Philip Ramos

Life and career

Ramos is the son of a correction officer and a registered nurse. His family was one of the first Hispanic families to move to Brentwood in 1957 and has lived in the community for the past 50 years, raising his two children. He graduated from Brentwood High School in 1974, and went to work as a therapy aide at the Pilgrim Psychiatric Center. He later became an emergency medical technician and received a commendation for delivering a baby boy on the side of the Southern State Parkway.

Ramos followed in the footsteps of his father by going into law enforcement. As a Suffolk County Police Officer, he joined with other Latino police officers in founding the Suffolk County Police Hispanic Society and was elected president of the society in 1993. He worked eight years in the narcotics unit as an undercover officer. Promoted to detective in 1987, Ramos was assigned to the community where he grew up. Ramos recently retired from the Suffolk County Police Department, where he served from 1979 to 1999.

New York Assembly

In 2002, Ramos opted to run for the New York Assembly to succeed Republican Robert Wertz, who was retiring after thirty years to seek a seat in the New York Senate. In a close race, he defeated Republican Philip Goglas 53% to 47%. Since then, he has been elected with at least 65% of the vote.