Velmanette Montgomery

Velmanette Montgomery (born 1942) represents District 25 in the New York State Senate, which comprises Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Red Hook, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Sunset Park, Gowanus, and Park Slope, among other neighborhoods located within the borough of Brooklyn. First elected in 1984, Montgomery is a Democrat.

Velmanette Montgomery
Montgomery in 2010
Member of the New York Senate
from the 25th District
Assumed office
January 1, 1985
Preceded byAnna V. Jefferson
Constituency22nd district (1985–92)
18th district (1993–2012)
25th district (since 2013)
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)William Walker
Children1
ResidenceClinton Hill, Brooklyn
Alma materNew York University
Columbia University
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life and career

Montgomery was born in Houston,[1] but relocated to New York City to attain a master's degree in education from New York University.[2] She later became a Revson Fellow at Columbia University.[3]

Prior to elected office, Montgomery worked as a teacher, adjunct professor, and day care director as well as the cofounder of the Day Care Forum of New York City.[4] She has also served as president of Community School Board 13.

In 1991, Montgomery was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from St. Joseph's College.[5]

New York Senate

Montgomery was first elected in 1984, succeeding Anna V. Jefferson, who did not run for re-election that year.[6] She has been re-elected seventeen times, never facing serious opposition. Montgomery has never lost an election.[7]

In the Senate, Montgomery is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Children and Families. She is a reproductive rights advocate, sponsoring legislation on the topic,[8] and a longtime nurse practitioner advocate. She was an original sponsor of legislation to legalize needle exchange programs to stop the spread of AIDS,[9] wrote the law banning female genital mutilation, and sponsored a current law that prohibits the discrimination in the granting of funeral or bereavement leave to workers in committed same-sex relationships.[10]

In 2013 Montgomery was caught on tape at the home of then-Senator Shirley Huntley in a federal corruption probe along with six other government officials. The probe centered around former Senator Huntley who plead guilty to embezzling over $87,000 in taxpayer money.[11] Despite the recordings, Montgomery was never officially convicted of any wrongdoing.[12]

In 2019, Montgomery was elected Majority Conference Secretary.[13]

In 2020, State Senator Montgomery announced that she will retire and not seek reelection to the New York State Senate.[14]

References
  1. "New York 25th District State Senate Results: Velmanette Montgomery Wins". The New York Times. 2017-08-01. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  2. "Brooklyn Lawmaker Apologizes For 'White People Don't Eat The Way We Do' Remark". 2015-02-24. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  3. Travers, Suzanne. "New Scrutiny of City's Library Trustees". City Limits. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  4. "LaGuardia Community College's Early Childhood Learning Center Programs Celebrate Their 30th Anniversary – CUNY Newswire". Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  5. "Senator Montgomery, Assemblyman Mosley, St. Joseph's College, Sigma Gamma Row Inc. and the YWCA of Brooklyn sponsor Back To School Giveaway". NY State Senate. 2017-09-13. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  6. "Our Campaigns - NY State Senate 22 - D Primary Race - Sep 11, 1984". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  7. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Velmanette Montgomery". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  8. "NY State Senate Bill S4325". 2015-10-03. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  9. "New York State Senator will be Recognized as the Seventh Annual Atlantic Avenue Ambassador". Atlantic Avenue LDC. 2018-09-04. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  10. "State Senator Velmanette Montgomery's Legislative Report". NY State Senate. 2016-08-08. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  11. Kaplan, Thomas; Rashbaum, William K. (2013-05-03). "Ex-Senator Shirley Huntley Recorded Elected Officials". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  12. "State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery Named in Federal Investigation". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  13. "Senate Leadership". NY State Senate. 2015-10-04. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  14. https://www.amny.com/brooklyn/long-time-brooklyn-state-senator-montgomery-declines-2020-run-gives-nod-to-rising-star/

Media related to Velmanette Montgomery at Wikimedia Commons

New York State Senate
Preceded by
Anna V. Jefferson		 New York State Senate
22nd District
1985–1992		 Succeeded by
Martin M. Solomon
Preceded by
Donald Halperin		 New York State Senate
18th District
1993–2012		 Succeeded by
Martin Malave Dilan
Preceded by
Daniel Squadron		 New York State Senate
25th District
2013–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
Carl Kruger		 Chairwoman of the Committee on Children and Families
2009–2010		 Succeeded by
Patrick Gallivan
Preceded by
Carl Kruger		 Chairwoman of the Committee on Social Services
2009		 Succeeded by
Daniel Squadron
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