Legislator Paul J. Tonna (R, RTL, C, I, WF) was first elected as a Suffolk County Legislator for the 17th Legislative District in 1994. Since then, Paul J. Tonna has become an integral part of lawmaking in Suffolk County. The smoking-ban, the tobacco lawsuit and settlement, "the Greenways Program," to name a few, all came about through the efforts of Legislator Tonna. However, it is through his compassionate leadership as well as his worthy accomplishments as Presiding Officer that Paul J. Tonna truly deserves recognition.

Upon becoming Presiding Officer, Paul Tonna quickly set a policy that would lend the strength and power of his office to the voiceless in society, while maintaining his promise to keep Suffolk County financially strong.

In 2000, Presiding Officer Tonna reached out to seniors and young families when he sponsored legislation to give $8 million in community grants to towns within Suffolk to develop reasonable, affordable housing projects - helping those who were raised and those who raised a family on Long Island, to stay on Long Island. Also in 2000, Presiding Officer Tonna launched a full assault on poverty with his heralded Mobilization Against Poverty (M.A.P.) Initiative. It is goal of the "MAP" Initiative to coordinate a plan against poverty, to make existing programs increasingly accessible to seniors and the like, and to provide the working poor with greater opportunity for advancement.

In the beginning of 2001, Presiding Officer Paul J. Tonna set his sights on improving the lives of society's most innocent victims, children.

In April of 2001, Presiding Officer Tonna, under the auspices of "MAP," announced his "Invisible Children" Initiative, a program that brings homeless preschoolers who are housed in Suffolk County motels to Head Start classrooms, assisting the development of this precious element of society. This amazing, heartfelt program came at no cost to the County, emphasizing Mr. Tonna's commitment to both fiscal and social responsibility.

Moved by this experience and by what he saw, Mr. Tonna quickly introduced legislation to establish rules and regulations for motels doing business with Suffolk County's Department of Social Services, raising the bar of respect and decency for the people who must live in County emergency housing.

In August, Presiding Officer Tonna joined forces with the private sector - this time in a coordinated effort to improve the lives of seniors and the working poor in his District. With the help of over 20 local community-based organizations, Presiding Officer Tonna, again under the auspices of "MAP," announced his "Anti-Hunger" Project, a local pilot outreach program designed to increase the awareness of underutilized State and federally funded food programs in his district. Equally impressive, Tonna's "Anti-Hunger" Initiative also came at no cost to County taxpayers.

A constant fighter for the working and middle-class, Presiding Officer Tonna co-sponsored Suffolk County's landmark "Living Wage" Bill. And recently, the Presiding Officer co-sponsored the resolution that boosted the Suffolk County Community College budget, advancing community college education in Suffolk.

Presiding Officer Paul J. Tonna is also a champion for the environment, with many of his policies aimed at protecting open spaces in the County from over-development.

In 2001, to advance "Greenway" legislation, Mr. Tonna pushed for the promotion of Eco-tourism in Suffolk County, an industry that promotes clean air, clean water and clean lands through the low-impact use of our lakes, bays, beaches, and parklands. Focusing on a cleaner environment, Presiding Officer Tonna authored, and the Suffolk County Legislature voted to approve, two resolutions to give County residents incentives and tax-breaks for purchasers of hybrid-electric vehicles. On June 5, 2001, the Suffolk County Legislature -- under Presiding Officer Tonna's leadership - also voted "yes" to Mr. Tonna's amendment that will add six of these energy-efficient, environmentally friendly automobiles to the Suffolk fleet of vehicles.

Adding to his commitment to energy conservation, Presiding Officer Tonna hosted Long Island's first-ever Energy Summit, a June 13, 2001 joint meeting of the Nassau and Suffolk Legislatures, to discuss the energy future of Long Island. And recently, Presiding Officer Tonna's proposed a comprehensive energy audit for Suffolk County to aggressively address the need to conserve energy in Suffolk County. Tonna's bill is a prescription for every facility owned, leased, and operated by the County of Suffolk to become more energy efficient.

In the private sector, Paul J. Tonna serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Professional Evaluation Medical Group -- a preventive health care company. Before that, Mr. Tonna was Director of Personnel at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn; he also taught at St. Anthony's High School; and founded and once operated Youth Focus, Inc., a non-profit organization that has provided more than 25,000 young adults and children effective guidance and responsible advice on life's problems.

Along with his wife Carol, "citizen" Paul J. Tonna founded S.E.A.R.C.H. (SEEKING AVENUES to REWARD FOSTER CHILDREN,) a not-for-profit organization that seeks to enhance the lives of Suffolk County's foster children. On September 14, 2000, to bring attention to the needs of these youngsters, Paul Tonna swam across the Long Island Sound - a four-hour, six-mile expedition. Mr. Tonna's well-publicized swim attracted the attention of many across Long Island and raised thousands of dollars in donations to benefit foster-children.

For this and other charitable works, Paul J. Tonna has received many prestigious awards.

Mr. Tonna was decorated with the esteemed Molloy College Caritas Award in March of 2001. In April of 2001, the Coalition on Child Abuse & Neglect (C-CAN) honored Mr. Tonna for the contributions he has made toward child protection and child recognition.

As Presiding Officer, Mr. Tonna was honored at the recognition ceremony sponsored by the Suffolk County Committee on Child Abuse and the Suffolk County Task Force on Family Violence for his "Special Leadership in the arena of Child Protection." The Presiding Officer was also honored as Suffolk County's 2001 Legislator of the Year by the Suffolk Human Rights Commission, and as Suffolk County's 2001 Public Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

And on October 1, 2001, the Honorable Paul J. Tonna, presiding officer of the Suffolk County Legislature, will be honored by Habitat For Humanity of Suffolk with their valued Man of the Year Award.

Mr. Tonna is a graduate of New York University, where he earned a Bachelor degree in Philosophy. He has also earned a Master of Arts degree in Theology from Immaculate Conception Seminary.

A longtime Huntington resident, Paul Tonna currently resides in West Hills with his wife Carol and their seven children: Peter, Paul, John, Grace, Mary, Carolann and Joseph.