Stacey Pheffer Amato (born March 19, 1966) is a 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 ...

, representing the 23rd district, which includes portions of

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. A conservative

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, Pheffer Amato was first elected in 2016.

Early life and career

Pheffer Amato was born in

Rockaway, Queens The Rockaway Peninsula, commonly referred to as The Rockaways or Rockaway, is a peninsula at the southern edge of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Queens on Long Island, New York (state), New York. Relatively isolated fro ...

. Prior to holding office, she worked as an education paraprofessional for the

New York City Department of Education The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (more commonly known as New York City Publ ...

and as a procurement analyst for the

FDNY The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fire Suppression Services, ...

and the

New York City Department of Sanitation The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for garbage collection, recycling collection, street cleaning, and snow removal. The DSNY is the primary operator of the New York ...

. She holds a bachelor's degree in business economics from the

State University of New York at Oneonta The State University of New York at Oneonta, also known as SUNY Oneonta, is a public university in Oneonta, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History SUNY Oneonta was established in 1889 as the Oneonta N ...

. She has been an active member of the Rockaway Beach Civic Association for years and is a committee member of the NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program, which is tasked with overseeing the state's recovery efforts from

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late ...

Elections

In 2016, Assemblymember Phillip Goldfeder announced abruptly that he would retire. Pheffer Amato soon after announced that she would seek the Democratic nomination. With support from the Queens County Democratic Party, she was unopposed in the primary. She defeated Republican Alan N. Zwirn in the 2016 general election, 68% to 32%, to take the seat. She was easily re-elected in 2018. In 2022, Pheffer Amato defeated her Republican opponents by just 15 votes. She was not declared the winner until January 2023, two months after the election.

State Assembly

In the Assembly, she is the Chair on the Subcommittee on Child Product Safety. Her mother, Queens County Clerk

Audrey Pheffer Audrey I. Pheffer (born August 13, 1941) is an American Democratic Party politician from New York. She is currently serving as Queens County Clerk. Previously, she represented District 23 in the New York State Assembly from 1987 to 2011, which c ...

, previously held this Assembly seat. Upon Pheffer Amato's election, they became the first mother-daughter team to hold the same seat in the New York State Legislature.

Personal life

Pheffer Amato and her husband, Frank, live in Rockaway Beach with their two children.

References

External links

New York State Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato
official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Pheffer Amato, Stacey Living people Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from Queens, New York 21st-century American women politicians Women state legislators in New York (state) 1966 births 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature