Judy Griffin looks to take back the district

Judy Griffin is hoping to reclaim the 21st Assembly District seat this November. The former Assemblywoman from Rockville Centre announced her candidacy last week, expressing a renewed commitment to provide representation and results for communities in the district.

Currently, the district encompasses Lynbrook and Rockville Centre, along with parts of Freeport, Baldwin, East Rockaway, Hewlett, Malverne, Oceanside, South Hempstead and West Hempstead.

“After much consideration, I am excited to launch my campaign to take back New York’s 21st Assembly District,” Griffin declared in a statement. “Our current representative has been ineffective in securing the needed resources for our district. We deserve so much more. That’s why I am running again.”

Griffin lost the seat to the incumbent, Assemblyman Brian Curran, in 2022, after an incredibly close election that was determined by only 138 votes.

However, this was not the first time these two candidates went head-to-head in the political arena. Griffin initially beat Curran in 2018 to win the seat, which he had held since 2010. It was the first time that a woman was elected in the district, and the first time a Democrat had held the seat in 42 years.

Griffin said that during her four years in office, from 2019 to 2022, she secured more than $8 million from the state to help provide funding for local police and fire departments, schools, libraries, veteran halls and valued non-profit organizations.

“I also championed essential services for seniors, veterans and our most vulnerable community residents,” she said in her statement. “After building consensus on key issues, I passed common-sense gun legislation, protected women’s rights, funded UPK in suburban schools, capped property taxes, and brought resources and strategies to the opioid epidemic. But there is so much more to do.”

She said that she intends to run as a “common-sense voice in the majority” to help deliver results for the community.

“With so much dysfunction in politics right now, we need proven fighters,” Griffin said. “We need representatives who will put Long Island families first over extremist politicians who weaponize issues rather than working collaboratively to solve them. And we need to advocate for a cleaner, safer, kinder and more affordable Long Island.”

Before her foray into politics, Griffin worked in the financial industry, and later worked as a lifestyle coach and corporate wellness educator. In 2014, she authored a self-help book, “Flourish Beyond 50: Your Path to Vibrant Living,” with the intent of encouraging women to make healthier choices for themselves. Two years later, she went on to work as the director of community outreach for State Sen. Todd Kaminsky.

Griffin has lived in Rockville Centre for more than 30 years with her husband Michael. Together they have four children, now full-grown adults—Kayla, Erin Conor and Sean.

Curran previously served as the deputy county attorney with the Nassau County Attorney’s Office from 1996 to 2001. He later went into private practice as an associate trial attorney and was the assistant village prosecutor in Lynbrook until 2007, when he was elected Mayor, a position he would hold for three years before running for Assembly in 2010.

He currently resides in Lynbrook with his wife, Rosemarie, and their four children—Isabella, Jake, Riley and Logan.

The general election is set to take place on Tuesday, Nov. 5.