Antoine Thompson | |
|---|---|
 Thompson speaks at aBarack Obama rally at theErie County Democratic Headquarters (October 29, 2008) | |
| Member of theNew York State Senate from the60th district | |
| In office January 3, 2007 – January 2, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Marc Coppola |
| Succeeded by | Mark Grisanti |
| Member of theBuffalo Common Council from the Masten District | |
| In office January 4, 2001 – January 3, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Byron Brown |
| Succeeded by | Demone Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1970-03-01)March 1, 1970 (age 55) Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | State University of New York at Brockport |
Antoine Maurice Thompson (born March 1, 1970) is an American politician from Buffalo, New York. ADemocrat, Thompson represented the60th District in theNew York State Senate from 2007 to 2011. Thompson previously served as the Masten District councilman on theBuffalo Common Council from 2001 to 2007.[1]
Born inBuffalo, New York, Thompson is a 1994 graduate ofState University of New York at Brockport where he received aBachelor of Science in history.[2] He was raised in Buffalo and was a graduate of public schools #60, #61 andBennett High School.[1]
He is the son of Richard Allen Thompson and Wanda Strong Thompson, Antoine is married to Tracey Thompson and the father of Deja LaShay and Joseph Antoine Alexander Thompson.[1] In high school, he served as captain of both thecross-country andtrack & field teams and earned All-Western New York Honors in both.[1] Thompson is a member ofAlpha Phi Alpha.[3]
Starting in 1996, he served two years as a legislative assistant to the Buffalo Common Council.[4] In early 1998, he was named executive director of the Office of Urban Initiatives, which is a community development corporation that endeavors to improve business opportunities for minorities.[2][5] After then-Common CouncilmanByron Brown was elected to the New York State Senate in November 2000, Thompson was favored for an appointment as Brown's successor.[6]
Thompson was sworn in as the Masten District Common Councilman on January 4, 2001 after being appointed by the Democratic Committee.[7] His East Side district included 27% of Buffalo'sAfrican American population.[8] The Buffalo Common Council had a brief African-American majority during Thompson's appointed half term that ended following the subsequent elections in September and November 2001.[9] After African-Americans lost their majority the council voted along racial lines by a 7–6 margin to shrink the common council from thirteen to nine members by eliminating the four at-large positions (three of which were held by African-Americans).[10] The city voters endorsed the proposal by a 35,849–19,036 margin which largely went along racial lines.[11] Thompson retained his council position in the 2001, 2003 and 2005 elections. Thompson served as aJohn Edwards delegate at the2004 Democratic National Convention.[12]
As a councilmember, Thompson advocated against crime and economic malaise[13][14] and for foster economic development, worker training,[15][16] and public parks.[17][18] He also co-sponsored a resolution withDavid Franczyk against continued military involvement in theIraq War.[19]
In 2005, Thompson began testing the waters for higher office. He raised campaign funds and consulted party leaders about the possibility of challengingUnited States House of Representatives then 76-year-old congresswomanLouise Slaughter who was already a 10-term veteran. Slaughter'sNew York's 28th congressional district was 29 percent African American, and minorities comprised nearly 40 percent of the Democratic primary vote.Charles B. Rangel warned that Slaughter had strong ties to theCongressional Black Caucus as well as strong support from labor, women's and pro-choice groups.[20]
Thompson was encouraged to pursue Brown's New York State Senate seat that was to be filled by special election on February 28, 2006 after Brown ascended to be theMayor of Buffalo on January 1, 2006 following the 2005 election.[21] The district has a 4–1 ratio of registered Democrats toRepublicans.[22] In 2006, theErie County Democratic Committee chairman was Leonard Lenihan, and he noted that Thompson had not been timely in entering the special election process.[23] TheErie andNiagara County Democratic committees bypassed Thompson as their nominee in favor ofMarc Coppola despite Brown's backing.[22] Thompson had issued a threat that without backing for the State Senate seat, he would challenge Slaughter in the Septemberprimary election, but Lenihan was unimpressed with the threat and asserted that Thompson needed to take a "Dale Carnegie course in terms of how to win friends and influence people".[23][24]
Thompson decided to run for the New York Senate seat in the November 2006 general election.[25]Marc Coppola won the special election by a 56–44% margin in a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 6:1.[26] Thompson opposed incumbent Senator Marc Coppola as well as his cousin Former State Sen.Al Coppola in the September 2006 Democratic Primary for a full two-year term in the Senate.[27] Thompson defeated both with 53% of the vote.[28] He then defeated Marc Coppola again in the General election where Coppola ran as an Independent.[29]
When Thompson became a State Senator in January 2007, he—along withDiane Savino andJeffrey Klein (both of whom later defected from the Senate Democratic Conference to form the core of theIndependent Democratic Conference)--assumed the chairmanship of the New York Democratic Senate Campaign Committee.[1][30] He retained this position through the 2008 general election.[31]
Thompson was the Chairman of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee. He was the former Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Cities Committee,[32] which oversaw all legislation impacting the state's 62 incorporated cities and urban policy. This position was held by his two immediate predecessors in the Senate, Byron Brown and Marc Coppola.[1] Thompson served on the Finance; Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business; Tourism, Recreation and Sports Development and Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs committees.[32]
When Thompson assumed office, he worked on economic revitalization issues and the redevelopment ofbrownfield land,[33][34][35] but he had to combat government inaction and bureaucracy in this effort.[36] In 2010, Thompson arranged for a $400,000 grant from the State's Economic Development Program for Manhattan billionaireHoward Milstein's Niagara Falls Redevelopment company to demolish properties in Niagara Falls, New York.[37] Thompson was a vocal spokesman against the May 2007 bill to raise State Senator salaries because the lack of raises for Buffalo city workers made it seem wrong to him.[38] After refusing to comment on the issue for some time,[39] Thompson was one of eight Democratic defectors onEliot Spitzer's unpopular policy allowingillegal aliens to obtaindriver's licenses.[40] Thompson was one of eleven New York State Senators to be uncontested in the November 2008 general election.[41] He supported the streamlining ofminority- and woman-owned business certification[42] and opposedfracking[43] Thompson voted in favor of same-sex marriage legislation on December 2, 2009, but the bill was defeated.[44]
Thompson won the Democratic Party nomination in a three-way contest in the September 14, 2010 primary election.[41] After a lengthy recount[45][46][47] Thompson lost the general election toMark Grisanti, an enrolled Democrat who ran on theRepublican Party line.[48][49] Days before the election, Thompson was named in apay to play scandal where he received $8600 from Aqueduct Entertainment Group (AEG), who was attempting to secure a lucrative state contract to operate a video slot machine casino atAqueduct Racetrack inQueens, New York.[50]
As of 2018, Thompson served as the Executive Director of theNational Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), the largest organization of African-American real estate professionals in the United States.[51]
Thompson formerly hostedWestern New York on the Move, a weekly radio show broadcast Thursdays at noon onWUFO 1080 AM.[1]
In November 2023, after thePrince George's County Democratic Central Committee voted to appoint Maryland state delegateNick Charles to theMaryland Senate, Thompson told theWashington Informer that he would apply to serve the remainder of Charles' term in theMaryland House of Delegates.[52] In December 2023, the Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee voted to nominate Denise Roberts to fill the vacancy, with Thompson receiving four votes.[53]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Buffalo, New York Masten DistrictCouncilman 2001–2006 | Succeeded by Demone Smith |
| Preceded by | Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environmental Conservation 2009–2010 | Succeeded by |
| New York State Senate | ||
| Preceded by | New York State Senate,60th District 2007–2010 | Succeeded by |