Profiles

David F. Fleming, Jr.

Chief Operating Officer

David was appointed Chief Operating Officer of the firm in January 2017. For more than thirty years he has provided association management and legislative representation services for a variety of clients and in relation to many of the most pressing issues in Albany. He has a diverse background in representing some of New York’s largest industries to some of the smallest not-for-profits and advocacy organizations. He also supports corporations and associations in crisis management strategy and navigates our clients through all aspects of agency filings, applications, and procurement strategy.

David is the author of a number of published articles and white papers.  He is frequently asked to speak at state and international conferences on legislative advocacy and governmental cooperation. He has also served as a guest on a number of press and industry podcasts and is frequently interviewed in old and new media on state policy developments.

He was named by City & State Magazine as a"Who's Who in Government Relations", citing him as a notable figure influencing policy and spending in New York.

He is widely recognized as a state expert in cemetery regulation and management, having represented cemetery organizations, including many of New York’s largest cemeteries, since 1995. During his more than thirty years of advocating cemetery interests, David has negotiated some of the most significant changes in cemetery and cremation policy in New York which are now utilized as national models for cemetery regulation. During the pandemic of 2020, he was an emergency management resource to state and national organizations in death care planning and response while also managing cemetery and crematory operational responses. He is frequently tasked by state representatives, local governments, religious organizations, and trade groups, to handle complex and high-profile death care issues. His death care work has involved approval of hundreds of millions of dollars in various cemetery projects and related development. He has also supported local governments by supervising the restoration of the largest cemetery corporation abandonment in New York history.

Prior to his time at FM, David served as an administrative and policy assistant for social welfare programs under the Director of Clinical Affairs for the Governor of Massachusetts. Before joining the Governor of Massachusetts, David was a full-time political consultant, working on all aspects of electoral politics. He began his legislative career as a district aide and policy advisor.

In addition to his current management and legislative representation at FM, David has been a Judicial Delegate for over twenty-five years as well as the longest tenured Supervisor of the Town of Nassau, New York, since its founding in 1806. He is also a State Marriage Officer and has also led and served on not-for-profit boards representing interests as diverse as municipal finance, cemetery scholarship and community support programs, to agricultural and forest conservation.

David is a native of Averill Park, New York and holds a B.A. degree from Gordon College.

You can contact David by email to dff@fcmlaw.org or by telephone at (518) 436-0786 Ext. 437.