Jeffrey D. Klein
| Jeff Klein | |
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| Member of the New York Senate from the 34th district |
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Assumed office January 1, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Guy Velella |
| Member of the New York State Assembly from the 80th district |
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In office January 1, 1995 – December 31, 2004 |
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| Preceded by | George Friedman |
| Succeeded by | Naomi Rivera |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 10, 1960 |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
Jeffrey David Klein (born July 10, 1960) is a New York State Senator representing parts of Bronx and Westchester Counties. He was elected to his first term in the Senate in 2004. Though he is a member of the Democratic Party, he is the leader of the Independent Democratic Conference, a group of seven Democratic state senators who oppose the mainstream Democratic conference leadership. Klein and his colleagues have reached a power-sharing agreement with the Republican Party in the Senate.
A lifelong resident of the northeast Bronx, he was educated in Bronx public schools. Klein received his undergraduate degree from Queens College, his master's degree in Public Administration from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and a J.D. from CUNY's Law School, where he was a member of the law review.
A former chief of staff to Congressman James Scheuer, Klein served as a Democratic State Committeeman and District Leader before being elected to the New York State Assembly in 1994. During his ten years representing the 80th Assembly District in the state legislature, Klein served as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime and the Elderly, the Committee on State-Federal Relations, and the Committee on Oversight, Analysis and Investigations.
After former State Senator Guy Velella was convicted on corruption charges, Klein declined to seek reelection to the Assembly in order to run for Velella's seat in the New York Senate. In the Democratic Senate primary, Klein defeated then Assemblyman Stephen B. Kaufman. Prior to running for the Senate, Klein was reported to be considering a race for New York Attorney General in 2006, but did not do so because Andrew Cuomo and Jeanine Pirro were competing for that position. After two years in the Senate, he abandoned plans to run for the Majority Leader position, instead opting for the Deputy Minority Leader spot.
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