Was elected to the NY State Assembly in 1978 and served for the next 28 years. He chaired a number of committees, most notably the Education Committee for ten years. He authored landmark education laws (to create Charter Schools in 1998, the NYC Mayoral Control Law in 2002 and enactment of Pre-K and class-size reduction programs in 1997). In 2004, he joined the City College of NY’s graduate school as an adjunct professor.