William Colton

William Colton
New York State Assembly District 47
Incumbent
In office
1997 - Present
Term ends
January 1, 2015
Years in position	16
Party	Democratic
Leadership
Majority Whip, New York State Assembly
2013 - present
Compensation
Base salary	$79,500/year
Per diem	$171/full day; $61/half day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	1996
Next election	November 4, 2014
Term limits	N/A
Education
Bachelor's	Saint John's University, 1968
Master's	Brooklyn College
J.D.	Saint John's School of Law, 1978
Websites
Office website

William Colton (b. 1946) is a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly, representing District 47 since 1997. As of the 2013 session, Colton serves as State Assembly Majority Whip; he is a former Majority Conference Leader.

Colton's professional experience is as a lawyer and public school teacher.

Colton earned a BA in Urban Education from Saint John's University; a MS in Urban Education from Brooklyn College and a JD from Saint John's School of Law. He is married to Mary and has two stepchildren; Jennifer and Joseph.

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Colton served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Colton served on the following committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Colton served on the following committees:

Issues

Pension sweeteners

On February 13, 2013, New York legislators introduced eight bills to "sweeten" government employee pensions. The nonpartisan Citizens Budget Commission released a chart of these bills and their costs, totaling $1.311 billion for the state government and $46 million for local governments. Colton sponsored or co-sponsored five of these eight. E.J. McMahon of the pro-market Empire State Center for New York Policy criticized the bills but placed major responsibility for them on Governor Andrew Cuomo, who in 2012 raised the possibility of better pension deals if the economy improved. The New York Daily News published an editorial against the bills on February 21, denouncing the proposals as examples of "incorrigible recklessness with the public’s money."

• Assembly Bill 4879, sponsored by Peter Abbate, Eric Stevenson, Colton, Vivian Cook, and Earlene Hill Hooper would allow employees in the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System (NYSLERS) to retire with full benefits after 35 years of employment without regard to their age. This bill would cost the state government an estimated $87 million.

• Assembly Bill 4890, sponsored by Abbate and Colton, would increase the credit state employees receive for each year above 30 which they have worked from 1.5 to 2.0 percent. This would cost the state government an estimated $1.1 billion.

• Assembly Bill 4914, sponsored by Abbate, Colton, Jeffrion Aubry, William Boyland, Barbara Clark, Cook, Steven Cymbrowitz, Dennis Gabryszak, Hooper, Jose Rivera, Matthew Titone, and Harvey Weisenberg, would give all non-correction officers in the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision a performance of duty disability benefit worth 75% of their final average salary. This bill would cost the state $100,000 in increased annual contributions.

• Assembly Bill 4920, sponsored by Abbate, Colton, Cook, Michael Cusick, Steven Englebright, and Weisenberg, would allow Tier I and II employees of the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System (NYSLERS) and the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System (NYSLPFRS) to include up to 30 days of unused vacation time in the final average salary calculation for their pension benefits. This would cost the state government an estimated $110 million and local governments an estimated $45 million.

• Assembly Bill 4924, sponsored by Colton, would guarantee all state and New York City teachers an additional annual $500 for each year of full-time service. This would cost the New York State Teachers' Retirement System $33.8 million, with an additional undefined cost to the New York City Teachers' Retirement System.

Elections

2012

See also: New York State Assembly elections, 2012

Colton ran in the 2012 election for New York State Assembly District 47. He ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on September 13, 2012. He also ran on the Working Families Party ticket. He defeated James M. Rippa in the general election which took place on November 6, 2012.

New York State Assembly, District 47, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	William Colton Incumbent	74.4%	14,370
	Republican	James M. Rippa	25.6%	4,942
Total Votes				19,312

Endorsements

• 32BJ/SEIU

2010

See also: New York State Assembly elections, 2010

Colton ran unopposed in the September 14 Democratic primary. He defeated Phyllis Carbo (R) in the general election on November 2. In addition to running on the Democratic ticket, he ran on the Working Familes ticket.

New York State Assembly, District 47 2010
Candidates		Votes
William Colton (D)		8,605
Phyllis Carbo (R)		4,457

2008

On November 4, 2008 Colton won re-election to the New York State Assembly, District 47, defeating opponent Russell Gallo (R).

Colton raised $140,097 for his campaign while Gallo raised $0.

New York State Assembly, District 47 2008
Candidates		Votes
William Colton (D)		14,949
Russell Gallo (R)		5,627

Campaign donors

2012

Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.

2010

In 2010, Colton received $127,024 in campaign donations. The top contributors are listed below.

New York State Assembly 2010 election - Campaign Contributions
Top contributors to William Colton's campaign in 2010
New York State Laborers	$10,410
New York State Trial Lawyers	$3,800
New York State United Teachers	$3,400
Schatzman, Sidney	$2,600
New York State Afl-Cio	$2,000
Total Raised in 2010	$127,024

2008

In 2008, a year in which Colton was up for election, he collected $140,907 in donations.

The major contributors were:

Donor	Amount
New York City District Council of Carpenters	$3,500
AFSCME District Council 37	$3,250
New York State Trial Lawyers	$3,000
New York State United Teachers	$2,700

External links

Suggest a link

• New York Assembly - Rep. William Colton
• Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Campaign Contributions: 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998

References

Political offices
Preceded by -	New York Assembly District 47 1997–present	Succeeded by NA