Al Graf

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Alfred C. Graf

| image =

| caption =

| imagesize =

| state_assembly1 = New York

| district1 = 5th

| term_start1 = January 1, 2011

| term_end1 = December 31, 2017

| predecessor1 = Ginny Fields

| successor =

| successor1 = Douglas M. Smith

| termstart = January 1, 2018

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1958|2|13|mf=yes}}

| birth_place = Long Island, New York, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| office = Suffolk County District Court Judge

| party = Republican Party

| spouse = Mary Graf

| children = 3

| alma_mater = SUNY Plattsburgh (B.A.)
Touro College (J.D.)

| residence = Holbrook, New York

| religion =

}}

Alfred C. Graf (born February 13, 1958) is an American politician and attorney who served as the New York State Assemblyman for the 5th district from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he represented portions of the towns of Brookhaven and Islip, including Holbrook, Lake Ronkonkoma, Ronkonkoma, Holtsville, Centereach, Selden, parts of Farmingville, Islandia, North Patchogue and Stony Brook in Suffolk County on Long Island.{{Cite web|url=http://nyassembly.gov/mem/Al-Graf/bio/|title=New York State Assembly {{!}} Al Graf|website=nyassembly.gov|access-date=2016-12-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220124318/http://nyassembly.gov/mem/Al-Graf/bio/|archive-date=2016-12-20|url-status=dead}} Graf has been a Suffolk County District Court Judge since 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://nycourts.gov/courts/10jd/suffolk/dist/judges.shtml|title=Suffolk County District Court: Judges - 10th Judicial District - N.Y. State Courts|last=System|first=New York State Unified Court|website=nycourts.gov|language=en|access-date=2018-08-24}}

Life and career

Graf was born and raised on Long Island and graduated from Farmingdale High School in 1976. He enlisted in the United States Navy in June 1976 and eventually rose to the rank of Operations Specialist Third Class Petty Officer. Graf received an honorable discharge in June 1980.

After returning to civilian life, Graf joined the New York City Police Department. He worked his way up from patrol to a plainclothes unit and was awarded numerous citations for exceptional police duty before being forced to retire due to an injury. He then worked for Wells Fargo Guard Services as an Accounts Manager.

After moving upstate to Saranac Lake, New York, Graf was elected as Supervisor for the Town of Brighton. After two terms as a town supervisor and at the age of 39, Graf went back to school. He received a bachelor's degree in elementary education from SUNY Plattsburgh and taught in an alternative education program for children. Graf later received a Juris Doctor from Touro Law School.

Graf lives in Holbrook, New York. He and his wife Mary have three children: Charles, Jean Marie, and Caitlin.

Election history

In November 2010, he was elected to the State Assembly after defeating incumbent Assemblywoman Ginny Fields.[http://sayville.patch.com/articles/honoring-local-veterans Honoring Local Veterans - Sayville, NY Patch] He was re-elected in 2012, 2014, and 2016.

In November 2017, he was elected to the Suffolk County 5th District Court.{{Cite web|url=http://apps.suffolkcountyny.gov/boe/eleres/17ge/isloff.htm#1|title=2017 Election Results, District Court Judge|last=|first=|date=|website=apps.suffolkcountyny.gov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825002601/http://apps.suffolkcountyny.gov/boe/eleres/17ge/isloff.htm#1|archive-date=2018-08-25|access-date=2018-08-24|url-status=dead}}

class="wikitable"

|+Election History

!Office

!Year

!Election

!Results

Suffolk County Legislature, District 8

|2003

|General

|√ Bill Lindsay (D) 61.45%
Al Graf (R) 38.55%

Suffolk County Legislature, District 8

|2005

|General

|√ Bill Lindsay (D) 59.06%
Al Graf (R) 40.94%

New York State Assembly, District 5

|2010

|General

|√ Al Graf (R) 49.50%
Kenneth J. Mangan (D) 29.43%
Ginny Fields (I) 21.06%

New York State Assembly, District 5

|2012

|General

|√ Al Graf (R) 58.73%
Victor E. Salamone (D) 41.27%

New York State Assembly, District 5

|2014

|General

|√ Al Graf (R) 66.97%
Deborah L. Slinkosky (D) 33.03%

New York State Assembly, District 5

|2016

|General

|√ Al Graf (R) 63.84%
Deborah L. Slinkosky (D) 34.54%
James Smith (L) 1.57%{{Cite web|title=Summary Report|url=http://apps.suffolkcountyny.gov/boe/eleres/16ge/Summary%20Report.html#1019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202080838/http://apps.suffolkcountyny.gov/boe/eleres/16ge/Summary%20Report.html#1019|archive-date=2016-12-02|access-date=2016-12-12|website=apps.suffolkcountyny.gov}}

Suffolk County District Court Judge

|2017

|General

|√ James Malone (C) 47.72%

√ Alfred . Graf (R) 29.79%

Elizabeth Bloom (D) 22.49%

New York State Assembly

Assemblyman Alfred C. Graf served as the ranking minority member of the New York State Assembly Committee on Codes, and was also a member of the Committees on Education, Judiciary, and Housing.{{Cite web|url=http://nyassembly.gov/mem/Al-Graf/comm/|title=New York State Assembly {{!}} Al Graf|website=nyassembly.gov|access-date=2016-12-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220124037/http://nyassembly.gov/mem/Al-Graf/comm/|archive-date=2016-12-20|url-status=dead}}

During the 2013-2014 Legislative Session, Graf was appointed to the New York State Assembly Minority Task Force on Common Core and traveled the state holding hearings on New York State's implementation of the Common Core curriculum.{{Cite web|url=http://nyassembly.gov/member_files/005/ed_crossroads/index.pdf|title=At the Educational Crossroads: A report on Education Reform Efforts in New York State|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=New York State Assembly Minority|access-date=12 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220123852/http://nyassembly.gov/member_files/005/ed_crossroads/index.pdf|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=dead}} During the 2015-16 Legislative Session, Graf was appointed to the New York State Assembly Minority Task Force on Heroin Addiction and Community Response and travelled the state holding hearings on the heroin epidemic.{{Cite web|url=http://nyassembly.gov/member_files/005/heroin_epidemic/index.pdf|title=The Heroin Epidemic Report|last=|first=|date=|website=New York State Assembly|publisher=New York State Assembly Minority|access-date=12 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220123940/http://nyassembly.gov/member_files/005/heroin_epidemic/index.pdf|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsday.com/opinion/editorial/al-graf-to-represent-new-york-s-5th-assembly-district-1.12456580|title=Newsday endorses Graf in 5th AD|newspaper=Newsday|access-date=2016-12-12}}

Upon his election as District Court Judge, Graf resigned his seat in the New York State Assembly effective January 1, 2018. He was succeeded by his longtime Chief of Staff, Douglas M. Smith, who was overwhelmingly elected in a Special Election held on April 24, 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newsday.com/long-island/politics/assembly-special-election-nassau-suffolk-1.18225035|title=Smith Elected in Assembly Special Election in Suffolk|newspaper=Newsday|access-date=2019-10-29}}