Throughout his more than three decades of public service, John M. Kennedy Jr. has been a strong advocate for taxpayers, seniors, veterans, and the environment.

Understanding the high cost of living on Long Island, Legislator Kennedy has fought consistently to reduce the size of government and the rate of government spending to reduce tax burdens on Suffolk families. Upholding his office with determination and integrity, he has advocated for workforce housing on Long Island and has worked to put an end to landowners making profits off of county lands.

John M. Kennedy Jr.

Legislator Kennedy was first elected to the Suffolk County Legislature in a 2004 special election. He received an impressive 60 percent of the vote as he ran on the Republican, Conservative and Working Families lines. Legislator Kennedy was elected to his first full term in 2005 with a 63 percent majority.

While serving his constituency with dedication, Legislator Kennedy has held various leadership positions, including Chairman of the Veterans and Seniors Committee, Vice Chair of the Ways and Means Committee, and a member of the Environment and Agriculture Committee, Health and Human Services Committee and the Public Works and Transportation Committee.

Legislator Kennedy sponsored a bill which was unanimously passed to allow a ten percent exemption for real property taxes on residents with real estate owned by a person in active military service. He has supported County Executive Levy’s budgets resulting in a three-year freeze in County taxes. He introduced the bill that increases GPS tracking for sex offenders by the Department of Probation, a measure which passed 18-0 on June 26, 2007. Legislator Kennedy has adamantly opposed the spending of government funds to hire illegal immigrants, and supports the Police Department’s action to arrest persons driving without a license.

Legislator Kennedy has worked with Suffolk County Legislator Nowick and Supervisor Patrick Vecchio on a number of issues, including the procurement of one million dollars for groundwater remediation. He has followed through on his promise to preserve open space with legislation for acquisitions in Hauppauge, Lake Grove, Lake Ronkonkoma, and Nesconset. Legislator Kennedy has also helped to secure passage of a bill to protect 100 acres of wetlands, marsh and woodland north of Lake Ronkonkoma.

Legislator Kennedy has worked diligently to uphold the Constitution and provide a better future for the Long Island families. A strong advocate for the community, Legislator Kennedy served for eight years as the Official Examiner of the Title for the Suffolk County Clerk's office. The Clerk's office records all deeds, mortgages and other land records for over 500,000 parcels of Suffolk County land. In 2003, the last year he held the position, the office collected over $400 million in fees and taxes through the use of enhanced technology and streamlined procedures.

Legislator Kennedy's county service began in 1986 under County Executive Peter Cohalan in the Office for Aging. He went on to serve the next three County Executives, LoGrande, Halpin, and Gaffney. He worked extensively on legislation involving federal and state transportation, health care and environmental issues, including protection of the ecosystems and water quality of the Long Island Sound. In addition, Legislator Kennedy served as liaison to the Council on Environmental Quality.

Early in his career, Legislator Kennedy worked as a member of Local 25 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and with the Developmental Disabilities Institute (DDI). He worked for the NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) at Kings Park Psychiatric Center while he attended SUNY at Stony Brook, receiving a B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in Biology in 1979. Legislator Kennedy rose within OMH and became a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor and Administrator for an 80-person out patient day treatment program. He worked for the Suffolk County Office for Aging and developed the EISEP program, among others. All the while, Legislator Kennedy pursued higher education, receiving his Master's in Business Administration (concentration in Capital Budgeting) from Adelphi University.

Legislator Kennedy earned his Juris Doctor from the St. John's University School of Law. Over the last nine years, Legislator Kennedy has practiced law with the firm of Sullivan & Kehoe, concentrating in the areas of Social Security & Long Term Disability benefits. Legislator Kennedy is admitted to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and he has successfully represented World War II and Vietnam Veterans in their quest for disability benefits. He is Pro-Bono Counsel to a not for profit organization, the 343 House, dedicated to the assistance of widows and orphans of line-of-duty deceased New York City Firefighters and has served as a board member on numerous not-for-profit boards, including a daycare center (Playground on the Sound), and a clinic for HIV victims and their families.

Legislator Kennedy has been married to his wife, Leslie, for more than 30 years. They have four grown children: John Christopher, Kristen, Brian and Gillian. The Kennedy family has resided in Nesconset for more than two decades. Legislator Kennedy has been a lifelong Suffolk County resident.