Andrea Alice Stewart-Cousins (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Stewart; born September 2, 1950) is an American politician and educator from

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, Stewart-Cousins has represented District 35 in the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

since 2007 and has served as

Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

and Temporary President of that body since 2019. She has previously served twice as acting

lieutenant governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket wit ...

under Governor Kathy Hochul, for 16 days in 2021 and between April and May 2022. Stewart-Cousins is the first Black woman to serve as the New York lieutenant governor, although in an acting capacity. She is the first woman in the history of New York State to lead a conference in the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...

and is also the first female Senate Majority Leader in New York history. Stewart-Cousins was first elected to the

in 2006. She previously served as a Westchester County Legislator from 1996 to 2006. In 2012, she was chosen by her colleagues to lead the Senate Democratic Conference. After the Democratic Party won an outright Senate majority in the

2018 elections The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2018. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. Africa *2018 Djiboutian parliamentary election 23 February 2018 *2018 Sierra Leonean general elect ...

, Stewart-Cousins became Majority Leader in January 2019. She became acting lieutenant governor on August 24, 2021, when Governor

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...

resigned and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul ascended to the governorship. Hochul announced she would be appointing a lieutenant governor, following the precedent set in 2009 by Governor

David Paterson David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. A ...

's appointment of Lieutenant Governor

Richard Ravitch Richard Ravitch (born July 7, 1933) is an American politician and businessman who served as Lieutenant Governor of New York from 2009 to 2010. He was appointed to the position in July 2009 by New York Governor David Paterson. A native of New York ...

. Hochul selected Brian Benjamin, who took office on September 9, 2021. However, Benjamin resigned less than a year later on April 12, 2022 after being arrested in a corruption scandal. This caused Stewart-Cousins to once again assume the role of acting Lieutenant Governor.

Early life and education

Andrea Alice Stewart was born on September 2, 1950, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She is the daughter of Bob Stewart, a decorated

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

veteran and repairman, and Beryl Stewart, a stenographer and community activist. The Stewart family resided in public housing in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, and Andrea suffered from chronic asthma. Stewart-Cousins spent twenty years in the private sector, including thirteen years in sales and marketing with

New York Telephone The New York Telephone Company (NYTel) was organized in 1896, taking over the New York City operations of the American Bell Telephone Company. Predecessor companies The Telephone Company of New York was formed under franchise in 1876. The princi ...

(later known as

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

). After New York Telephone went out of business, she received a buyout and pursued a college degree while working for

Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. She earned her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

Degree from Pace University and her teaching credentials in Business Education from

Lehman College Lehman College is a public college in the Bronx borough of New York City. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, the school became an independent college within CUNY in September 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehma ...

. She received her Masters of Public Administration from Pace University in May 2008 and is a member of

Pi Alpha Alpha Pi Alpha Alpha ( or PAA) is the national honor society for students of public administration. It is administered by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration in the United States. The organization was formed to prom ...

, the public administration honor society. She also pursued careers in journalism and teaching before entering public service.

Career

Yonkers Director of Community Affairs

Stewart-Cousins's public service career began in 1992 when she was appointed Director of Community Affairs in the City of Yonkers. In that role, she created an internship program for the hearing-impaired and for children in working families. She also advocated for and contributed to the revitalization of the City of Yonkers and was a founder of the original "Art on Main Street". Stewart-Cousins was a co-creator of "River Fest", a widely attended multi-cultural citywide celebration on the Hudson River in Yonkers.

Westchester County Legislator

Prior to her election to the New York State Senate in 2006, Stewart-Cousins served as a Westchester County Legislator representing Yonkers. First elected in 1995, she served from 1996 to 2006. During her tenure, she was elected Majority Whip and Vice-Chair. Stewart-Cousins authored living wage laws, smoke-free workplace laws, tougher gun laws, laws that prosecute predatory lenders, tax cuts for seniors and veterans, and Westchester County's first human rights laws.

New York State Senate

Stewart-Cousins first ran for New York State Senate in 2004, but incumbent Republican Sen. Nicholas Spano defeated her by a margin of 18 votes. In 2006, she challenged Spano again and defeated him. As of 2019, Senate District 35 includes all of

Greenburgh Greenburgh is a town in western Westchester County, New York. The population was 95,397 at the time of the 2020 census. History Greenburgh developed along the Hudson River, long the main transportation route. It was settled by northern Europeans ...

and Scarsdale and portions of Yonkers, White Plains and New Rochelle. Stewart-Cousins voted in favor of same-sex marriage legislation on December 2, 2009, but the bill was defeated. A same-sex marriage law was eventually passed in 2011. Stewart-Cousins is a vocal supporter of abortion rights, and has pushed for legislation to expand abortion access in the State of New York. On April 17, 2010, it was reported that Stewart-Cousins was under consideration by then-gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo to be his running mate. Cuomo ultimately chose Rochester mayor Bob Duffy instead.

Senate Democratic Leader

On December 17, 2012, Stewart-Cousins was elected Senate Democratic Leader. Stewart-Cousins is the first woman in history to lead a conference in the

Senate Majority Leader

The Democratic Party won a Senate majority in the 2018 elections. On January 9, 2019, Stewart-Cousins was elected Senate Majority Leader. She serves as the body's

Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

and Temporary President, and is the first female Senate Majority Leader in New York history. In 2019, Stewart-Cousins sponsored the

Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA) is a New York state statute that introduced major changes to landlord-tenant law. History After the 2018 elections – in which Democrats took control of the New York State Sena ...

, which overhauled the rules affecting rent-controlled apartments in New York City. During Stewart-Cousins's first year as Senate Majority Leader, New York passed a variety of progressive laws on issues like climate change, voting rights, abortion rights, criminal justice reform, gender equality, gun control, marijuana decriminalization, LGBT rights, and immigration. According to City & State New York, Stewart-Cousins employs a "consensus-driven approach" to leading the Senate Democratic Conference that sets her "apart from her predecessors". Following the resignation of Gov.

due to multiple allegations of

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...

, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul succeeded him as governor. Per state law, as state Senate Majority Leader, Stewart-Cousins became the state's Acting lieutenant governor until Hochul appointed a full-time replacement. She was the first Black woman to serve in this role. This was also the first time New York was governed by both a female governor and lieutenant governor.

Honors

In 2019, Stewart-Cousins was named to '' Crain's New York Business'' biennial list of the "Most Powerful Women in New York". In February 2021, she was presented with the

Nelson A. Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...

Award for 2020. On September 14, 2021 Stewart-Cousins received the

Samuel Untermyer Samuel J. Untermyer (March 6, 1858 – March 16, 1940) was a prominent American lawyer and civic leader. He is also remembered for bequeathing his Yonkers, New York estate, now known as Untermyer Park, to the people of New York State. Life S ...

award for distinguished civic leadership. She was honored at Untermyer Gardens in her hometown of

Personal life

In 1979, Stewart married Thomas Cousins, and the couple moved to Yonkers. Stewart-Cousins has three children and four grandchildren. Thomas Cousins died on November 26, 2007.

Electoral history

Westchester County Legislature

New York State Senate

References

External links

New York State Senate: Andrea Stewart-Cousins
* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart-Cousins, Andrea 1950 births 2020 United States presidential electors 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American history of Westchester County, New York African-American state legislators in New York (state) African-American women in politics Legislators from Westchester County, New York Lehman College alumni Lieutenant Governors of New York (state) Living people Democratic Party New York (state) state senators Pace University alumni Women state legislators in New York (state)

Early life and education

Career

Yonkers Director of Community Affairs

Westchester County Legislator

New York State Senate

Senate Democratic Leader

Senate Majority Leader

Honors

Personal life

Electoral history

Westchester County Legislature

New York State Senate

See also

References

External links