Following a failed attempt to become Nassau County district attorney last year, state Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) announced last week that he will not run for re-election this year.

Kaminsky, 43, won his seat in the state Senate in a 2016 special election after former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, a Republican, was arrested on corruption charges.

 In a statement, Kaminsky said: “It has been an honor to represent the communities of the South Shore of Long Island for the past seven years, but I believe that it is the best thing for my family to pursue a new path. This marks my 18th straight year in public service, spending nearly every moment since I was a student to represent and defend the needs of New Yorkers as best I could – and I have given everything I have to that responsibility.”

Kaminsky attended law school at NYU and spent a decade working as a prosecutor on the federal and state levels. He worked as an assistant district attorney in Queens County under Madeline Singas in the Domestic Violence Bureau. (She later became Nassau County district attorney.) Kaminsky later served in the Eastern District of New York as an assistant U.S. attorney and acting deputy chief of the Public Integrity Section.

“I know I can look back proudly on the many accomplishments in which I was lucky to have played a part,” Kaminsky said. “I owe a deep debt of gratitude to my amazing staff who labor each day on behalf of those who cannot fight themselves.”

In June, the Nassau County Democratic Party selected Kaminsky to be its candidate for district attorney.  Singas left the position open after her appointment to the New York Court of Appeals.

Running against Republican Anne Donnelly, Kaminsky received criticism for links to changes in New York’s bail laws in 2019. The changes limited pre-trial detention for most nonviolent crimes and made more offenses, such as manslaughter, eligible for bail.

Multiple commercials ran that claimed Kaminsky was directly responsible for issues stemming from the laws. Kaminsky said he aimed to “beef up” efforts to fight corruption. Ultimately, Donnelly defeated Kaminsky, 155,554 votes to 102,666.

Former Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, a Democrat who also lost in the November elections, said she believed Kaminsky was one reason she did not retain her seat.

In December, Curran told WABC “there’s not a doubt in my mind that I would have won if he were not on the ticket.”