Stewart-Cousins Names Senate Committee Chairs

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Westchester-based, incoming State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has announced committee chair assignments for the upcoming legislative session. The Democrats will control the state Senate after a 'blue wave' in the midterm elections.

Several Hudson Valley senators will head committees, including newcomers Alessandra Biaggi, Peter Harckham, Shelley Mayer and James Skoufis, who will chair the Ethics, Alcoholism, Education and Investigations and Government Operations committees respectively. (Mayer is less of a newcomer, having won a full term in November after winning a special election in April.)

Already the most powerful woman in New York state government, Stewart-Cousins will be the first African-American woman to lead a majority conference in the Legislature.

"I thank Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins for her confidence in me as the next Chairman of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee," said Carlucci, one of the only members of the defunct Independent Democratic Caucus to survive the midterms. "We must protect our most vulnerable New Yorkers and support our direct care providers through policy reforms and critical funding. Whether it’s combating the opioid epidemic, ending school bullying, reducing gun violence, or helping veterans battaling PTSD, these are top issues the committee will address under my leadership.”

SEE ALSO: Midterm Flip: How The Hudson Valley Changed The State Senate