Tremaine Wright (born November 2, 1972) is the Chairwoman of the New York State Cannabis Control Board and a former member 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 ...

from the 56th district, which includes parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. On September 1, 2021, Wright was selected by Governor

Kathy Hochul Kathleen Hochul ( ; née Courtney; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician serving as the 57th governor of New York since August 24, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor, as well as the first ...

to chair the Cannabis Control Board of the newly created

New York Office of Cannabis Management The Office of Cannabis Management is a state agency established upon passage of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) to implement a regulatory framework for medical and adult-use cannabis in the state of New York, along with hemp reg ...

Life and career

Wright was born and raised in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, living down the block from the home she was raised in. A graduate of

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...

and the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dis ...

, Wright practiced law both in private firms and as a public defender with Brooklyn Law Services. Previously, Wright was the chairperson of

Brooklyn Community Board 3 Brooklyn Community Board 3 is a New York City community board that encompasses the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Stuyvesant Heights and Ocean Hill. It is delimited by Classon Avenue on the west, Flushing Avenue and Broadway on ...

, and also formerly owned a neighborhood coffee shop. In 2009, Wright ran for the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government model, the performance of ...

against incumbent

Albert Vann Albert Vann (November 19, 1934 – July 14, 2022) was an American politician and a member of the New York City Council from Brooklyn, representing the 36th district, which includes parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights. He was a Dem ...

but lost.

New York State Assembly

After sixteen years representing the district, Assemblymember Annette Robinson announced that she would retire instead of seek another term in 2016. Soon after, Wright announced her intentions to run to replace her. Facing Karen Cherry in the Democratic primary, Wright won the nomination by a 59% to 41% margin. Wright won the general election unopposed, and was sworn into office on January 1, 2017. Wright did not run in the Democratic primary for her Assembly seat in 2020 so that she could run for 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 comp ...

New York State Senate campaign

On January 11, 2020, State Senator

Velmanette Montgomery Velmanette Montgomery (born December 22, 1942) is an American Democratic Party politician who represented the 25th district of the New York State Senate from 1984 until 2020. The district comprised Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Red Hook, Bedford-S ...

, representing

New York's 25th State Senate district New York's 25th State Senate district is one of 63 districts in the New York State Senate. It has been represented by Democrat Jabari Brisport since 2021, succeeding fellow Democrat Velmanette Montgomery. District 25 is currently the most Democra ...

, announced that she would be retiring and not running for re-election in 2020. As part of this announcement, she endorsed Wright as her successor, and Wright entered the race against schoolteacher Jabari Brisport, and former Montgomery staffer Jason Salmon. More than a month after the Democratic primary was held on June 23, 2020, the final absentee ballots were counted, and Brisport was named the nominee with a 13-point lead over Wright. Salmon finished in third.

Chair of the Cannabis Control Board

Since September 6, 2021, Wright has been chair of the Office of Cannabis Management's Cannabis Control Board, where she is charged with deliberating regulatory and tax policies regarding medical and adult-use cannabis in New York State.

References

External links

New York State Assemblyman Tremaine Wright
official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Tremaine Living people Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from Brooklyn 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American women in politics African-American people in New York (state) politics Women in New York (state) politics Duke University alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni 1972 births 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women