Angela Wozniak (born March 11, 1987) is 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 Assem ...

, serving from 2015 to 2016. She represented the 143rd district, which included

Cheektowaga Cheektowaga () is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town has grown to a population of 89,877. The town is in the north-central part of the county, and is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. The town is the ...

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

, and Depew, New York. A registered

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, Wozniak caucused with the Republican minority in the Assembly. In March 2016, Wozniak was admonished by the Assembly Ethics Committee for having retaliated against a staffer with whom she had engaged in a sexual relationship, in violation of the Assembly's Policy Prohibiting Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation. In May 2016, Wozniak announced that she would not seek reelection to the Assembly.

Early life, family, and early career

Wozniak was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

to a Polish-American family and graduated from Lancaster High School. She graduated from

D'Youville College D'Youville University (D'Youville or DYU) is a private university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded as D'Youville College in 1908 and named by the Grey Nuns after the patroness saint Marie-Marguerite d'Youville. As of Fall 2020 D'Youville Col ...

with a degree in business management. She owns an insurance agency. Wozniak is married to Phil Drenning. They have a son. In 2011, Wozniak was elected to the

Town Board. During her time on the board, she fought against deliberate overpayment for sidewalk repairs.

New York State Assembly

2014 election

In the 2014 election, Wozniak ran for the 143rd State Assembly seat previously vacated by

Dennis Gabryszak Dennis H. Gabryszak (born November 18, 1951) is an American former politician from the state of New York. A Democrat, Gabryszak was a member of the New York State Assembly for the 143rd district from 2007 until his January 2014 resignation. Li ...

. She ran on both the Republican and Conservative ballot lines. The seat was considered to be a Democratic stronghold. In an upset, she defeated Democrat Mark M. Mazurek. Wozniak ran on an anti-corruption platform.

Tenure

One of Wozniak's first legislative actions was to introduce the Public Officers Accountability Act, which would have disqualified felons from receiving government contracts, lobbying or holding public office. She spoke out against unfunded mandates and proposed a moratorium on such mandates. Wozniak opposed letting transgender students use the school bathroom of their choice.

Scandal

On March 9, 2016, Wozniak was disciplined and banned from hiring interns following an investigation by the Assembly Ethics Committee. The investigation related to allegations made by a staffer with whom Wozniak had engaged in an extramarital affair. While the Committee "found insufficient evidence to conclude that the relationship at any point constituted 'quid pro quo sexual harassment'", it did find that Wozniak had retaliated against the staffer by tarnishing his reputation after their affair ended. Wozniak later apologized for exercising "very poor judgment yhaving relationship with a staffer." In May 2016, Wozniak announced that she would not seek reelection to her Assembly seat. She was succeeded by Democrat Monica P. Wallace. As part of a 2019 settlement with New York's Joint Commission on Public Ethics, Wozniak admitted that she had broken state law when she made personnel decisions regarding the staffer with whom she had engaged in an affair.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wozniak, Angela Living people American politicians of Polish descent Members of the New York State Assembly Women state legislators in New York (state) Politicians from Buffalo, New York 1987 births Conservative Party of New York State politicians D'Youville University alumni Town supervisors in New York (state) 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians People from Cheektowaga, New York