SENATOR BRAD HOYLMAN PRAISES LEGISLATIVE APPOINTMENT OF ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL BARBARA UNDERWOOD

Hoylman: “Underwood’s exceptional professional qualifications and lengthy record of public service will bring stability and renewed integrity to this office, which is more important than ever to protect New Yorkers from the Trump White House.”

ALBANY, New York - State Senator Brad Hoylman (D/WF - Manhattan), Ranking Member of the NY State Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement regarding today’s convening of the State Assembly and Senate in a rare joint legislative session to appoint Barbara D. Underwood as New York State Attorney General:

State Senator Brad Hoylman said: “I’m proud to have represented the Senate Democratic Conference on the special legislative committee reviewing the qualifications of the candidates for Attorney General. I’m pleased to have cast my vote today for Barbara Underwood, whose exceptional professional qualifications and lengthy record of public service will bring stability and renewed integrity to this office, which is more important than ever to protect New Yorkers from the Trump White House.”

Barbara Underwood will succeed former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and serve in the role until a successor is elected and takes office in January. She is the first woman to hold the position of Attorney General. Underwood previously held the appointment of New York Solicitor General, and served as Counsel and Chief Assistant to the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. She served as the acting solicitor general and principal deputy solicitor general of the U.S. from 1998 to 2001, and has also held top positions in the Queens and Brooklyn District Attorney’s Offices, among other distinguished posts including a clerkship under Justice Thurgood Marshall. Over the years, Underwood has argued over 20 cases before the Supreme Court on issues ranging from climate change to criminal justice reform.

State Senator Brad Hoylman was part of a bicameral bipartisan vetting committee headed by Democratic Assemblymember Joe Lentol of Brooklyn, and interviewed 12 candidates over the course of two days last week.