Councilman Antonio A. Martinez

Early Life

Tony Martinez was born in El Salvador, Central America and immigrated to the United States in 1982, at the age of 13. Mr. Martinez and his family fled their native land due to a bloody civil war that ravaged the country in the 1980s, but fortunately they settled in the Village of Lynbrook in the Township of Hempstead to begin their American dream.

Education

Mr. Martinez is a proud product of New York State's public education system. He attended and graduated the State University of New York College at Oneonta. Mr. Martinez majored in political science and history and completed a public policy internship with the New York State Department of Labor.

Career
Upon graduating college, Tony Martinez began his career helping and empowering people. His first job with Catholic Charities introduced him to community organizing which led to a career in helping others help themselves. Tony worked for affiliates of the Industrial Areas Foundation, Long Island Congregations Association and Neighborhoods (LICAN), and East Brooklyn Congregations (EBC) helping homeowners battle unscrupulous contractors, predatory lenders and absentee landlords, building homeowners associations, assisting parents in addressing educational issues in their public schools, and supporting residents addressing quality of life issues. As a community organizer, Tony's role was to build the organizations and empower their members to act for social change. Through his training and employment he learned the art of one-to-one, relationship building and provided the tools to people to be effective advocates for themselves.

After working as a community organizer, Tony Martinez was hired by the Empire State Regional Council of Carpenters as a union organizer. Tony used what he learned as a community organizer and helped carpenters and other workers recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars in back wages and assisted in leveling the playing field for contractors that played by the rules. With the carpenters union, Mr. Martinez represented the interests of union and non-union carpenters with the fundamental purpose to raise their standard of living. As a union organizer, Tony worked closely with law enforcement at the federal, state, and county levels to protect and enforce labor laws, particularly in the area of prevailing wage and payroll tax laws.

Involvement

Tony has been involved in numerous commissions and boards including:

  • Boys Scouts of America Sagtikos District Nominations Committee Chairman
  • Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Gerald Ryan Outreach Center
  • Pronto of Long Island
  • Suffolk County Hispanic Advisory Board
  • Suffolk County Workforce Housing Commission
  • Town of Babylon Planning Board

As councilman, Tony chairs the Parks and Recreation Committee and works diligently to serve the interests of all residents in the Town of Babylon.

Tony was appointed councilman by Supervisor Steve Bellone and the town board on July 15, 2008. On November 4, 2008, he was elected to serve the remainder of an unexpired term and has been subsequently re-elected to full terms in 2009 and 2013. Currently, Tony is serving as deputy supervisor to Supervisor Rich Schaffer.

Personal Life
Tony is married to Marisol, and they both are the proud parents of Zachary, Tomas, and Nicholas. They live in the hamlet of Wheatley Heights.