Shelley Mayer

Shelley Mayer (born March 6, 1952) is a Democratic member of the New York State Senate representing the 37th Senate District, which includes portions of Westchester County. Formerly a member of the New York State Assembly, Mayer was first elected in a special election in 2018.

Shelley Mayer
Mayer in 2012
Member of the New York State Senate from the 37th district
Incumbent
Assumed office April 30, 2018
Preceded by	George Latimer
Member of the New York State Assembly from the 90th district
In office January 1, 2013 – April 30, 2018
Preceded by	Sandy Galef
Succeeded by	Nader Sayegh
Member of the New York State Assembly from the 93rd district
In office March 21, 2012 – December 31, 2012
Preceded by	Mike Spano
Succeeded by	David Buchwald
Personal details
Born	March 6, 1952 Yonkers, New York
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Lee Smith
Children	3
Residence	Yonkers, New York
Alma mater	B.A., UCLA, '75 J.D., SUNY Buffalo School of Law, '79
Website	Official website Campaign website

Background

Born and raised in Yonkers, Mayer went on to receive her B.A. at University of California, Los Angeles, and later her J.D. at the University at Buffalo Law School.[1]

Prior to her election to public office, Mayer was a Senior Counsel at the National State Attorney General Program at Columbia University, where she focused on health care and labor law rights.[1] From 2007 until early 2011, Shelley worked as Chief Counsel to the New York State Senate Conference in Albany.[2]

For over seven years, she served as Vice President of Government and Community Affairs at Continuum Health Partners in New York City.[3] From 1982 to 1994, Mayer served as an Assistant Attorney General in the office of New York Attorney General Bob Abrams.[4] She served in the Civil Rights Bureau, as Chief of the Westchester Regional Office, as the legislative liaison for the Attorney General and ultimately as a senior advisor to the Attorney General.

In 2006, Mayer made her first run for public office, losing a bid for the New York State Assembly to incumbent Republican Mike Spano.[5] Spano later went on to change parties, ran for Mayor of Yonkers in 2011 as a Democrat, and won.[6]

Mayer was first elected to the New York State Assembly on March 20, 2012,[7] in a special election to succeed Mike Spano, and was re-elected three times.

Mayer lives in Yonkers with her husband, Lee Smith, with whom she has three adult children.

New York Senate

Mayer was elected to the State Senate in a special election held on April 24, 2018 after the office was vacated by Westchester County Executive George Latimer. Mayer appeared on the Democratic, Working Families, and Women's Equality Party lines and won by a margin of 57% to 43%.[8] Mayer attributed the win to a "'big tent blue wave' that brought together progressives, Democrats, union groups and female activists."[9]

Later in 2018, despite the district being deemed competitive by pundits, Mayer was unopposed for a full-term. With Democrats retaking the majority, Mayer is serving as Chair of Committee on Education.[10]

References

1. "Law School's Shelley Mayer Elected to State Assembly". Columbia News. 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
2. February 25, Politics on the Hudson on; PM, 2011 at 1:59 (2011-02-25). "Mayer Leaves As Senate Democrats' Counsel". Capitol Confidential. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
3. Robeson, Kenneth H. R. (2018-02-07). "Controversy Swirls Around NY Senate Candidate Who Hid Ties to Crooked Politicos". The Jewish Voice. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
4. "Mayer Apparent Winner in New York State Senate Race". TAPinto. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
5. "Our Campaigns - NY Assembly 93 Race - Nov 07, 2006". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
6. Yang, Lucy; News, Eyewitness. "Mike Spano elected Yonkers mayor". ABC7 New York. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
7. "Our Campaigns - NY Assembly 93 Special Race - Mar 20, 2012". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
8. "Our Campaigns - NY State Senate 37 Special Race - Apr 24, 2018". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
9. "Mayer wins NYS Senate 37th District race, updated results". lohud.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
10. "NYSUT lauds selection of Sen. Shelley Mayer as Senate Education Chair". www.nysut.org. Retrieved 2019-02-01.

External links

• Official Senate website
• Campaign Website