By Bill Parry
State Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (D-Long Island City) announced her re-election candidacy at Dazie’s Restaurant in Sunnyside Monday. She has been a member of the state Legislature ever since her ground-breaking win in 1984 as one of the youngest women ever elected in New York.
Nolan has chaired a number of legislative committees and was the first woman to head the Labor Committee. She has sponsored important legislation on worker rights, worker safety, bank development districts and industrial business zones.
Most recently, she was the lead Assembly sponsor on the bill to finally bring paid family leave to New York State.
“Passing paid family leave in the Assembly for many years helped set the stage for its inclusion in the 2016 state budget,” she said.
Representing Ridgewood, Sunnyside, Long Island City and parts of Maspeth and Astoria, Nolan appears to be running unopposed in the Democratic primary on Sept. 13. No other candidate has publicly announced, although the filing deadline in two weeks away.
“I love our neighborhoods. Its schools, its parks, our seniors, our young people and out strong community values of tolerance and diversity,” Nolan said. “It has been an honor and a privilege to represent western Queens in the Assembly.”
Best known for her current leadership of the state Assembly Education Committee, Nolan has conducted hearings, roundtables, committee meetings and school visits that focus on children, teachers, school leaders and parents. The committee, one of the largest in the Legislature, handles the budgets for the education of millions of children pre-k through 12.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
