New York State Assembly

Katz served as a Member of the New York State Assembly from 1994 to 1999, representing Queens' 28th District, which included Forest Hills, Rego Park, and parts of Middle Village and Glendale.^[5] During her tenure as an Assembly member, Katz drafted sixteen bills that became laws, including some crucial health care initiatives.^[4] She wrote the law requiring HMOs to provide women direct access to gynecological care without forcing them to first see a primary care physician.^[4] She also was the Chair of the subcommittee on Urban Health.^[4] Additionally, she carried several bills to increase penalties for various forms of assault.^[4]

1998 Congressional Democratic Primary

In 1998, Katz ran for Congress from New York's 9th congressional district, which was the seat held by Chuck Schumer, who was running for the U.S. Senate. She was defeated narrowly by 285 votes in the tightly contested vote, with Anthony Weiner winning the primary, and the subsequent general election.^[6]

New York City Council

Katz then became Director of Community Boards for the Office of the Queens Borough President from 1999 to 2002,^[1] before winning a seat on the New York City Council, where she served from 2002 to 2009,^[1] representing the 29th district, which included Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens and parts of Maspeth, South Elmhurst and Richmond Hill.^[7] Katz served as Chair of the Standing Committee on Land Use, which was responsible for approving rezoning measures for wide-ranging pockets of the city, including Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Jamaica.^[8] As chair of the committee, Katz oversaw the rezoning of 6,000 city blocks, including the Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezoning in 2005.^[9]

Private sector

Term-limited out of the Council in 2009, Katz worked at the Greenberg Traurig law firm, where she specialized in government affairs and land use.^[10] In that position, she was paid to lobby for News Corporation.^[11]

2009 New York City Comptroller Democratic Primary

In 2009, Katz ran for New York City Comptroller in a four-person Democratic primary. She finished third with 20 percent of the vote, behind winner John Liu and second-place David Yassky.^[12]

Borough President

In 2012, Katz announced her plans to run for Queens Borough President in 2013.^[10] She was endorsed by Congresswoman Grace Meng, Councilman Leroy Comrie and the 1199 Hospital Workers Union.^[13] She won the Democratic nomination by defeating former New York City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. and others and the general election easily in 2013^[14] and was re-elected in 2017.^[15]

2019 Queens District Attorney

In December 2018, Katz announced her candidacy for Queens District Attorney.^[16] In the Democratic primary, Katz faced Tiffany Cabán, a public defender who was endorsed by several progressive politicians, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders.^[17] The initial results of the Democratic primary on June 25, 2019, showed Cabán with a narrow 1.3 percent lead over Katz.^[18][19][20] Katz performed particularly well in Assembly Districts 23–29, which comprise much of Southeast Queens.^[21] On July 3, 2019, election officials said Katz pulled ahead in the final count and led Caban by a mere 20 votes, triggering a recount.^[22] On July 29, 2019, the Board of Elections certified the results of the weeks-long recount, which resulted in Katz leading Caban by 60 votes and declaring victory. Caban said she would challenge the invalidation of over 100 ballots in court.^[23] On August 6, 2019, Caban conceded the race.^[24]

Katz was sworn in and assumed office on January 6, 2020.^[25]