William Colton | |
---|---|
![]() Colton in 2012 | |
Member of the New York State Assembly from the 47th district | |
Assumed office January 3, 1997 | |
Preceded by | Frank J. Barbaro |
Personal details | |
Born | March 6,1946 |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Mary |
Alma mater | St. John's University,B.A. Brooklyn College,M.S. St. John's University School of Law,J.D. |
Website | Official website |
William Colton (born March 6,1946) is an American politician who represents District 47 in the New York State Assembly,which comprises Bath Beach,Bensonhurst,Gravesend,Dyker Heights and Midwood. [1]
First elected to the Assembly in 1996,Colton currently serves as Majority Whip. He sits on the Correction,Environmental Conservation,Governmental Employees,Labor,Rules,and Ways and Means committees and is a member of the Asian Pacific American Task Force. [2] He has previously served as chair and Vice Chair of the Majority Conference and as Chair of the Legislative Commission on Solid Waste Management.
According to his self-published biography,Colton is a lifelong resident of the district. Prior to entering the Assembly,Colton worked as a teacher within the New York City public school system,serving as a UFT Chapter Chairperson for six of his eleven years in that occupation,and as a licensed attorney since 1979. Colton is the co-founder and organizer of the Bensonhurst Tenants Council,founder of the Bensonhurst Straphangers Committee,and served as an attorney in the lawsuit that successfully prevented the re-opening of the Southwest Brooklyn Incinerator.
He holds a B.A. in degree in Urban Education from St. John's University,an M.S. in Urban Education from Brooklyn College and a J.D. from St. John's School of Law. [3]
In the 2019-2020 and the 2021-2022 legislative terms,Colton was the primary sponsor of legislation to make the National Day of the People's Republic of China a public holiday in New York State. [4] In the 2021–2022 term,one bill that Colton was the lead sponsor of was enacted,A03964,which increased fines for leaving the scene of an accident without reporting it. [5]
Colton received criticism for a Facebook post he posted on August 9,2020,calling Black Lives Matter a hate group,comparing it to the Ku Klux Klan. Colton later clarified that he did not think Black Lives Matter was a hate group,but that there were some bad actors within the movement who seek to spread hate,which he said was similar to how the Ku Klux Klan was started by "well intentioned" people until they later turned towards hate. [6] The Black,Puerto Rican,Hispanic,and Asian Legislative Caucus of New York released a statement saying they were "shocked and offended" by Colton's post. [7]
Colton has won 14 terms since 1996,and has never been primaried. His closest election occurred in 2022,when he beat Republican Dmitriy Kugel with 54.73% to Kugel's 45.15%.[ citation needed ]
The Ku Klux Klan,commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan,is the name of several historical and current American white supremacist,far-right terrorist organizations and hate groups. The Klan was "the first organized terror movement in American history." Their primary targets at various times have been African Americans,as well as Jews and Catholics.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery,Alabama,it is known for its legal cases against white supremacist groups,for its classification of hate groups and other extremist organizations,and for promoting tolerance education programs. The SPLC was founded by Morris Dees,Joseph J. Levin Jr.,and Julian Bond in 1971 as a civil rights law firm in Montgomery.
White Aryan Resistance (WAR) is a white supremacist and neo-Nazi organization in the United States which was founded and formerly led by former Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon Tom Metzger. It was based in Warsaw,Indiana,and it was also incorporated as a business. In 1993,the group expanded into Canada.
This is a partial list of notable historical figures in U.S. national politics who were members of the Ku Klux Klan before taking office. Membership of the Klan is secret. Political opponents sometimes allege that a person was a member of the Klan,or was supported at the polls by Klan members.
Thomas Robb is an American white supremacist,Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard and Christian Identity pastor. He is the National Director of the Knights Party,also known as the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan,taking control of the organization since the year 1989.
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The Association of Georgia Klans,also known as the Associated Klans of Georgia was a Klan faction organized by Dr. Samuel Green in 1944,and led by him until his death in 1949. At its height the organization had klaverns in each of Georgia's 159 counties,as well as klaverns in Alabama,Tennessee,South Carolina and Florida. It also had connections with klaverns and kleagles in Ohio and Indiana. After Green's death,however,the organization foundered as it split into different factions,was hit with a tax lien and was beset by adverse publicity. It was moribund by the time of the Supreme Court's "Black Monday" ruling in 1954. A second Association of Georgia Klans was formed when Charles Maddox led dissatisfied members out of the U.S. Klans in 1960. This group appears to have folded into James Venable's National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan by 1965. There is also a current Klan group by that name.
Daryl Davis is an American R&B and blues musician and activist. His efforts to fight racism by engaging members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) have convinced dozens of Klansmen to leave and denounce the KKK. Known for his energetic style of boogie-woogie piano,Davis has played with such musicians as Chuck Berry,Jerry Lee Lewis,B. B. King,and Bruce Hornsby.
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The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is a group styled after the original Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Formed around 2012,it aims to "restore America to a White,Christian nation founded on God's word".
The Macedonia Baptist Church is a centuries-old historically black church located in rural Clarendon County,South Carolina. It was destroyed by arsonists following direction from the local Ku Klux Klan chapter known as the Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and was later rebuilt afterwards. Four Klansmen were convicted for the crime,and a subsequent civil suit effectively closed the Klan chapter's operation in the county. The successful civil suit was called a "wake-up call" indicating that racial violence would not be tolerated.
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Stefani Zinerman is an American Democratic Party politician who currently represents New York State Assembly district 56,which includes Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights in Brooklyn,New York.
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