Rebecca Seawright

Rebecca Seawright is the Assembly member for the 76th District of the New York State Assembly. The district includes portions of the Upper East Side, Roosevelt Island and Yorkville in Manhattan.

Life and career

Seawright was born and raised in Texas, and came to New York City to attend law school at the City University of New York.[1] Formerly, she served as the New York State Director of the National Women's Political Caucus, also worked in the New York Assembly as a staffer.[2] She also worked in Washington, D.C., including for United States Senator Lloyd Bentsen.[3]

An advocate for women's rights, Seawright serves on the boards of the Feminist Press and the CUNY School of Law Board of Visitors.[4]

New York Assembly
Assembly Member in Session

Seawright was sworn into office on January 1, 2015. She is a member of the Banking Committee; Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee; Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee; Judiciary Committee; and the Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development Committee. In her first year of office, Seawright succeeded in passing 6 different pieces of legislation in the Assembly.[5] During her first term, 7 Seawright Bills have been passed into law, and 10 Bills were passed by Assembly. She is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Consumer Fraud Protection and also sits on the Assembly's Work group on operations.[5] She also is a member of the Legislative Women's Caucus and Bipartisan Pro-Choice Legislative Caucus.

As an Assemblymember, Seawright has been a staunch advocate for Women and Minorities. She has declared herself as a "fighter against discrimination and intolerance at all levels of our society."[5]

Assemblyman Micah Kellner decided to not seek re-election in 2014, and Seawright entered the race to succeed him.[6] The only woman in the race, she would go on to defeat three others to take the Democratic nomination.[7] Seawright easily won the general election with nearly 67% of the vote.[8] She has a 100% attendance record in the New York State legislature.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Seawright missed the deadline to submit her candidacy for the 2020 Democratic Party primary for her seat. This forced her to create a new ballot line for the Rise and Unite party, which requires signatures from 1,050 voters. This gave the Republicans a rare opportunity in this long-held Democratic district.[9]

2020 incident

In August 2020, Seawright's electoral office was vandalized with paint and an anti-Semitic note, leading Governor Andrew Cuomo to order New York State Police to conduct an investigation.[10] Seawright is not Jewish, but was targeted for supposedly mentioning a synagogue in a fundraising letter. Police arrested a man allegedly responsible for the crime and charged him with harassment, criminal trespass and unlawful graffiti.[11]

References
  1. "On the East Side, a New Political Force". Strauss Media. 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  2. "WEDDINGS; Becky Seawright and Jay Hershenson". New York Times. 1993-10-18. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  3. "Rebecca Seawright Started Young in Politics". Main Street Wire. 2015-03-14. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  4. "REBECCA SEAWRIGHT: "THERE'S WORK TO DO"". Public Square. 2013-12-16. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  5. "New York State Assembly | Rebecca A. Seawright". nyassembly.gov. Retrieved 2016-06-07.
  6. "Rebecca Seawright Garners Support in Bid to Replace Micah Kellner". The Observer. 2014-05-21. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  7. "PTA Mom Wins Primary for Assembly Seat on the Upper East Side". DNAinfo. 2014-09-10. Archived from the original on 2016-01-28. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  8. "Upper East Side Mom Wins Assembly Seat". DNAinfo. 2014-11-05. Archived from the original on 2016-01-28. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  9. Vielkind, Jimmy. "Rebecca Seawright Was Walking to Re-Election. Now She's Fighting to Get on the Ballot". The Wall Street Journal. The Dow Jones Corporation. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  10. Hogan, Bernadette; McCarthy, Craig (Aug 13, 2020). "Cuomo orders State Police to investigate anti-Semitic graffiti on UES". Retrieved Oct 22, 2020.
  11. "Man arrested, charged for antisemitic vandalism of NY politician's office". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved Oct 22, 2020.
New York State Assembly
Preceded by
Micah Kellner		 Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 76th district
2015–present		 Incumbent
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