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Click below to learn more about each Senator. You can SEARCH HERE to find out who your Senator is.
Click below to learn more about each Senator. You can SEARCH HERE to find out who your Senator is.
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Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins is the Majority Leader of the Senate Democratic Conference. She represents the 35th District, which includes Mount Pleasant, Greenburgh, and the City of Yonkers. Senator Stewart-Cousins is the first female leader of a legislative conference in the history of New York State.
She also serves as the Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Rules. Before her entry into the State Senate, Senator Stewart-Cousins worked as a teacher, reporter, Westchester County legislator, and Community Affairs Director for Yonkers.
She is a strong advocate for human rights; quality education; accessible and affordable health care; and making government more efficient, transparent and accountable to all citizens. Senator Stewart-Cousins also has a strong record of advocating for the underserved and championing the needs of working families.
As Chair of the New York State Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, Mike Gianaris oversees all committee activities. He leads the effort to provide our candidates with the resources and infrastructure they need to wage winning campaigns.
Under Senator Gianaris’ leadership at the DSCC, Democrats took back the majority in 2018. In 2020, Democrats clinched the historic Supermajority and despite Democratic losses at other levels of government in 2022, under Senator Gianaris’ continued leadership of DSCC, Democrats were able to hold the Supermajority. Senator Gianaris also serves as Deputy Leader of the Democratic Conference, first elected to the Senate in 2010, representing the 12th District in Queens.
A child of immigrant parents, Senator Gianaris was born and raised in Astoria, Queens, where he continues to reside and represents the 12th Senatorial district. He is the product of New York City public schools and graduated from Fordham University and Harvard Law School before setting his sights on a career in public service. In a city with millions of renters, Senator Gianaris always stands with tenants.In addition to consistently supporting better rent laws to abolish vacancy decontrol and preferential rents, he authored legislation to eliminate the often-abused Major Capital Improvements (MCI) and Individual Apartment Improvements (IAI) programs, taking on unscrupulous landlords like the Trump organization.
Due to the extremely low voter turnout numbers in New York State, Senator Gianaris wrote legislation for Automatic Voter Registration and sponsors bills to enact early voting and vote by mail so that everyone in our state can make their voices heard at the ballot box. Our state has many unfunded needs and too many misplaced priorities. Senator Gianaris continues to do battle against wasteful corporate welfare, including New York’s $3 billion giveaway to Amazon, to ensure actual priorities like truly affordable housing, better mass transit and improved schools are fully funded.
Senator Monica Martinez represents the 4th Senate District which encompasses part of Central Suffolk County on Long Island. She serves as the Chair of the Committee on Local Government.
During her first term in office Senator Martinez Senator Martinez introduced several pieces of legislation to ensure the welfare and safety of all New Yorkers, which include monumental chapter amendments such as outlawing the dissemination of intimate images without consent and anti-sextortion protection for victims of non consensual dissemination of explicit images; increasing access to mammograms and menstrual health resources for the protection of women’s health; subjecting state and federal background checks for all operators of for-hire vehicles and mandating background and fingerprint checks for workers who perform services on school property.
Senator Martinez cosponsored important environmental legislation such as the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and the Child Safe Products Act. Senator Martinez secured more funding from the state for local school districts and made healthcare more affordable. Before her entry into the State Senate, Senator Martinez was a Suffolk County Legislator for the Ninth District, and was the Chairwoman of the Public Safety Committee, where she led the fight against violent gangs like MS-13 to keep the Suffolk County community safer.
Senator Kevin Thomas proudly represents New York’s 6th Senate District in Nassau County. As a former attorney, Kevin has dedicated his life to serving his community and defending average New Yorkers. Elected into the State Senate in 2018, Kevin is the first Indian-American to serve in the New York State Legislature. Kevin serves as Chair of the Consumer Protection Committee. Kevin is standing up for Long Island in the State Senate. He helped secure record school aid for Nassau County and made the property tax cap permanent, which will save taxpayers nearly $190 billion over the next decade.
Kevin also delivered new funding for our infrastructure, groundbreaking protections for our environment, relief for our student loan borrowers, and progressive voting reforms.
Prior to his election, Kevin was appointee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and an attorney with the nonprofit New York Legal Assistance Group, where he defended clients who had been unfairly targeted by large lenders. After years of helping those in financial crisis, Kevin chose to run for the State Senate to continue fighting to protect the rights of the people.
Senator James Sanders Jr. represents the 10th District in Queens, which includes parts of South Ozone Park, Jamaica, Rochdale Village, Rosedale, and all of The Rockaways, including Breezy Point. He is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Banks. Senator Sanders was born and raised in public housing in Far Rockaway, before going on to serve in the Marine Corps.
He became President of Queens School Board District 27 and then went on to be elected to the City Council, where he passed legislation to combat predatory lending, rebuilt parks and libraries, and provide assistance to Minority and Women Owned-Business Enterprises (MWBEs). After his election to the State Senate, he created legislation to mandate that the Department of Homeland Security implement a system for emergency recommendations in the event of a tornado, raise the minimum wage across New York State, protect airline pilots from being blinded by unauthorized laser pointers, expedite the search for missing persons, and further encourage the growth MWBEs as the Chairperson of the Senate’s Task Force on MWBEs.
Senator Toby Ann Stavisky represents the 11th District in Queens, which includes College Point, Whitestone, Beechhurst, Douglaston, Little Neck, Glen Oaks, Bellerose, Queens Village and parts of Bayside. She serves as Vice-Chair of the Senate’s Democratic Majority Conference and Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Higher Education.
Senator Stavisky spent many years as a public school teacher in New York, before winning her Senate seat in 1999. Since her election to the Senate, she has worked tirelessly to improve schools, assist small businesses, serve seniors, advocate for women’s reproductive health rights, and rid our streets of illegal guns.
Senator Jessica Ramos represents the 13th District in Jackson Heights and Corona. She has spent her life fighting for working families, advocating for labor, and organizing her local community.
She proudly serves as Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Labor where she’s fought to pass historic legislation to grant farm workers basic rights, tackle child poverty, and secured $2.1B to create a fund for workers who have been excluded from pandemic-related relief. Born in Elmhurst to an undocumented seamstress and a printing pressman, Jessica was raised in Astoria, attended Queens public schools, and now lives in Jackson Heights with her two sons.
Senator Leroy Comrie represents the 14th Senate District, including all, or part of the neighborhoods of Briarwood, Cambria Heights, Hollis, Forest Hills, Jamaica, Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Hills, Laurelton, Queens Village, and St, Albans in Queens. In the Senate, Senator Comrie serves as Chair of the Senate Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions.
He served for many years in the New York City Council, where he helped increase tax exemptions for seniors, improved construction safety, created worker training programs, and introduced a foreclosure prevention program. Now, in the New York State Senate, he works to expand access to quality healthcare and education, increase small business growth, and provide living wage jobs in his community.
Senator Joe Addabbo represents the 15th District in Queens, including all, or part of the neighborhoods of Rego Park, Forest Hills, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Middle Village, Glendale,Little Guyana, South Richmond Hill, Richmond Hill, and Lindenwood. In the Senate, Senator Addabbo chairs the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering.
He and his family have lived their entire lives in Ozone Park, where the Senator practiced law and led a number of community organizations. He was then elected to the New York City Council for nearly a decade, before running for and winning a seat in the New York State Senate. While in office, he has dedicated himself to creating economic opportunity, ensuring transparency and accountability in state government, protecting the environment, and safeguarding fair elections.
John C. Liu is a New York State Senator representing the 16th district in Queens, a broad area of Northern Queens. Senator Liu chairs the Senate Committee on New York City Education. John was Comptroller of the City of New York (2010-2013) and a New York City Councilmember (2002-2009). As the 43rd Comptroller of New York City, John Liu established an impressive record as the chief financial officer for 8.4 million residents and oversaw municipal government with an annual budget of $70 billion. Currently, John teaches municipal finance and public policy in Masters programs at the City University of New York (CUNY) and Columbia University.
Hailed as a “Trailblazer” and “Pioneer,” John Liu’s historic elections – as the first Asian American to win legislative office in New York and then the first to win citywide office – were milestones for Asian Americans in New York and across the nation. Although he wishes Asian Americans had been elected long before, John is honored to be the first and embraces the opportunity to broaden representation and public service.
Senator Iwen Chu represents the 17th Senate District and the families residing in Sunset Park, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Kensington. She is the Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Libraries. Before her entry into the State Senate, Senator Chu spent many years serving on the board of Brooklyn Community Board 11, as a council member for Community Education Council District 20, as a board member of HealthCare Choices, and as a community partner for the NYPD 68th precinct.
As a public school parent, a community journalist, and a public servant, Senator Chu has seen the infinite challenges that working families face every day. Senator Chu has a Master’s of Sociology from CUNY Brooklyn College. She was born and raised in Taiwan and lives in Dyker Heights with her husband and daughter.
Julia Salazar is a New York State Senator representing the 18th district in Northern Brooklyn. Senator Salazar serves as the Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Crime Victims, Crime, and Corrections. Born in an immigrant family, Julia attended public schools, and began working at a local grocery store when she was 14 to help make ends meet.
She supported herself through Columbia University as a nanny and is now a proud staff organizer for Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, a key partner in the Communities United for Police Reform coalition, and a leader in the Democratic Socialists of America.
As a member of the Bushwick community, she has been a tireless advocate for her neighbors and fellow tenants.
Senator Roxanne Persaud represents the 19th District in Brooklyn, which includes Canarsie, East New York, Howard Beach, Spring Creek, Howard Beach, and Starrett City. In the Senate, she serves as the Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Social Services. Senator Persaud, who emigrated from Guyana at a young age, worked for many years as a Higher Education Administrator.
She also served in a number of local organizations, such as community boards, community councils, and neighborhood advisory boards before being elected to the New York State Assembly and, later, State Senate. In the Senate, she focuses on creating safer communities, providing affordable housing and schooling, and ensuring quality healthcare and youth services.
Senator Zellnor Myrie is a Brooklyn native, lawyer, and longtime affordable housing advocate serving the 20th Senate District. Senator Myrie derives inspiration for his public service from his mother who moved to Brooklyn 40 years ago from Costa Rica on the promise of a mattress in a friend’s apartment and a job at a factory.
She raised Senator Myrie in a rent-stabilized apartment in Prospect Lefferts Gardens allowing him to attend one of the best public schools in the borough.
State Senator Kevin Parker represents the ethnically diverse 21st Senate District in Brooklyn that includes sections of Flatbush, East Flatbush, Marine Park, Mill Basin, Bergen Beach, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Prospect Park South, Georgetown, Little Caribbean, Little Haiti, and Kensington. Senator Parker serves as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy & Telecommunications Prior to his ascent to elected office, Senator Parker worked in a number of key public service roles at the New York State Comptroller’s Office, the New York State Assembly, and the New York City Council.
A professor of Political Science and African American Studies at various colleges and universities across New York State, Senator Parker works steadfastly to create meaningful living wage jobs with benefits; expand and protect worker’s rights; provide sustainable and cost-effective energy options to decrease our carbon footprint; and ensure that students in New York State are afforded a first-class education.
Senator Simcha Felder is a lifelong New Yorker, Certified Public Accountant, and former professor. Before running for the State Senate and representing Southern Brooklyn in the 22nd District, Senator Felder was elected to the New York City Council where he served as the Chair of the Council’s Government Operations and Sanitation and Solid Waste Management committees as well as the Landmarks Committee.
In the Senate, Senator Felder successfully fought for and secured funding for school transportation, enabling parents to receive fully-funded, “safety first,” door-to-door school bus services for their school children. Within the same year, passed legislation to enable parents to more easily receive funding for their child’s schooling.
Senator Scarcella-Spanton serves the 23rd Senate District which represents parts of Northern Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn. She serves as the Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security, and Military Affairs.
She is the proud daughter of two public school teachers, which allowed her to learn the early lessons of worker solidarity from her father, a UFT chapter leader, and uncle, a delegate with the Firefighters union. Prior to the Senate, Senator Scarcella-Spanton attended CUNY, where she earned her degree in political science where she learned the importance of quality, affordable higher education. As a young mom, whose husband was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, Senator Scarcella-Spanton learned firsthand how vital affordable, quality child care is for working and single parents which is why universal childcare is one of her top priorities in Albany.
Senator Martinez cosponsored important environmental legislation such as the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and the Child Safe Products Act. Senator Martinez secured more funding from the state for local school districts and made healthcare more affordable. Before her entry into the State Senate, Senator Martinez was a Suffolk County Legislator for the Ninth District, and was the Chairwoman of the Public Safety Committee, where she led the fight against violent gangs like MS-13 to keep the Suffolk County community safer.
Senator Jabari Brisport represents New York’s 25th State Senate district and is a third-generation Caribbean-American from Brooklyn. Senator Brisport serves as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Children and Families.
He first got involved in political activism through the fight for marriage equality and the early Black Lives Matter movement. Until becoming the first LGBTQ+ person of color to serve in New York’s legislature in 2018, he was a math teacher at a public middle school in Crown Heights.
Senator Andrew Gounardes represents the 26th District in Brooklyn, which includes Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Dumbo, Boerum Hill, Gowanus, Park Slope, Sunset Park, and Fort Hamilton. Senator Gounardes serves as the Chairman of the Senate Committee of Budget and Revenue. Andrew Gounardes is a champion for the working class and middle class families that are the backbone of New York.
Whether fighting to make landmark investments into CUNY, advocating new and innovative ways to improve street safety, combatting sexual harassment and corruption in the halls of power, or stepping up to support our state’s robust public workforce, Senator Gounardes has worked tirelessly for a better New York that is fair, safe, affordable, and gives everyone an opportunity to thrive.
Senator Brian Kavanagh represents the 27th District in Manhattan, which includes Lower Manhattan. He is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Housing, Construction, and Community Development.
Senator Kavanagh served in the NYS Assembly for six terms before his election to the State Senate. He has worked as an attorney, aide in three Mayoral administrations, chief of staff to the Manhattan Borough President, and advocate for voting rights. As a state senator, he has fought to improve tenant protections, transition to more sustainable energy sources, reduce gun violence, and promote clean and fair elections.
Senator Liz Krueger represents the 28th District in Manhattan, which includes the Upper East Side and Midtown East. She is the Chairwoman of the Finance Committee in the Senate and the Senator Krueger a founding co-chair of the New York State Bipartisan Legislative Pro-Choice Caucus, and has led on women’s health and reproductive choice since her first term in the Senate, when she was a leader in the successful fight to pass the Women’s Health and Wellness Act.
Senator Krueger is a strong advocate for tenants’ rights, affordable housing, improved access to health care and prescription drug coverage, social services, more equitable funding for public education, and animal welfare. She has made reforming and modernizing New York State’s governmental processes, electoral system, and tax policy central goals of her legislative agenda.
Senator Jose Serrano represents the 29th District, which includes Mott Haven, Randall’s Island, Harding Park, Hunt’s Point, Mt. Eden, South Bronx, Port Morris, Melrose, Highbridge, Morris Heights, Spanish Harlem, and Yorkville. He is the Chairman of the Cultural Affairs, Tourism, and Parks and Recreation Committee in the Senate. Senator Serrano, a lifelong Bronx resident, spent many years in the New York Shakespeare Film Festival before being elected to the New York City Council.
While on the city council, he prevented library closures, increased funding for libraries, and promoted local arts and art education. In the State Senate, he has passed legislation to lower asthma rates in the Bronx, publish lists of environmentally hazardous sites, and encourage the development of affordable housing.
Senator Cordell Cleare represents the 30th Senate District in Manhattan, which includes parts of Upper Manhattan and Central Harlem.
Senator Cleare is the Chairwoman of the Committee on Aging in the Senate. Before joining the Senate, Senator Cleare was a tenant advocate and served as Chair of the NYC Coalition to End Lead Poisoning where she helped pass the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, forcing landlords to remove hazardous lead paint that was crippling New York City’s children. She also co-founded the Michelle Obama Democratic Club served as a member and then president of School Board 3 and also became President of Community Education Council (CEC) #3.
In Albany, Senator Cordell Cleare is dedicated to using her voice to bring vital resources to her district and in general, communities of long-standing need.
From his first elected position as School Board President where he launched the Campaign for Fiscal Equality school funding lawsuit, walked 150 miles to Albany to highlight the cause and won a court judgment that awarded $16 billion for NYC public schools, to his 12 years on the City Council where he sponsored the Small Business Survival Act and fought for fairness, justice and equality, to his overwhelming election to the State Senate, Robert Jackson has taken on the tough fights for New Yorkers … and never backed down.
He knows how to get things done, and has a record to prove it. Senator Jackson proudly serves as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Civil Service and Pensions.
Senator Luis R. Sepúlveda represents the 32nd District, a broad area of Southwest Bronx. In the Senate, he serves as the Chairman of the Committee on Cities 1. Senator Sepúlveda was born in Brooklyn, New York, graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the natural sciences in 1988. Sepúlveda later attended the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra on a full scholarship, obtaining his law degree in 1991.
A staunch advocate for his constituents and the people of the state of New York, Senator Sepulveda has been a champion of bolstering economic opportunity, diversity, and social service reforms, especially as they affect middle and working class families.
State Senator Gustavo Rivera represents the 33rd Senate District, a broad area of Northeast and Central Bronx. He is the Chairman of the Health Committee in the Senate. In eleven years, State Senator Gustavo Rivera achieved an unprecedented record of accomplishments that the residents of the 33rd Senate District can be proud of.
He has passed legislation to empower patients and providers as they navigate a broken healthcare system, fought for historic tenant protections and rent regulation laws, won millions of dollars owed to Bronx public schools, and held the line for economic development and wage increases. He has done it all with the highest standards of integrity, restoring the trust of our community in our public servants.
Senator Nathalia Fernandez represents the 34th Senate District, which includes parts of Westchester and the Eastern portion of the Bronx. She serves as the Chairwoman of the Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. Before serving in the Senate, Senator Fernandez was an Assemblywoman, where she wrote and passed critical legislation, including the Andrew Kearse Act, which imposes criminal liability for failure to obtain medical care to a person in custody.
She also directed $125,000 in capital funding to Bronx Community College for computers to facilitate remote learning. Senator Fernandez is a daughter of immigrants and as a young child, she watched her father work hard to build a thriving small business on Morris Park avenue in The Bronx. Watching him taught her that progress takes passion and she is proud to fight for progress in the Senate for her constituents and all New Yorkers.
Senator Jamaal Bailey represents the 36th District, which includes parts of Westchester County and Northern Bronx. He is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Codes.
Senator Bailey grew up in the Bronx, attending public school and playing Little League. He went on to work for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, before running for State Senate. As a Senator, Bailey aims to increase access to healthy food, introduce a broader range of skills development in public schools, and expand and enhance legal services.
Senator Shelley Mayer represents the 37th District in Westchester County, which includes parts of Westchester County.
She is the Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Education. Previously, she served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Bureau and Chief Counsel to the New York Senate Democrats before being elected to three terms in the New York State Assembly. Senator Mayer has fought to increase funding for our schools, address climate change, support small businesses, clean up corruption in Albany, and reduce property taxes.
Senator Pete Harckham represents the 40th District in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties. Senator Harckham serves as the Chairman of the Environmental Committee in the Senate.
Before entering the Senate, he served in Westchester County Legislature and in the Governor Office of Community Renewal. He’s got a record of fighting fracking and pipelines, cutting local taxes, passing local ethics reform, and funding affordable housing. In the State Senate, he safeguards the environment, holds the line on taxes, protects students and communities from gun violence, improves infrastructure, holds utility companies accountable and protects consumers, and renew Main Street businesses in the Hudson Valley.
Senator Michelle Hinchey represents the 41st Senate District, which encompasses all of Greene and Columbia Counties, and parts of Dutchess and Ulster counties. Senator Hinchey is the Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, where she fights for family farmers across the state.
She is a strong voice for communities in Upstate New York and in the Hudson Valley and has written and passed legislation on important issues ranging from expanding healthcare and broadband access to making agriculture a key partner in the fight against climate change.
Senator James Skoufis represents the 42nd District in Orange County. Senator Skoufis is a lifelong resident of Woodbury, was first elected to the State Senate in 2018, where he soon after took over chairmanship of the Investigations and Government Operations Committee, where he continues to deliver results for his Hudson Valley constituents while serving with integrity.
Before joining the Senate, Senator Skoufis represented the area for six years in the State Assembly. Senator Skoufis fights for better schools, stronger infrastructure, and a fair playing field for all.
Senator Neil Breslin, a lifelong Albany resident, currently serves as New York State Senator representing the 46th District, which consists of all of Montgomery County and parts of Schenectady, and Albany counties. Senator Breslin is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Insurance. His involvement in civic and social areas in Albany includes 15 years as a board member of Arbor House, a residence facility for women in need. He also served as president of Arbor House for a period of seven years. Neil has been the attorney for St. Anne’s Institute in Albany and has performed work for Hospitality House, the International Center and Hope House, a drug treatment facility. Further, Neil was Vice President of the Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless from 1994 to 1998.
He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Legislative Ethics Commission and is a member of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources. Senator Breslinl is the former and longest serving President of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) and is the former Chair of the State/Federal Relations Committee. In the Senate, he has passed numerous laws to make health insurance more affordable as well as improve access to care for people with autism and for those receiving dialysis treatments.
Senator Brad Hoylman represents the 47th District in Manhattan, which includes Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Garment District, Hell’s Kitchen, and the Upper West Side. He serves as the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the Senate. Senator Hoylman champions a wide range of issues, such as housing, transportation, public education, environmental conservation and seniors.
He has passed over 100 bills and counting in the Senate, including the Child Victims Act, which enabled adult survivors of child sexual abuse to revive legal claims against their abusers; the TRUST Act, which permitted Congress to review the state taxes of elected officials like Donald Trump; GENDA, which extended human rights protections to transgender New Yorkers; and banning the practice of sexual orientation change efforts, or so-called “conversion therapy.”
Rachel May, Senator in New York’s 53rd District, lives in Syracuse. Senator May serves as the Chair of the Senate Committee Cities 2. She is a lifelong educator who has worked for the last fifteen years in the area of environmental sustainability at Syracuse University and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She has also been deeply involved in the local community, including serving on the Board of the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency and the Syracuse Board of Zoning Appeals.
In partnership with Native American educators, she secured grants from the EPA and the National Endowment for the Humanities to develop teaching materials and train teachers and students about the extraordinary environmental and human history of Onondaga Lake. In the Senate, Senator May has been instrumental in many of the environmental successes in the state in recent years, notably the nation-leading climate law passed in 2019. She now carries legislation to protect public waters from pollution and privatization, a major expansion of the Bottle Bill and important legislation to make producers, not taxpayers, responsible for managing packaging waste.
Senator John Mannion proudly represents the current 50th Senate District, bringing Central New York values into the State Senate. He was born and raised on Tipperary Hill in Syracuse, and he now lives with his family in Geddes.
Growing up in a union household, John learned from a young age the value of hard work, a good job, and working together. Prior to entering the Senate, he taught for twenty-one years as an Advanced Placement Biology teacher at the West Genesee School District and was a strong advocate for teachers and students, serving in the capacity of President for the West Genesee Teachers’ Association. Utilizing his science and education background, he is a strong advocate for environmental protections in the Senate, to assure a safe and clean environment for future generations of New Yorkers. He serves as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Disabilities.
A lifelong Southern Tier resident, Senator Lea Webb represents the 52nd District in the Senate, which includes parts or all of Broome, Cortland, and Tompkins counties. Senator Webb chairs the Senate Committee on Women’s Issues. As a former Binghamton City Councilmember, Webb has addressed critical issues that families face. From removing blighted properties and supporting their redevelopment into homes for her community to addressing food desert issues by establishing community gardens, Senator Lea Webb has improved the lives of those she serves.
In the Binghamton City Council she has passed legislation supporting equal pay for women, creating a city-based human rights commission, establishing a city-wide climate action plan, and supporting small business development and job creation. She is a Co-Chair/Co-Founder of the Black Millennial Political Convention and a Founding Board Member of Local Progress. She was honored with the President’s Award by the Broome-Tioga Branch of the NAACP for her significant contributions to her community.
Senator Samra Brouk was elected to represent New York’s 55th Senate District in November of 2020, making her the first Black woman from Upstate New York, and the first Black person from the Greater Rochester Area to be elected to the New York State Senate. She was born and raised in the City of Rochester and resides there with her husband and daughter. Senator Brouk is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Mental Health, and has made improving access to lifesaving resources a legislative priority. She proactively finds opportunities to address the intersection of mental health with topics including education, substance misuse, criminal justice, healthcare, race, and cultural competence.
In addition to her work in the New York State Senate, Senator Brouk is a returned volunteer of the United States Peace Corps, having spent two years as a health educator in rural Guatemala. Following her return to the United States, Senator Brouk’s career in the nonprofit sector focused on organizations that protect the environment, help seniors age in place, and address education inequities.
Adopted from an orphanage in Kolkata, India, Senator Jeremy Cooney made history as the first Asian elected to state office from upstate New York, now serving the 56th Senate District. He was raised by a single mother in the City of Rochester and is a proud graduate of the Rochester City School District (RCSD). Senator Cooney serves as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Procurement and Contracts. Senator Cooney was named co-chair of the Marijuana Task Force for the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus and he was instrumental in passing landmark MRTA legislation to legalize adult-use recreational marijuana. Senator Cooney’s priorities for Rochester include poverty relief, job creation, downtown development, and increased funding for public schools. He was included in City & State magazine’s “40 Under 40” list and the “Power of Diversity: Asian 100” powerful leaders list for 2021.
Jeremy is active in his community as a member of his neighborhood association and the Monroe County Democratic Committee. He also sits on the Board of Trustees for Hobart & William Smith Colleges, the Vestry of Christ Church Rochester, and serves as a Vice Chair of the Executive Board for the Seneca Waterways Council, BSA, as a proud Eagle Scout.
Senator Kristen Gonzalez is a former tech worker, a community organizer, and born-and-raised New Yorker, representing the 59th District in the State Senate which includes Astoria, Long Island City, Greenpoint, Kips Bay, StuyTown, Gramercy, Williamsburg and Murray Hill.. She was raised in a one-bedroom apartment in Elmhurst, Queens by a single mom from Puerto Rico. Growing up, she organized at her high school, at Columbia as a first-generation, low-income student, and on the Young Women’s Advisory Council for New York City Council writing policy recommendations.
She also worked at the Obama White House and in Senator Chuck Schumer’s office in D.C. Since then and before running for the State Senate, Senator Gonzalez served on her local community board, launched a citywide campaign for public internet, fought for campaigns to lower our rents, tackled the climate crisis by taking on a fracked gas power plant in Astoria, and started mutual aid networks in the pandemic. Given her background in tech, Senator Gonzalez is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Internet and Technology.
Senator Sean Ryan represents the 61st District in the Senate, which includes part of the City of Buffalo, the City and Town of Tonawanda, Grand Island, and Amherst. Senator Ryan is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Economic Development, and Small Business. He currently resides in the City of Buffalo with his wife and two daughters.
Before entering the Senate, Senator Ryan was an Assemblymember representing Western New York, as an attorney fighting for the rights of disabled students, and at a non-profit development entity called the Buffalo Neighborhood Stabilization Company, Inc. (BNSC) where he served as the Executive Director and General Counsel and worked to create a redevelopment plan for a section of the West Side of Buffalo. As a legislator, Sean has championed many different issues including creating a fair economy for all, lower taxes for middle-class families and small businesses, increased investment in education, waterfront development, neighborhood redevelopment, clean air and water, environmental protection, strengthening gun safety laws, and protecting reproductive choice.
Senator Timothy Kennedy represents the 63rd District, a broad area in Western New York including part of the City of Buffalo. He is the Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. In that position, Senator Kennedy secured a historic $100 million for the NFTA to improve and maintain Buffalo’s Metro Rail. In addition, he has fought for transit-dependent riders to have a voice on transportation authority boards, demanded that the state fix our crumbling roads and bridges, and has helped to restore public transit routes.
He also has passed legislation that heightens penalties for repeat child abusers, fixes Child Protective Services, safeguard victims of domestic violence, expanded senior’s access to prescription medication coverage, funded workforce training programs, and boosted economic growth in Western New York. Before joining the Senate, Senator Kennedy was an occupational therapist, and he served in the Erie County Legislature, where he fought for Western New York families as he does in the Senate today.
Senator Jim Gaughran represents the 5th District on the North Shore of Long Island, which includes the Towns of Huntington and Oyster Bay and the City of Glen Cove. Jim Gaughran has served on the Huntington Town Board, the Suffolk County Legislature, and as the Chair of the Suffolk County Water Authority. He passed some of the state’s first ethics laws disclosing outside income, reduced Suffolk’s public debt, protected waterways, and maintained low water rates in Suffolk County. As a senator, he will prioritize protecting New Yorkers from gun violence, providing tax relief, fighting corruption, and protecting the environment.
Anna Kaplan was born Anna Monahemi in Tabriz, Iran to a Jewish family. When the Islamic Revolution swept the country, Anna’s parents made the difficult decision to send her on her own to the United States for safety. She arrived in Brooklyn as part of an international effort to save Iran’s Jewish people and was sent to live with a foster family in Chicago, where she learned to speak English and completed high school. Eventually, Anna was granted political asylum by the United States government.
Senator John Brooks represents the 8th District on Long Island, which includes South Shore in Eastern Nassau and Western Suffolk Counties. Towns include Babylon, Hempstead, and Oyster Bay. He is the ranking member of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, Local Government, and Agriculture Committees in the Senate. Senator Brooks has been an active member of his community, serving as a volunteer firefighter for over 45 years and as a member of the Seaford Board of Education. He previously worked as an insurance executive and Director of Risk Management for Nassau County, where he challenged insurance rate increases and saved New Yorkers $300 million.
Senator Todd Kaminsky represents the 9th District on Long Island, which includes South Shore in Nassau County. He is the ranking member of the Environmental Conservation Committee in the Senate. Prior to holding elected office, Senator Kaminsky served as a prosecutor, taking down a number of corrupt politicians, drug kingpins, and gangsters. After winning a seat in the New York State Assembly, Senator Kaminsky passed more bills than any other freshman legislator in the history of the Assembly, including legislation on ethics reform and Hurricane Sandy relief. Since his election to the State Senate, he has worked to pass further ethics reform, expand Long Island’s commuter rail system, protect New York’s air and water resources, and increase education funding.
Senator Diane Savino represents the 23rd District in Staten Island and Brooklyn, which includes Mariners Harbor, St. George, Arrochar, Gravesend, and Brighton Beach. She is the ranking member of the Labor Committee in the Senate. She has spent her life helping others, as a social worker, labor organizer, and, eventually, state senator. She has pushed legislation to expand access to medical marijuana, increase worker protections, and provide financial support to “first responder’s spouses killed in the line of duty.
Alessandra Biaggi is the Democratic New York State Senator in her home district (Bronx/Westchester), and Chair of the revived Ethics and Internal Governance Committee. The granddaughter of Italian immigrants who lived in Hunts Point, she is the fourth generation of her family to live in District 34.
Democratic NYS Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick is a pragmatic progressive voice for the lower Hudson Valley who believes government has a vital role to play in protecting our quality of life by ensuring safe neighborhoods, clean water, good roads and mass transit, and well-funded education for our kids. Born and raised in Nyack and a graduate of Nyack High School, Senator Reichlin-Melnick has worked at all levels of government over the course of his career.
After earning his Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 2006, he spent two years as an elementary school teacher at an inner city public school in New Haven, Connecticut. In 2008, Senator Reichlin-Melnick worked in Virginia to help elect Barack Obama, and returned to Rockland County to spend nearly five years as a constituent service specialist and district representative for Congressman Eliot Engel and Congresswoman Nita Lowey.
