Senator Siela Bynoe being sworn in on Jan. 8
Office of Senator Siela Bynoe
Siela Bynoe, the first Black state senator from Long Island in the 247-year history of the elected body, was sworn in with other members of the New York State Senate at the Capitol in Albany on Jan. 8.
“It’s an opportunity to be a voice, to be an advocate for residents who traditionally did not have someone who had similar experiences and would be able to come up and fight for them,” Bynoe said in an interview with Schneps Media Long Island.
Bynoe’s legislative priorities for her first term include strengthening schools, environmental protection, the creation of more affordable housing, coastal flooding issues in Freeport as well as the maintenance of Nassau University Medical Center and making sure that “we can address the current deficits and be able to sustain it into the future” according to the senator.
Bynoe, a Democrat, added that she hopes that “we’ll be able to address issues community by community,”
A Westbury resident, Bynoe has had an extensive career in public service. She was executive director of the Huntington Housing Authority, commissioner of the North Hempstead Housing Authority, and served two terms on the Westbury School Board.
In 2014, she won a special election to the Nassau County Legislature and would go on to serve for five terms.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said Bynoe was “shattering a glass ceiling” as she introduced her to applause in the Senate Chamber.
“For over a decade, she has served as a Nassau County Legislator, championing her community and working on crucial issues like affordable housing, public health, and education,” Stewart-Cousins said.
Stewart-Cousins added, “It is her passion and commitment that earned her the history-making distinction as the first Black senator from Long Island. I have no doubt that her leadership will amplify her district’s needs and strengthen the work we do collectively for all New Yorkers.”
On election night, Bynoe won 55% of the vote to defeat attorney Thomas Philip Montefinise, who got 36%, according to the Nassau County Board of Elections.
Her victory kept the 6th State Senate District in South-Central Nassau in Democratic hands after outgoing state Sen. Kevin Thomas announced he would be stepping down from office.
The 6th District is made up of portions of the town of Hempstead, including the villages of Hempstead and Garden City, as well as the hamlets of Levittown, East Meadow. It also stretches into southern Oyster Bay, encompassing the hamlets of Plainedge and Bethpage.
The district contains a population where 63% of residents are people of color. Prior to her historic swearing-in at the state capitol, Bynoe began with a widely attended ceremony on Jan. 5 at Westbury High School, her former high school.
“It meant the world to me to be able to go back to a school district that gave so much to me, that inspired me to explore a life of public service. That school and the community supported my family and myself when there was an issue of trauma,” Bynoe said.
Cousins, the New York Senate president pro tempore and the majority leader, dministered the oath of office in front of an audience of more than 800 supporters, including a bipartisan group of lawmakers who worked with Bynoe during her decade as a Nassau County Legislator.
Speakers included Attorney General Letitia James, Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, New York Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, and U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer.
The event’s audience was made up of local elected officials from both parties, including Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman as well as Assembly Members Edward Ra, Judy Griffin, and Chuck Lavine, whose districts overlap with Senate District 6.