James G. Skoufis 2,705 5.18%
Total James G. Skoufis 29,030 55.57%
Republican Kyle Roddey 19,032 36.43%
Conservative Kyle Roddey 3,265 6.25%
Independence Kyle Roddey 874 1.67%
Total Kyle Roddey 23,171 44.35%
Write-in 44 0.08%
Total votes 52,245 100%
Democratic gain from Republican
New York's 99th Assembly District 2014 General Election[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic James G. Skoufis 15,672 46.04%
Working Families James G. Skoufis 2,165 6.36%
Total James G. Skoufis (incumbent) 17,837 52.40%
Republican Richard M. Cocchiara 12,365 36.33%
Conservative Richard M. Cocchiara 3,184 9.35%
Independence Richard M. Cocchiara 637 1.87%
Total Richard M. Cocchiara 16,186 47.55%
Write-in 14 0.04%
Total votes 34,037 100%
Democratic hold
New York's 99th Assembly District 2016 General Election[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic James G. Skoufis 26,971 48.04%
Working Families James G. Skoufis 2,082 3.71%
Women's Equality James G. Skoufis 537 0.96%
Total James G. Skoufis (incumbent) 29,590 52.70%
Republican Colin J. Schmitt 22,178 39.50%
Conservative Colin J. Schmitt 3,284 5.85%
Independence Colin J. Schmitt 910 1.62%
Reform Colin J. Schmitt 169 0.30%
Total Colin J. Schmitt 26,541 47.27%
Write-in 16 0.03%
Total votes 56,147 100%
Democratic hold

New York State Senate
New York's 39th Senatorial District 2018 Reform Party Primary[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Reform James G. Skoufis 931 99.68%
Write-in 3 0.32%
Total votes 934 100%
New York's 39th Senatorial District 2018 General Election[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic James G. Skoufis 48,267 50.50%
Working Families James G. Skoufis 1,862 1.92%
Reform James G. Skoufis 712 0.74%
Women's Equality James G. Skoufis 707 0.74%
Total James G. Skoufis 51,548 53.94%
Republican Tom Basile 34,195 35.78%
Conservative Tom Basile 5,080 5.32%
Independence Tom Basile 4,713 4.93%
Total Tom Basile 43,988 46.03%
Write-in 36 0.04%
Total votes 95,572 100%
Democratic gain from Republican
New York's 39th Senatorial District 2020 General Election[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic James G. Skoufis 66,758 52.48%
Working Families James G. Skoufis 5,356 4.21%
SAM James G. Skoufis 404 0.32%
Total James G. Skoufis 72,518 57.01%
Republican Steve Brescia 48,635 38.23%
Conservative Steve Brescia 5,963 4.69%
Total Steve Brescia 54,598 42.92%
Write-in 85 0.07%
Total votes 127,201 100%
Democratic hold

See also

References
  1. "Election Results", "Photo News," 7 November 2012.
  2. "Biography". New York State Assembly. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  3. "Hillary Stuchin, James Skoufis". The New York Times. May 21, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  4. "Obituary – Donna Ann Colombo". The Woodbury Gazette. June 5, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  5. "NY Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun retiring". Daily Freeman. Kingston, New York. May 27, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  6. Sullivan, John (March 23, 2012). "Goshen's Roddey joins list of Calhoun's opponents". Times Herald-Record. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  7. "Election 2012 – New York State Legislature". The New York Times. November 7, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  8. "Skoufis introduces first legislation". Mid-Hudson News Network. January 5, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  9. "Assembly Passes Comprehensive Sandy Insurance Reform Package to Protect Homeowners and Businesses in the Event of a Natural Disaster" (Press release). Albany, New York: New York State Assembly. June 4, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  10. Gross, Hank (March 29, 2013). "State budget increases minimum wage". WAMC. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  11. "New York State's Minimum Wage". New York State. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  12. "Skoufis Helps Pass Budget That Delivers for Hard-Working Hudson Valley Families While Cutting Taxes for Businesses" (Press release). New York State Assembly. March 31, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  13. The Journal News, "Editorial: Tuition-Free NY aids students and state"
  14. "Our Campaigns - NY State Senate 39 Race - Nov 06, 2018". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  15. Twitter, Paul Kirby pkirby@freemanonline com @paulatfreeman on. "39th NY Senate District: Democratic Assemblyman Skoufis beats Republican Basile to take Larkin's seat". Daily Freeman. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
  16. "About James Skoufis". NY State Senate. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
  17. McKenna, Chris (April 24, 2020). "Skoufis tests positive for COVID-19". Times Herald-Record. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  18. Skoufis, James (May 5, 2020). "Senator Skoufis Statement on COVID-19 Recovery". New York State Senate. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  19. "NYS Board of Elections Assembly Election Returns Nov. 6, 2012" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  20. "NYS Board of Elections Assembly Election Returns November 4, 2014" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  21. "NYS Board of Elections Assembly Election Returns Nov. 8, 2016" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  22. "2018 Election Results | New York State Board of Elections". www.elections.ny.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  23. "Certified Results from the November 6, 2018 General Election for NYS Senate" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  24. "2020 Election Results | New York State Board of Elections". www.elections.ny.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
New York State Assembly
Preceded by
Steve Katz		 Member of the New York Assembly
from the 99th district
2013–2018		 Succeeded by
Colin Schmitt
New York State Senate
Preceded by
Bill Larkin		 Member of the New York Senate
from the 39th district
2019–present		 Incumbent
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