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ASSEMBLYWOMAN CATHY NOLAN DECIDES TO RETIRE
Longtime Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan has decided she will not seek re-election after 38 years in office representing western Queens.
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | FEB. 18 - FEB. 24, 2022 17
BY BILL PARRY
She was one of the youngest
women ever elected in New
York when she was first sent
to Albany in 1984 at age 26.
Now, 38 years later, Assemblywoman
Cathy Nolan has
decided that she will not seek
re-election to represent western
Queens when her current
term ends at the end of this
year.
Nolan was diagnosed with
cancer last February and
has been working remotely,
or from her district office in
Long Island City, since last
year.
“I’m doing well, I’m back in
the district office quite a bit,
but I just can’t do it the way I
did with all the events,” Nolan
told Newsday. “I can’t run for
reelection like I used to and be
with the voters. I’m a little sad,
but 38 years…I always gave it
full-out, and won’t be able to do
that. I pretty much loved every
minute. I never minded a fight
for the right thing.”
Nolan represents the 37th
Assembly District which encompasses
Sunnyside, Long
Island City, parts of Astoria,
Maspeth and Ridgewood
where she lives. She was appointed
Deputy Speaker of
the Assembly in the winter of
2018 by Speaker Carl Heastie.
Nolan served as chair of the
powerful education committee
from 2006 to 2018 spearheading
efforts to achieve class size
reduction, universal pre-K,
middle school initiatives, improved
high school graduation
rates and other measures that
meant immediate success for
the more than three million
school children in New York
State.
QNS reached out to Nolan
and is awaiting a response.
Meanwhile, former Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer
praised Nolan’s tenure in
Albany.
“Assemblywoman Cathy
Nolan will forever be known
as a woman who blazed trails
for many other women to serve
in elected office,” Van Bramer
said. “She fought for decades
on behalf of the people of the
37th AD and we should thank
her for her service. I wish Assemblywoman
Nolan good
health, time with her family
and all the best in retirement.”
Van Bramer had been mentioned
as a potential successor
if Nolan decided to step aside,
but he would not comment on
whether he was considering
a run. Danielle Brecker ran
against Nolan in 2020 and
thanked the longtime leader
for her service.
“Assemblymember Catherine
Nolan set the example
and blazed the trail for me and
many other women to engage
and lead in our communities
and run for office,” Brecker
said on Twitter. “I would not
have been able to challenge
AM Nolan in 2020 if she had
not been doing the work before
me.”
She added that she expects
a scramble to replace Nolan,
much like the 26 candidates
who ran last year to replace
Van Bramer. Hunters Point
Civic Association President
Brent O’Leary, who was
among that field of 26, said
that he is seriously considering
a run for Nolan’s seat,
and offered his appreciation
for her 38 years representing
western Queens.
“The entire community
owes sincere gratitude for Assembly
Member Nolan’s hard
work and dedication in fighting
for the families of our
community for over 38 years,”
O’Leary said. “We thank her
for her public service and dedication”
Community leader Mary
Jobaida and Huge “Turbo
Vax” Ma announced last
year they would run in District
37 recently ended their
campaigns. Neither could be
reached for comment.
Governor Kathy Hochul
took to Twitter to thank Nolan
for her nearly 40 years of
public service.
“For decades, Assemblymember
Cathy Nolan has
been a steadfast advocate for
the people of Queens,” Hochul
said. “We are grateful
for her service, from her tenure
as education and labor
chair, to the farmworkers
bill, and more, and wish her
best in retirement.”
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