State Senate Democrats Elect Stewart-Cousins as 1st Female Majority Leader

New York State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) will become the first-ever woman Senate Majority Leader in January 2019.

Spectrum News reported that Democratic Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins on Monday was formally designated the next majority leader in the state Senate by her colleagues in a conference that could have as many as 40 members at the start of the new year.

Outgoing Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan extended congratulations to Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins upon her selection as the next Majority Leader of the New York State Senate. In January, she will make history as the first woman to lead a legislative chamber in Albany.

Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb acknowledged Stewart-Cousins history-making and extended his sincere congratulations to her. “While our political views differ, Sen. Stewart-Cousins and I have often found common ground on changing the status quo at the Capitol and bringing the state’s closed-door mentality out of the shadows. I hope those remain among her top priorities in the upcoming legislative session,” he said.

Flanagan described Stewart-Cousins as “a good listener and a good leader” as well as “a class act and a truly extraordinary person.”

“It is my sincere hope that she and I can work together to ease the burden on hardworking taxpayers, partner with job seekers and job creators to grow our economy, ensure every region of the state gets it fair share and adopt bold reforms that can make a difference in the lives of the people we serve,” said Flanagan.

He ended his press statement: “We have many difficult challenges to address in the weeks and months ahead, but I believe we can work collectively, responsibly, and in a bipartisan way to move our Senate and our state forward.”

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