Crystal Davis Peoples-Stokes (born December 22, 1951) is an American politician representing Assembly District 141, which includes the city of Buffalo within

Erie County, New York Erie County is a county along the shore of Lake Erie in western New York (state), New York State. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the population was 954,236. However, in the 2023 census, the Erie County population was 946,147 ...

. She is currently the Majority Leader of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

Education

Peoples-Stokes attended

Buffalo State College The State University of New York Buffalo State University (colloquially referred to as Buffalo State University, SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo State, or simply Buff State) is a public college, public university in Buffalo, New York. It is part of ...

, where she earned her B.S. degree in elementary education and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in student personnel administration.

Career

She worked as a member of the Erie County Legislature representing the 7th District from 1993 to 2002. In 2000, Peoples-Stokes, a member of

Grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

and the majority leader of the Erie County Legislature, ran against incumbent Assemblyman Arthur O. Eve. The race was described by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' as the toughest election contest of Eve's political career. Peoples-Stokes's Democratic

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

challenge was almost successful, and it was credited with energizing minority voters to elect

Byron Brown Byron William Brown II (born September 24, 1958) is an American politician who served as the 62nd mayor of Buffalo, New York from 2006 until his resignation in 2024. He was the city's first African-American mayor and the longest-serving mayo ...

as a New York State Senator. Peoples-Stokes was elected to the State Assembly in November 2002, after Eve's retirement. She ran uncontested in the November 2008 and November 2010

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

s. On December 17, 2018, Peoples-Stokes was appointed Majority Leader of the New York State Assembly, becoming the first woman and first African American to serve in the role. In the 2020 Presidential Election, People-Stokes served as an alternate

elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of t ...

, replacing Lovely A. Warren.

Personal life

Peoples-Stokes lives in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, with her daughter Rashaun and grandson Kaleb Malik.

References

External links

New York State Assembly Member Website
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Peoples-Stokes, Crystal 1951 births 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American state legislators in New York (state) 21st-century African-American women politicians Buffalo State College alumni County legislators in New York (state) Living people Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from Buffalo, New York Women state legislators in New York (state) 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature 2024 United States presidential electors