Michael Den Dekker

Michael Den Dekker was elected to the New York State Assembly (34th AD) on November 4, 2008. He represents Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst and Woodside. He remains an active member of SAG and continues to work in Background and bit parts. He played Judge Pasqua in Spike Lee's Inside Man (2006)and a Legal aid attorney in Miracle at St. Anna (2008). Mike has also appeared in several movies and television shows. He has spent most of his acting career in the Community Theater in Queens County starring in numerous plays but is best loved for his portrayal in such roles as Mel in Prisoner of Second Avenue and Ben in the Sunshine Boys. Mike is married to his wife Angela and has four children Elizabeth, Michael, Linda and Jason, who is married to Jessica. He has one grandchild named Jasen.

Mike has also had many roles in public service. He joined the New York City Department of Sanitation in 1995 and was promoted to the rank of Supervisor in 2001, where he was assigned to the Bureau of Public Information and Community Affairs. After the events of September 11, 2001, Mr.Den Dekker was detached to the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management as a Public Information Officer assigned to the Joint Information Center. In this capacity, Mr. Den Dekker was responsible for assisting with the proper dissemination of information and statistics as they related to the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. In March 2003, he was given additional responsibilities as a Special Projects Coordinator. In this position, he has worked on the Ready NY campaign, Public Service announcements, and the OEM Speakers Bureau. Dekker also served during the anthrax attack, the crash of American Airlines Flight 587, the 14th Street Con Ed explosion, the 2003 Power Outage, the Staten Island Ferry Accident, and NYC's Hurricane Katrina Response Effort. He has received Certificates of Achievements in Weapons of Mass Destruction, Basic Incident Command, Leadership and Influence, Emergency Program Manager, Decision Making and Problem Solving and has received unit citations in Public Information for his work during the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Crash of Flight 587.

In March 2006 he was appointed Facilities Manager for the New York City Council. In this capacity he was responsible for all day to day operations of all City Council Member offices and facilities and also assisted in the operations of City Hall.