Karl A. Brabenec | |
|---|---|
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| Ranking Member of theNew York State Assembly Committee on Standing Committees | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Giglio |
| Member of theNew York State Assembly from the98th district | |
| Assumed office December 14, 2014[1] | |
| Preceded by | Annie Rabbitt |
| Minority Whip of theNew York State Assembly | |
| In office January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Nicole Malliotakis |
| Succeeded by | David DiPietro |
| Town of Deerpark Supervisor | |
| In office January 1, 2010 – December 14, 2014 | |
| Town of Deerpark Councilman | |
| In office January 1, 2008 – December 31, 2009 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1979-07-12)July 12, 1979 (age 45)[2] Manhasset, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Jessica Ebbecke(2005–2009) |
| Children | Karl Kimberlee |
| Residence | Westbrookville, New York |
| Alma mater | Mount Saint Mary College (B.A.) John Jay College of Criminal Justice (M.P.A.) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Campaign Website Assembly Website |
Karl A. Brabenec (born July 12, 1979) is theNew York State Assemblyman from the 98th District. A Republican, he has served in the Assembly since 2014, when he won a special election.[3] The 98th District contains portions ofOrange andRockland Counties in theHudson Valley.
In December 2024, AssemblyMinority LeaderWill Barclay announced Brabenec's promotion toRanking Member of the Committee on Standing Committees,[4] a key leadership role in the New York State Assembly. In this position, Brabenec oversees legislative procedures and manages all minority committee operations.
Brabenec now holds the fourth-highest ranking position within the Assembly Minority Conference. He previously served asMinority Whip.
Brabenec was born inManhasset, New York and lived inBayside, Queens[5] before moving with his family toSlate Hill, New York when he was 8 years old.[6] He went toMinisink Valley High School, and graduated fromMount Saint Mary College in 2000.[7] In 2005, he received his Masters of Public Administration fromJohn Jay College of Criminal Justice. His father, Rainer K. Brabenec, was a police officer with theNew York City Police Department; Brabenec's mother, Emilie (Popule) Brabenec, was a police dispatcher, also with the NYPD. Both of Brabenec's parents areCzechoslovak refugees from the formerSudetenland who fled from Soviet communist oppression in the late 1940s.[8]
At age 18, while attendingMount Saint Mary College, Brabenec was appointed as events coordinator for the City ofNewburgh, New York. He was later appointed as executive director of theDowning Park Planning Committee.
Brabenec served as a staff assistant to Orange County ExecutiveEdward A. Diana in the early 2000s.
In early 2007, Brabenec was appointed by the Deerpark Town Board to serve as a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals. Later that year in November, he was elected to serve as a Deerpark Town councilman.
In 2009, with the town facing fiscal difficulties brought on by previous administrations, Brabenec announced he would run for town supervisor and recruited a team of individuals with legal and business expertise to run for town board positions. All of those candidates, including Brabenec, were elected that November.
From 2010 to 2014, Brabenec served as town supervisor for theTown of Deerpark.[9] He became an assistant professor atSUNY Orange in 2010.
Brabenec resides inDeerpark, New York, and has two children (Karl and Kimberlee) with his ex-wife, Jessica Ebbecke, to whom he was married from 2005 to 2009.
Brabenec was chosen in a special election held November 2014 to fill the remaining term of AssemblywomanAnnie Rabbitt, who had resigned to becomeOrange County Clerk. Brabenec was concurrently elected to serve a full two-year term starting January 2015.[10] He won re-election to a second term in 2016 with 59% of the vote,[11] to a third term in 2018 with 63% of the vote,[12] ran unopposed for a fourth term in 2020,[13] and to a fifth term in 2022 with 64% of the vote.
Brabenec currently serves as theranking minority member of the Labor Committee, and is a member of the committees onWays and Means, Rules and Election Law.[14]
On January 1, 2019, Brabenec was appointedassistant minoritywhip, a leadership position within the Assembly Republican Minority Conference, by then-Minority LeaderBrian Kolb.[15]
On January 1, 2021, Brabenec was appointeddeputy minority whip, a leadership position within the Assembly Republican Minority Conference, by Minority LeaderWill Barclay.[16]
On January 1, 2023, Brabenec was appointedminority whip, a leadership position within the Assembly Republican Minority Conference, by Minority LeaderWill Barclay.
On April 27, 2018, Brabenec confirmed he was considering running to replace retiring New YorkState SenatorJohn Bonacic in the November 2018 election.[17][18] The race was expected to be one of the most competitive in New York State and could easily determine whether Republicans maintained their slim majority in theNew York State Senate.[19][20][21] After careful consideration, Brabenec opted to continue his campaign for re-election to the 98th Assembly District for a third term and he won the general election on November 6, 2018.[22]
Brabenec's community involvement includes being a former member of the board of directors for the Regional Economic Community Action Program, Inc., an associate member of the Orange County Shields, member of the Greenwood LakeBenevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge #2067,Association of the United States Army, Town of DeerparkLions Club,National Rifle Association of America, theSons of the American Legion - Monroe Post #488, and theNew York State Rifle and Pistol Association.[23] He is also an honorary major with the United States Air Force AuxiliaryCivil Air Patrol.
Brabenec has been involved in the Republican Party since the age of 14.
He served aspresident of the Orange County (NY) Young Republicans from 1997 to 2003 and then again in 2005.
Additionally, he served as1st vice chairman of the New York State Young Republicans andNortheast Regional (Region 1) vice chairman of theYoung Republican National Federation (YRNF) from 1999 to 2001.
Brabenec served asvice chairman for theTown of Wawayanda andTown of Wallkill Republican Committees in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Brabenec is currentlychairman of the Town of Deerpark Republican Committee and1st vice chairman of the Orange County (NY) Republican Committee.[24]
| New York State Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New York State Assembly, 98th District December 14, 2014 – Present | Incumbent |
