He holds a degree from American University and a Juris Doctor from St. John's University School of Law. He is also a successful business owner. After a distinguished, eight-year career as the Mayor of the Village of Mineola, Jack Martins was sworn in as State Senator in January 2011 and immediately set himself to restoring our state’s fiscal stability while rebuilding the public’s trust in state government. He was ready for the task. Jack is the humble but grateful recipient of multiple awards from a number of Long Island’s outstanding nonprofit and charitable institutions including: The Heart Council of Long Island’s Ambassador’s Award, the Parker Jewish Institute’s Platinum Professionals Award, the Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Legislator of the Year Award, the Long Island Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Legislator of the Year Award and most recently, the Pasquale Lubrano Award from the United Mavericks. While Mayor of Mineola, Long Island Business News named him to their “40 Under 40.”
During his tenure as mayor, he was widely recognized as an innovative fiscal reformer who provided tax relief by achieving greater inter-agency efficiencies while reducing government spending. At the same time, he led an extraordinary downtown revitalization program that developed a comprehensive “master plan” with the consensus of local community and business leaders. It was one of the first on Long Island to introduce “smart growth” concepts that converted a decaying industrial railroad corridor into a pedestrian-friendly downtown complete with housing and public amenities that improved the quality of life. Mineola’s rebound was soon applauded by organizations like the Regional Plan Association, Vision Long Island and the Rauch Foundation’s Long Island Index which hailed Mineola as one of “the premier smart growth communities in the nation.”
Immediately upon taking office in 2011, Jack began working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to restore New York’s fiscal integrity. The 2011-2012 budget that resulted was the first on-time, state budget in more than 20 years! Incredibly, it reduced state spending by 2 percent while eliminating $10 billion deficit without any new taxes or fee increases. That first session also saw Jack work to pass the Middle Class Tax Cut and Job Creation Bill that reduced taxes for more than 4 million New Yorkers to the lowest point in 58 years. The comeback was praised throughout the state with media outlets like Newsday recognizing it as “the most productive in decades.”
