Anthony Avella Jr. (born October 27, 1951) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the New York State Senate's 11th district in northeast Queens from 2011 to 2019. The district included the mostly affluent neighborhoods of College Point, Whitestone, Bayside, Little Neck, Douglaston, Floral Park, Beechhurst, Malba and Auburndale. Avella also served as a member of the New York City Council from 2002 to 2009, representing some of the same Queens neighborhoods in District 19. Avella is a former member of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), a group of Democratic state senators who allied themselves with Senate Republicans. He was also a losing candidate in the 2009 New York City mayoral election, the 2013 Queens Borough President election, and the 2017 New York City mayoral election. On September 13, 2018, Avella was defeated in the State Senate Democratic primary by former New York City Comptroller John Liu. Avella continued his campaign on third-party lines and was again defeated by Liu in the general election. Early life, education, and family Avella earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Hunter College of the City University of New York. His public service career began as an aide to New York City Council member Peter Vallone, Sr. He served as an aide to Mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins, and as Special Assistant to late State Senator Leonard P. Stavisky and Chief to Staff to his widow, Toby Stavisky, who succeeded Leonard as a State Senator after his death. Avella also served as a member of Queens Community Board 7 and a Democratic District Leader and joined several civic and recreational associations. A lifelong Queens resident, Avella resides in Whitestone with his wife, Judith Cashman. Political career New York City Council In 2001, Avella was first elected to the New York City Council in Queens' District 19. He was the first Democrat elected to his relatively conservative district. Avella served as the Chair of the Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee and was a member of five other Council committees: Higher Education, Housing and Buildings, Fire and Criminal Justice Services, Land Use, and Veterans. He was the founder and Chair of the first Italian-American Caucus of the Council. He turned down a stipend and pay increase that came with his committee chairship, and was also the only City Council member to turn down his complementary parking placard. His colleagues often