Robert G. Ortt is an American politician who is a member of the New York State Senate, representing the 62nd district, which covers Niagara and Orleans counties. First elected in 2014, Ortt is a Republican. Prior to serving in the state Senate, Ortt served as mayor of North Tonawanda, New York from 2010 to 2014, as well as city treasurer from 2007 to 2010. On June 19, 2020, Ortt was named Minority Leader of the New York Senate after incumbent John J. Flanagan announced his resignation.
Background
Ortt was born on May 23, 1979. He attended St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute in Buffalo and graduated from Canisius College, with a degree in international relations and political science. Ortt and his wife, Meghan, live in North Tonawanda. In October 2001, Ortt enlisted in New York Army National Guard in response to the September 11 attacks. From March 2008 until December 2008, he served in the War in Afghanistan where his mission was to serve as a combat mentor/advisor to the Afghan National Police in Kandahar City, the second-largest city in Afghanistan. In recognition of his service, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and the Combat Infantryman's Badge. He achieved the rank of first lieutenant. On April 3, 2007, Ortt was appointed as City Treasurer by the Common Council of North Tonawanda, New York. A few months later on November 6, 2007, he was elected to serve a four-year term, which began on January 1, 2008. On November 4, 2008, the town voted to eliminate the position of City Clerk and combined the offices of the City Clerk and City Treasurer to form one position of Clerk-Treasurer, making Ortt the first to hold that title. From January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2014, Ortt served as mayor of North Tonawanda, taking over from Lawrence V. Soos, a Democrat. He was succeeded as mayor by Arthur G. Pappas.
In 2014, when George Maziarz opted not to run for reelection, Ortt ran for his seat, which Maziarz had held since 1995. The 62nd District covers all of Niagara and Orleans counties, as well as the towns of Sweden and Ogden in Monroe County. Ortt was elected to the New York State Senate, beating Johnny G. Destino, a Democrat and attorney from Niagara Falls. In the Senate, he was named chairman of the Standing Committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities as well as the co-chair the Senate's Joint Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction. In May 2015, Ortt, along with John J. Bonacic and Rich Funke, called for Dean Skelos, the then Republican majority leader of the State Senate, to step down and said he would support a motion to replace Skelos as majority leader. In July 2016, Ortt and New York Assemblyman Raymond Walter asked New York's comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, to objectively investigate the state contracting piece of Buffalo Billion, a large state investment into job creation around Buffalo, New York. Their request is due to the multiple investigations into Buffalo Billion and their beliefs that money invested into the project should be scrutinized. In the past, construction workers working for projects in the Buffalo Billion initiative were paid late. As part of the Buffalo Billion project and investigations therein, SolarCity is building a new factory that will be 1.2 million square feet called the SolarCity GigaFactory.
Positions
As a candidate for the Senate in 2014, Ortt indicated that he opposes abortion, except in cases of rape or incest. He stated that he "strongly supports" the other nine pieces of Governor Cuomo's women's equality bills including "tougher equal-pay laws and laws to combat sexual harassment, domestic violence, and human trafficking." In 2017, Ortt introduced legislation that would cause the 2013 gun control law known as the NY SAFE Act to be repealed in all areas of New York other than New York City. On the EPL/Environmental Advocate's Environmental Scorecard this year, Ortt scored a 68, up from a score of 53 points in 2017. In 2018, Ortt helped pass legislation he sponsored that added geothermal heating systems to the list of financeable heating systems in New York State. This reduced the cost of a geothermal heating system, making it more affordable for New Yorkers who choose to purchase one. In 2019, Sen Ortt became the Senate sponsor of Bill# S5416 which proposes a constitutional amendment to divide the state into three autonomous regions Also in 2019 Sen Ortt voted against the following bills that became law:
The Jose Peralta New York State DREAM Act, which gave undocumented students the opportunity to receive state-funded financial aid for college;
Corruption charges and dismissal of charges
On March 22, 2017, Ortt, along with his predecessor George Maziarz, was indicted by a grand jury on corruption charges. Ortt was charged with three counts of offering a false instrument for filing; he pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors alleged that Republican officials had approached Ortt about running for mayor of North Tonawanda in 2009. However, taking that position would have reportedly involved a $5,000 pay cut for Ortt. According to prosecutors, Synor Marketing, a public relations firm, created a no-show job for Ortt's wife, Meghan; the Niagara County Republican Committee allegedly paid $21,500 to Synor that was to be paid to Meghan Ortt. On June 27, 2017, all charges against Ortt were dismissed by Judge Peter A. Lynch. Judge Lynch ruled that there was no evidence that Ortt had known that the Niagara County Republican Committee was the source of the payments made to Meghan Ortt. Lynch did not rule that then-New York State Attorney GeneralEric Schneiderman had prosecuted Ortt in bad faith or presented inaccurate evidence to the court.
