Michael P. Kearns

Who is Michael P. Kearns?

Michael P. "Mickey" Kearns is a member of the New York State Assembly. Kearns represents the 145th Assembly District, which spans South Buffalo, half of the city of Lackawanna, West Seneca and Orchard Park. He was elected in a special election on March 20, 2012, defeating Chris Fahey, the endorsed Democrat.

Kearns is a registered Democrat. He ran for Assembly without the Democrats' support on the lines of the Republican and Independence Party lines. While he has stated his intention to caucus with the Democrats, he has also stated he will not support speaker Sheldon Silver, a stance that mirrors Kearns's predecessor, Mark J. F. Schroeder. Silver, in turn, has been noncommital in regard to whether Kearns will be allowed to caucus with the Democrats; adding Kearns would give the Assembly Democrats 100 out of the 150 seats in the chamber, allowing the party to override vetos. Although he spent the remainder of the term and a portion of the next one with the Democrats, he left the caucus on May 20, 2013 in the wake of a scandal regarding fellow Assembly Democrat Vito Lopez.