Melinda Katz

Melinda Katz is currently a member of the New York City Council, and is running for the office of City Comptroller.

Katz comes from a family with a long history of civic involvement. Her father, the late Maestro David Katz, founded the Queens Symphony Orchestra in 1953 and conducted it throughout his life. Her mother, the late Jeanne Dale Katz, founded the Queens Council on the Arts.

Elected to the New York State Assembly in 1994, Katz authored sixteen bills that are now laws, including significant health care initiatives. She wrote the law requiring HMO's to provide women direct access to gynecological care without forcing them to first see a primary care physician. She was also the Chair of the Sub-committee on Urban Health. Katz authored the law that helps prosecutors in cases of long-term, repeated child abuse where the abuse is so protracted and pervasive that the child cannot pinpoint the specific dates and times that, prior to the Katz law, were necessary to win convictions. In addition, she has carried several bills to increase penalties for various forms of domestic abuse and has been a long-term supporter of working men and women.

Katz is a product of New York City's public schools. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Massachusetts, where she was named a Commonwealth Scholar, and went on to earn a law degree from St. John's University School of Law. During her legal education, she interned for the Legal Aid Society, Civil Division, where she represented tenants who faced eviction from their homes. She then interned with the U.S. Attorney's Organized Crime Unit (Southern District, New York) and for U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mukasey. After graduation, she was recruited by Weil, Gotshal & Manges. She worked there as an Associate for several years prior to running for the Assembly. In 1995, Katz was named "one of the one hundred up-and-coming young leaders for the 21st Century" by the New York Daily News.