St . Johns University
Which school did Dan Donovan (politician) go to in 1978?
Dan Donovan ( politician ) Daniel Michael Donovan Jr . ( born November 6 , 1956 ) is an American attorney , former prosecutor , and politician . A member of the Republican Party , he served as the U.S . Representative for New Yorks 11th congressional district from 2015 to 2019 . Donovan was first elected to Congress in a special election . The district includes all of Staten Island , as well as portions of southwest Brooklyn . He was defeated for reelection in 2018 by Democrat Max Rose . Donovan was District Attorney of Richmond County from 2004 to 2015 . Early life and career . Donovan was born into a working-class Roman Catholic family in Staten Island , New York , in 1956 . His Irish-American father , Daniel Michael Donovan , was a longshoreman and lifelong Democrat ; his Polish-American mother , Katherine Bolewicz Donovan , was a garment worker . He was raised in the Tompkinsville section of the borough . He attended Monsignor Farrell High School , an all-boys Catholic school , graduating in 1974 . He went on to study criminal justice at St . Johns University . After graduating from there he attended Fordham University School of Law , earning his juris doctor in 1988 . In 1989 , Donovan became an Assistant District Attorney in the office of Robert M . Morgenthau . He served in the office of the New York County District Attorney under Morgenthau until 1996 . Later that year Donovan became chief of staff to then Staten Island Borough President Guy V . Molinari . He remained in that position until 2002 , when he was sworn in as Deputy Borough President of Staten Island ; he had been appointed by his immediate predecessor and the then-new Borough President James Molinaro . Richmond County District Attorney . In 2003 , 20-year incumbent Democrat William L . Murphy decided not to seek reelection . Donovan announced his intention to run to succeed him . In the election he faced Chief Assistant District Attorney David Lehr and won with over 53% of the vote . A key part of his platform was to start the countys first witness protection program , and his office led the citys prosecutors with the highest felony conviction rate in many of the years since he took office . He was reelected in 2007 with over 68% of the vote , defeating local Democratic attorney Michael Ryan despite a last-minute endorsement of his rival by longtime friend and mentor Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro ; Molinaro was angered that Donovan had referred his grandsons case to a special prosecutor . Donovans tenure as DA has seen several high-profile cases , including the second conviction of Andre Rand , long suspected in a string of kidnappings on Staten Island . In 2010 , famed rapper Method Man pleaded guilty to attempted tax evasion and was forced to pay about $106,000 in restitution and penalties . Eric Garner case . Donovan became the focus of a national controversy surrounding the death of Eric Garner in 2014 , when a Richmond County , New York grand jury declined to indict Daniel Pantaleo , the officer whose chokehold the medical examiner determined was instrumental in Garners death , on any charges . The medical examiner had ruled Garners death a homicide . After considering the medical examiners findings that Garner was killed by compression of neck ( choke hold ) , compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police , Donovans office declared , it is appropriate to present evidence regarding circumstances of his death to a Richmond County Grand Jury . Donovan asked the grand jury to consider whether there was probable cause for manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide , but did not bring reckless endangerment charges . After two months , the grand jury returned no indictment . Donovans office strenuously opposed releasing the trial proceedings , citing New York confidentiality laws , despite being pressured by activists and lawmakers to release them . 2010 New York Attorney General campaign . On May 17 , 2010 , Donovan , a registered Republican , announced his candidacy for the New York attorney general , becoming the front-runner for his partys nomination . Bob Antonacci , Onondaga County Comptroller , also ran for the nomination . Antonacci stepped aside and endorsed Donovan after earning 40 percent of the vote at the 2010 Republican State Convention . With 60 percent of the delegates at the convention and no primary opponent , Donovan became the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party . One week earlier , Donovan received the endorsement of the Conservative Party of New York , but he was defeated on November 2 by Democrat Eric Schneiderman . U.S . House of Representatives . Elections . - 2015 special Donovan was selected as the Republican candidate for New Yorks 11th congressional district after the resignation of Michael Grimm . He defeated Democratic City Councilman Vincent J . Gentile and Green Party candidate James Lane in the May 5 , 2015 special election and was sworn into office on May 12 , 2015 . - 2016 In 2016 , Donovan faced Democrat Richard Reichard in his first reelection bid . He was reelected with 56.8% of the vote . - 2018 In 2018 , Grimm challenged Donovan in the Republican primary . During the campaign , Grimm accused Donovan of having tried to entice Grimm to drop out of the race by offering to lobby Trump to pardon Grimm . Grimm pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges in 2014 and spent several months in prison . Both candidates emphasized their loyalty to Trump , seeking to out-Trump each other , according to the Washington Post . Donovan defeated Grimm , 64%-36% , but lost to Democrat Max Rose in the general election . Committee assignments . - Committee on Foreign Affairs - Subcommittee on Africa , Global Health , Global Human Rights and International Organizations - Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere - Committee on Homeland Security - Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness , Response , and Communications ( Chairman ) - Subcommittee on Cybersecurity , Infrastructure Protection , and Security Technologies Donovan is a member of the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership , the Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus and the Climate Solutions Caucus . Town halls . Donovan has faced a number of protests from constituents seeking town hall meetings . After being heckled at public events , he has instead held telephone phone halls over fears that any large-scale town hall will devolve into mayhem . Constituents have organized a variety of town halls to which Donovan has been invited . He has not attended , saying that to avoid disruptions , he only holds town halls over the phone . Political positions . As of January 2018 , Donovan had voted with his party in 91.6% of votes in the 115th United States Congress and voted in line with President Trumps position in 81.4% of votes . He was ranked as the 15th most bipartisan member of the U.S . House of Representatives during the 114th United States Congress in the Bipartisan Index created by The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy . Donovan has been characterized as a moderate Republican . In his 2018 primary election , he ran with an emphasis on conservatism and loyalty to Trump . In the first session of the 115th United States Congress , Donovans Bipartisan Index rank fell to 50th . Vote Smart Political Courage Test . Vote Smart , a nonprofit , nonpartisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States , researched presidential and congressional candidates public records to determine candidates likely responses on certain key issues . According to Vote Smarts 2016 analysis , Donovan generally supports pro-choice legislation , opposes federal spending and supports lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth , supports the building of the Keystone Pipeline , opposes government funding for the development of renewable energy , opposes the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions , supports gun-control legislation , opposes repealing the Affordable Care Act , supports requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship , opposes same-sex marriage , supports increased American intervention in Iraq and Syria beyond air support , and opposes allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts . Donald Trump . Donovan endorsed Trump in the 2016 presidential election . He has called Trump a personal friend . Trump endorsed Donovans 2018 reelection bid , but in the announcement of his endorsement mistakenly claimed that Donovan had voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 . Donovan introduced legislation that would require post offices to display Trumps portrait . Health care . In January 2016 , Donovan voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act ( Obamacare ) . In May 2017 , he voted against the American Health Care Act ( the GOPs bill repealing Obamacare ) . Immigration . New York Citys sole Republican member of Congress , Donovan supported Trumps 2017 executive order to impose a ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries . He said , President Trumps decision is in Americas best interest , and I support exploring safe zones in the region to protect innocent life . Protesters disrupted a Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce event in February 2017 , repeatedly shouting down Donovan due to his support of Trumps immigration ban . In June 2017 , Donovan voted in favor of Kates Law , which would increase penalties for undocumented immigrants who return to the United States after being deported . Donovan opposes sanctuary cities ( jurisdictions that have policies in place to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement ) . In March 2017 , Donovan said that he opposed efforts to reduce funding for jurisdictions with sanctuary policies in place . In April 2018 , he introduced legislation that would reduce federal funding to jurisdictions with sanctuary policies in place , such as New York City . In June 2018 , Donovan defended ICEs decision to arrest an undocumented immigrant who was delivering a pizza to a Brooklyn Army base . During his 2018 primary campaign , Donovan came out in favor of Trumps wall on the Mexican border , saying , Build that wall ! Build that damn wall ! Cybersecurity . In September 2018 , Donovan co-sponsored , together with Elise Stefanik and Seth Moulton , the Cyber Ready Workforce Act advanced by Jacky Rosen . The legislation would create a grant program within the Department of Labor to create , implement and expand registered apprenticeships in cybersecurity . It aims to offer certifications and connect participants with businesses in order to boost the number of federal jobs in said trade . LGBT rights . Donovan was endorsed by the Log Cabin Republicans in 2010 . He has been criticized by the Democratic Party for his opposition to same-sex marriage . Donovan has a 64% rating from the Human Rights Campaign based on his LGBT rights voting record . Marijuana . Donovan has a C rating from NORML regarding his voting record on cannabis-related matters . He has voted against allowing veterans access to medical marijuana , if legal in their state , per their Veterans Health Administration doctors recommendation . Taxes . Donovan voted against the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 , one of five New York Republican representatives to do so . He said he opposed the bill because it would raise taxes for his constituents and exacerbate the already unaffordable housing market in my district . With the House Ways and Means Committee scheduled to consider legislation in September 2018 that would make permanent individual tax changes in Trumps 2017 tax law , Donovan said he would be forced to oppose legislation that included a provision permanently extending the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax ( SALT ) deduction . Unmasking Antifa Act of 2018 . In 2018 , Donovan introduced a bill that would penalize anyone who causes injury , opposes , threatens or intimidates any person while wearing a mask , with the maximum penalty a 15-year sentence . The legislation , which made reference to the far-left group Antifa , was given media attention after being promoted by alt-right activist Mike Cernovich . Professor Mark Bray of Dartmouth said , Its a law that threatens to clamp down on direct action politics . More broadly , I think it sets a disturbing precedent .