About James Lynch

---

I am the son of Irish Immigrants, a Husband, Father, and a Psychiatrist. Because of my parents' belief in the value of education, I attended St. Adlabert's School in Elmhurst, Queens and Archbishop Molloy HS in Jamaica, before studying at RPI and Albany Medical College. I finished my training at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City, and a fellowship at Columbia University, before starting work with the City of NY on a Mobile Crisis Team and in Private Practice. For most of my professional career, I have worked with individuals struggling with severe and persistent mental illness. They have heroically taught me what it means to be poor, underserved, at risk of homelessness, or prone to substance abuse and exploitation. 

Because of the opportunities that were granted to me, in 2007 I was able to buy a home in Nassau County, a place that values safety, the pride of home ownership and good schools. Like many of you, my family chose Nassau County because of the easy access to work and to the culture and entertainment of New York City via the LIRR, the proximity to our local airports, and to be a few minutes drive from the beautiful Atlantic Ocean beaches.

I have served as a Soccer, Baseball, Volleyball and Track Coach in my community, as a Trustee of the Village of Stewart Manor and was a Founding member of the Garden City Friends of STEM, helping young people access Science and Technology in a challenging but exciting way.

I am running to advocate for my community of Southwestern Nassau County in New York's 9th Senate District, a District of almost 400,000 people, who lean Democratic in local and presidential elections, but are currently represented by someone from the Nassau County Republican machine. The same machine that enthusiastically elected George Santos for Congress.

Give them their due, the Nassau County Republican machine is focused and works very hard. But their campaign boiler plate says a vote for a Democrat is a vote for being soft on crime and to make Nassau County New York City’s 6th borough. This is an old, tired song. Safety will always be our first priority and if New York City succeeds then Nassau succeeds. Standing against NYC in Albany will only hurt us. 

If I am privileged to represent you now and for years to come, I will seek to make Nassau County a place for growth, investment, and change. I will represent all the people in this District, not a small but well-organized group desperate to cling onto the old, tired way. I will work hard to prevent the money grabbing Sands Casino coming on to public land at Mitchell Field. I will support the advancement of more wind farms, something my opponent has voted against, to provide safe, renewable and affordable energy for ourselves and our children. But I will also work to ensure that the communites impacted by wind farm construction get compensated for their sacrifice. 

I will seek to build small business incubators around our prestigious higher education centers at Adelphi, Hofstra, LIU Post, Molloy, Nassau Community College, and the SUNY’s at Old Westbury and Farmingdale.

I will vote to mitigate the damage posed to our communities from climate change that has already started to affect our roads, sewers and water supplies.

We can make Nassau County better. What once was farmland, then the playground of Gilded Age millionaires, then the thriving Post-WW II suburbs, is now ready to take on the future. 

I pledge to the voters of southwestern Nassau County to advocate for them in Albany to make us a stronger, more resilient Island ready for the next 100 years.