Annette Robinson (born 1940) formerly represented the 56th district 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 ...

, which includes most of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights and Bushwick, from 2002 to 2016.

Early life and education

Annette Marie Robinson was born in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

where she was active in the church and the community. She studied dance and performed at the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

at age 8. She holds B.S. and master's degrees from New Hampshire College (now

Southern New Hampshire University Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is a private university between Manchester and Hooksett, New Hampshire. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, along with national accreditation for some hospital ...

Career

Robinson's career in politics began in 1977 when she was elected as a Community School Board District 16 member. She went on to work for N.Y.C. Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin serving three terms-as Coordinator and Liaison, and District Director for U.S. Congressman

Major R. Owens Major Robert Odell Owens (June 28, 1936 – October 21, 2013) was an American politician and librarian who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2007, representing the New York's 11th and then 12th Congressional dist ...

and in 1991, was elected to the New York City Council representing Bedford-Stuyvesant. She was term limited from her City Council position in 2000 and was chosen in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held in 2002. Robinson garnered over 90% of the vote in the special election and served as the District Leader/State Committeewoman for the 56th Assembly District. Her office was at Restoration Plaza, in Shirley Chisholm's former space. Robinson announced that she would be retiring in 2016. On Saturday April 16, 2016, Robinson officially endorsed Brooklyn Community Board 3 chairperson Tremaine Wright to succeed her in the 56th assembly district. The endorsement took place at the campaign announcement for Tremaine Wright. Robinson stated that she was very proud to pass the torch to candidate Wright. After her retirement, she continued to serve as the female Democratic District leader of the 56th Assembly district, and the Vice Chair of the Kings County Democratic Party, making her the second in command behind Party Boss

Frank Seddio Frank R. Seddio (born October 14, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the New York State Assembly representing southeastern Brooklyn from 1999 to 2005 before serving as a Kings County Surrogate Court Judge from ...

Affiliations

In addition to her work in the New York Assembly, Robinson is the Vice-Chairwoman of the New York State Council of Black Elected Democrats.

References

External links

Biography: New York State Democratic Committee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Annette Living people African-American state legislators in New York (state) African-American women in politics Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly New York City Council members Politicians from Brooklyn Women state legislators in New York (state) Place of birth missing (living people) Women New York City Council members 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Southern New Hampshire University alumni African-American New York City Council members 1940 births 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women