Alumna Alessandra Biaggi ’12 was sworn in as the new representative of the 34th Senate District by new Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
Biaggi was sworn in by new senate majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins in front of an invited crowd of hundreds at Lehman’s Lovinger Theater. And while inaugurations like Biaggi’s were taking place all over the state, there was something about this particular win that made Democrats like U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer quite ecstatic, taking time off from negotiations to end the partial federal government shutdown in Washington to attend.
“It’s making a lot of us happy for two reasons,” Schumer said. “Who she is … and who she beat.”
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Within moments of officially becoming a state senator, Biaggi showed she wasn’t going to let an office in Albany keep her away from community organizing. Looking back to many of the young interns and volunteers who helped on her campaign, Biaggi cited the “desperate need” for the energy and enthusiasm of young people at the ballot box.
“We must and we will pass the list of voting reforms,” she said, “but beyond that, I am personally pledging today, before all of you, to visit every single high school in the 34th Senate District. To talk to students, especially seniors who are about to turn 18 years of age, about the importance of voting.”