John M. Kennedy Jr.
{{short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = John M. Kennedy
| image = John M. Kennedy Jr. Suffolk County Legislature.JPG
| office1 = Suffolk County Comptroller
| term_start1 = January 2015
| term_end1 =
| predecessor1 = Joseph Sawicki Jr.
| successor1 =
| office2 = Member of the Suffolk County Legislature
from the 12th District
| term_start2 = November 2004
| term_end2 = December 2014
| predecessor2 = Andrew Crecca
| successor2 = Leslie Kennedy
| office3 = Minority Leader for the Suffolk County Legislature
| term_start3 = January 2012
| term_end3 = December 2014
| predecessor3 = Daniel P. Losquadro
| successor3 = Kevin McCaffrey
| party = Republican
| residence = Nesconset, New York
| alma_mater = SUNY, Stony Brook University (B.A.)
Adelphi University (M.B.A)
St. John's University School of Law (J.D.)
| profession = Lawyer
| website = [http://legis.suffolkcountyny.gov/do/do12/do12.html Suffolk County Legislature]
}}
John M. Kennedy Jr. is a politician from Suffolk County, New York. In 2014, he was elected to Suffolk County Comptroller on the Republican ticket, garnering 53% of the vote.{{cite web|title=Newsday Election Results|url=http://politics.newsday.com/long-island/election-results/|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627155639/http://politics.newsday.com/long-island/election-results/|archivedate=2015-06-27}}{{cite web|title=Suffolk County Comptroller|url=http://suffolkcountyny.gov/comptroller/home.aspx|accessdate=3 June 2015}}
He served as County Legislator for the 12th Legislative District of Suffolk County, New York, for 10 years. In 2011, he was chosen from among the Republican Caucus in Suffolk to serve as Minority Leader for the Suffolk County Legislature,[http://hauppauge.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/kennedy-vs-aponte-race Kennedy Wins Re-Election to Suffolk Legislature, Hauppauge Patch, November 9, 2011] serving until his term ended in December 2014.
Education and background
John M. Kennedy Jr. was born and raised in Suffolk County, and is a long-term resident of Nesconset, New York. Kennedy received his B.A. in psychology with a concentration in Biology from SUNY Stony Brook in 1979. He also attended Adelphi University where he received his MBA and additionally has a Juris Doctor from St. John's University School of Law. He is married with four adult children.[http://legis.suffolkcountyny.gov/do/do12/about-do12.html Suffolk County legislative profile]
==Electoral history==
In November 2004 Kennedy was first elected as County Legislator, receiving 60% of the vote running on the Republican Party, Independence Party, Conservative and Working Families tickets.{{Cite web|url=http://legis.suffolkcountyny.gov/do/do12/do12.html|title = A Message from al | Suffolk County Legislature, NY}} In 2011, Kennedy received 73.66% of the vote against his Democratic opponent, Martin Aponte, who received 26.31%.[http://politics.newsday.com/long-island/election-results/ Newsday's final vote tallies for 2011] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627155639/http://politics.newsday.com/long-island/election-results/ |date=2015-06-27 }}
In November, 2014 Kennedy beat Democrat James Gaughran in the election for Suffolk County Comptroller, despite being outspent $800,000 to $100,000.{{cite news|last1=Brand|first1=Rick|title=Comptroller-elect John M. Kennedy Jr. boosted by Smithtown Republican base|url=http://www.newsday.com/long-island/columnists/rick-brand/john-m-kennedy-jr-suffolk-comptroller-elect-boosted-by-smithtown-republican-base-1.9598460|accessdate=3 June 2015|publisher=Newsday|date=8 November 2014}}