Audrey I. Pheffer (born August 13, 1941) is an American

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. She is currently serving as

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

County Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

. Previously, she represented District 23 in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

from 1987–2011, which comprised Rockaway Beach,

Howard Beach Howard Beach is a neighborhood in the southwestern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered to the north by the Belt Parkway and Conduit Avenue in Ozone Park, to the south by Jamaica Bay in Broad Channel, to the east by 1 ...

and

Ozone Park Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens, New York, United States. It is next to the Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, a popular spot for Thoroughbred racing and home to the Resorts Wor ...

, among other neighborhoods found within the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

Early life

Pheffer worked from 1973 to 1977 at the Rockaway Occupational Training Center and agency of the Queens Association of ARC, where she worked with the developmentally disabled. In 1977, she was a member of the New York City Commission of Human Rights. Despite her long separation from education and having only a high school diploma, she successfully combined being a working mom and a full-time student at

Queens College, City University of New York Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body ...

, where she received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree (

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

) in 1982. She was a Special Assistant to former New York City Council President

Andrew Stein Andrew Stein (born Andrew J. Finkelstein; March 4, 1945) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician who served on the New York City Council and was its last president, and as Manhattan Borough President. Early life St ...

and Executive Assistant to State Senator Jeremy S. Weinstein. Pheffer resides in Far Rockaway and has two children, Mitchell and Stacey. She and her life partner Glenn Riddell have six grandchildren.

Political career

On April 28, 1987, she elected to the

, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Gerdi E. Lipschutz. Pheffer was re-elected many times, and remained in the Assembly until 2011, sitting in the 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 194th, 195th, 196th, 197th, 198th and

199th New York State Legislature The 199th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5, 2011, to December 31, 2012, during the first two years of Andrew Cuomo's governorship, in Albany. State Senate ...

s. She was Chairwoman of the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection from 1995 to 2011. In the past she has chaired the Assembly's Election Law Committee and the Subcommittee on Outreach and Oversight of Senior Citizen Programs, and served as President of the National Order of Women Legislators from 1995 to 1996. In 2001 Pheffer launched a run for Queens Borough President before ultimately withdrawing from the race. In 2011, she resigned from the State Assembly after being elected to the position of County Clerk of Queens County. She is ''ex officio'' a clerk of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

and Commissioner of Jurors of Queens. In 2016, her daughter

Stacey Pheffer Amato Stacey Pheffer Amato (born March 19, 1966) is a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 23rd district, which includes portions of Queens. A Democrat, Pheffer Amato was first elected in 2016. Pheffer Amato was born in Rockaway, Q ...

was elected to her mother's old Assembly seat, becoming the first such same-seat mother-daughter combination in the Assembly's history.

References

External links

Biography: New York State Democratic CommitteeConservative Party Goes Begging For CandidatesWeld In Rockaway; Local To Challenge PhefferGotham Gazette's Eye On Albany: New York State Assembly: District 23
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pheffer, Audrey 1941 births Living people Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Jewish American state legislators in New York (state) Public officeholders of Rockaway, Queens Women state legislators in New York (state) Queens College, City University of New York alumni 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians People from Far Rockaway, Queens 21st-century American Jews