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Andrea Alice Stewart-Cousins (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Stewart; born September 2, 1950) is an American politician and educator from
Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...
. A member of the Democratic Party, 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, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...
since 2007 and served as Majority Leader and Temporary President of that body since 2019. She has served twice as acting
lieutenant governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a Constitution of New York, 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 governo ...
under Governor
Kathy Hochul Kathleen Hochul ( ; ; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer who has served since 2021 as the 57th governor of New York. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she is New York's List of female ...
, for 16 days in 2021 and between April and May 2022. Stewart-Cousins is the first Black woman to serve as New York's lieutenant governor, although in an acting capacity. She is the first woman in New York State history to lead a conference in the
New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the Bicameralism, two houses that act as the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York: the New York State Senate and the New York State Assem ...
and the first female Senate Majority Leader in New York history. Stewart-Cousins was first elected to the
New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...
in 2006. She 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 a Senate majority in the 2018 elections, Stewart-Cousins became majority leader in January 2019.


Early life and education

Andrea Alice Stewart was born on September 2, 1950, in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. She is the daughter of Bob Stewart, a decorated
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
veteran and repairman, and Beryl Stewart, a stenographer and community activist. The Stewart family resided in public housing in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
and
the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
, 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. After New York Telephone was acquired through a merger with
Bell Atlantic A bell Help:IPA/English, /ˈbɛl/ () is a struck idiophone, directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficien ...
, 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 New York City. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. It owns the national newspaper ''USA Today'', as well as several ...
. She earned her
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
Degree from
Pace University Pace University is a private university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, United States. It was established in 1906 as a business school by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace. Pace enrolls about ...
in 1986 and later her teaching credentials in Business Education from
Lehman College Lehman College is a public college in New York City, United States. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, it became an independent college in 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehman, a former New York governor, United ...
. She received her Masters of Public Administration from Pace University in May 2008 and is a member of Pi Alpha Alpha, the public administration honor society. She also pursued careers in teaching and briefly in journalism 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 for the City of Yonkers during Terence Zaleski's term as mayor. 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 the Towns of Greenburgh and Mt. Pleasant, and portions of
Yonkers Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...
. 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
New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the Bicameralism, two houses that act as the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York: the New York State Senate and the New York State Assem ...
.


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 The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and people of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as chief spokespersons for their respective political parties, holding the ...
. She serves as the body's Majority Leader 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, 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.
Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...
due to multiple allegations of
sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...
, Lt. Gov.
Kathy Hochul Kathleen Hochul ( ; ; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer who has served since 2021 as the 57th governor of New York. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she is New York's List of female ...
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. Hochul selected Brian Benjamin as lieutenant governor, and he took office on September 9, 2021. Benjamin resigned on April 12, 2022 after being arrested in a corruption scandal. Stewart-Cousins once again assumed the role of acting lieutenant governor at that time. Rep. Antonio Delgado was sworn in as the new lieutenant governor of New York on May 25, 2022.


Honors

In 2019, Stewart-Cousins was named to ''
Crain's New York Business Crain Communications Inc. is an American publishing conglomerate based in Detroit, Michigan, United States, with 13 foreign subsidiaries. History Gustavus Dedman "G.D." Crain Jr. ( Gustavus Demetrious Crain Jr.; 1885–1973), previously the ci ...
'' biennial list of the "Most Powerful Women in New York". In February 2021, she was presented with the Nelson A. Rockefeller Award for 2020. On September 14, 2021, Stewart-Cousins received the Samuel Untermyer award for distinguished civic leadership. She was honored at Untermyer Gardens in her hometown of
Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...
.


Personal life

Stewart-Cousins has three children and four grandchildren. Her husband, Thomas Cousins, died on November 26, 2007.


Electoral history


Westchester County Legislature


New York State Senate


See also

* 2009 New York State Senate leadership crisis *
List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States This is a list of minority governors and lieutenant state governors in the United States. In the United States, an ethnic minority is anyone who has at least one parent who is not of non-Hispanic white descent (such as African Americans, Asian Am ...


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 politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American history of Westchester County, New York African-American state legislators in New York (state) 21st-century African-American women politicians 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians 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) 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature 21st-century African-American politicians 2024 United States presidential electors