Nicole Malliotakis becomes first Hispanic to represent a Staten Island constituency
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis took the oath of office yesterday in an Albany swearing-in ceremony, becoming Staten Island’s first Hispanic elected official.
"I am very excited to be representing my community," said Ms. Malliotakis, 30, of Rosebank. "I am looking forward to getting to work."
A first-generation American — her mother was born in Cuba, her father in Greece — Ms. Malliotakis (R-East Shore/Brooklyn) called it "an extreme honor to represent the place that I love and call home in the New York State Assembly. I am ready to begin advocating on behalf of the taxpayers in my district on important issues, such as cutting spending, lowering the tax burden, reducing the size of state government and ethics reform."
Ms. Malliotakis said she has been named ranking minority member of the Governmental Employees Committee. She was also named to the committees on the Aging, Transportation and Corporations, Authorities and Commissions — all posts she had sought — as well as a seat on the Banking Committee.
Ms. Malliotakis, making her maiden run for office last fall, handily defeated two-term former Democratic Assemblywoman Janele Hyer-Spencer.
Yesterday, Ms. Malliotakis said she has taken over Ms. Hyer-Spencer’s Assembly office on Midland Avenue, calling it "an OK fit" for now. She said she will continue there unless she can identify better digs. She said she expects to share office space with Brooklyn Republican state Sen. Marty Golden in the Brooklyn portion of their shared districts, noting that monetary allotments for offices for minority members like herself make finding the right space at the right price a challenge.
She said she had "just gotten" the keys to her Albany office.
Ms. Malliotakis will host a ceremonial swearing-in on Jan. 20 in her alma mater, New Dorp High School, with former Gov. George Pataki doing the honors and administering the oath.
Ms. Malliotakis was a one-time aide to Pataki, as well as to the late state Sen. John Marchi. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Seton Hall University and a master’s in business administration from Wagner College. She resigned her post in the government relations department of Consolidated Edison last month.