Andrea Stewart-Cousins

Andrea Stewart-Cousins
Stewart-Cousins in 2020
Temporary President and Majority Leader of the New York State Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office January 9, 2019
Deputy	Michael Gianaris
Governor	Andrew Cuomo Kathy Hochul
Preceded by	John J. Flanagan
Acting Lieutenant Governor of New York
In office April 12, 2022 – May 25, 2022
Governor	Kathy Hochul
Preceded by	Brian Benjamin
Succeeded by	Antonio Delgado
In office August 24, 2021 – September 9, 2021
Governor	Kathy Hochul
Preceded by	Kathy Hochul
Succeeded by	Brian Benjamin
Minority Leader of the New York State Senate
In office December 17, 2012 – January 9, 2019
Deputy	Michael Gianaris Jeffrey D. Klein
Preceded by	John L. Sampson
Succeeded by	John J. Flanagan
Member of the New York State Senate from the 35th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2007
Preceded by	Nicholas Spano
Member of the Westchester County Board of Legislators from the 16th district
In office 1996–2007
Preceded by	Herman Keith
Succeeded by	Ken Jenkins
Personal details
Born	Andrea Alice Stewart (1950-09-02) September 2, 1950 (age 73) New York City, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Thomas Cousins ​ ​ (m. 1979; died 2007)​
Children	3
Education	Pace University (BA, MPA) Lehman College (GrCert)
Website	Official website

Andrea Alice Stewart-Cousins^[1] (née Stewart; born September 2, 1950) is an American politician and educator from Yonkers, New York. A member of the Democratic Party, Stewart-Cousins has represented District 35 in the New York State Senate since 2007 and has served as Majority Leader and Temporary President of that body since 2019. She has previously served twice as acting lieutenant governor of New York under Governor Kathy Hochul, for 16 days in 2021 and between April and May 2022. Stewart-Cousins is the first Black woman to serve as the New York lieutenant governor, although in an acting capacity. She is the first woman in the history of New York State to lead a conference in the New York State Legislature and is also the first female Senate Majority Leader in New York history.

Stewart-Cousins was first elected to the New York State Senate in 2006. She previously served as a Westchester County Legislator from 1996 to 2006. In 2012, she was chosen by her colleagues to lead the Senate Democratic Conference. After the Democratic Party won an outright Senate majority in the 2018 elections, Stewart-Cousins became Majority Leader in January 2019. She became acting lieutenant governor on August 24, 2021, when Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul ascended to the governorship. Hochul announced she would be appointing a lieutenant governor, following the precedent set in 2009 by Governor David Paterson's appointment of Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch. Hochul selected Brian Benjamin, who took office on September 9, 2021. However, Benjamin resigned less than a year later on April 12, 2022, after being arrested in a corruption scandal. This caused Stewart-Cousins to once again assume the role of acting Lieutenant Governor.^[2]