Information about Senator Suzi Oppenheimer's Record

Prior to her election to the Senate, Suzi Oppenheimer served four terms as mayor of the Village of Mamaroneck. She also served as president of the Westchester Municipal Officials Association and President of the Westchester Municipal Planning Federation. Before her election as mayor, she was president of the Mamaroneck League of Women Voters and president of the PTA of the Central School in Mamaroneck.

Senator Oppenheimer received her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Connecticut College for Women and she became one of the first women to earn a Master's Degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Business. Upon receiving her degree, she worked on Wall Street as an industry analyst for L. F. Rothschild & Company.

Suzi has experience and seniority in state government, and an excellent record in Albany budget reform, the environment, women’s issues and above all, education. Her positions on all of the important issues are well known.

Campaign Finance

Senator Oppenheimer's campaign contributions come mostly from individuals. The official NY State contribution reports for 2008 show that she had almost three times as many contributors compared to her opponent. Yet her opponent is spending six times more money in her campaign because Feld receives huge contributions from political committees and special interests.

The following comparisons are based on NY State Board of Elections Campaign Finance Reports for 2008 through the end of June.

Which candidate looks like a reformer? Which candidate looks like she's deeply in debt to the Albany special interests?

• A Senate district concerned about big increases in school taxes needs a strong voice on the Education Committee.
• If you are concerned about the future of education and economic strength, in this era of the knowledge economy, then you will want a strong voice on the Education Committee.

• Senator Oppenheimer has long been a leader in the State Senate on environmental issues and programs, working closely with Environmental Advocates, NYPIRG, and other statewide and Westchester environmental groups.
• She is endorsed by both the New York League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club Lower Hudson Group.
  • The New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) called Senator Oppenheimer “the political voice for New York’s environmental community.” Marcia Burstyn, NYCLV president, said, “Suzi Oppenheimer is one of the key senators we look to for environmental leadership. Throughout her time in public office, Senator Oppenheimer’s environmental advocacy has been outstanding….” Since its founding, the NYLCV has endorsed Senator Oppenheimer each time her re-election occurred in a year when it made endorsements.
  • The Sierra Club Lower Hudson Group said in its endorsement, “Senator Oppenheimer has been a strong advocate for environmental protection during her 24 years serving in the New York State Senate. She continues to work diligently and effectively to protect Long Island Sound. Sierra Club leaders urge residents of the 37th Senate district who care about protecting open space, clean water, clean air and working to prevent global climate change to re-elect Suzi Oppenheimer.”
• Recently, she opposed a project to build a liquified-natural-gas terminal the size of 10 football fields in the middle of Long Island Sound.
• She saved Westchester some $250 million on sewer treatment plant upgrades, secured state money for flood relief, and sponsored legislation on the global warming issue years before it became well-known.
• She has advocated funding for the preservation of open space and she secured $3.75 million toward the acquisition of the Jay property in Rye by the Jay Heritage Center.
• She also sponsored creation of the Bi-State Long Island Sound Committee, which coordinates policy for the Sound in New York and Connecticut.
• In 2002 she was the Senate sponsor of the legislation allowing for the sale of David's Island to Westchester County to establish the island as a park.
• She has also sponsored legislation to require a more sophisticated use of cancer mapping information compiled by New York State.

• Senator Oppenheimer is the Treasurer of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, a bi-partisan group of women elected to the Assembly and the Senate which addresses public policy issues that affect women and children. The Senator also chairs the Senate Democratic Task Force on Women’s Issues.
• In past years, she has held hearings around the state on the issue of women in the work force, violent crime against women on college campuses, domestic violence as a health care issue and teen pregnancy prevention.
• Candidate Feld has done nothing on women’s issues in Larchmont, Westchester County or New York State.

• Senator Oppenheimer co-sponsored “Kieran’s Law,” which provides for background checks for children’s caregivers.
• She is a member of the board of directors of numerous children’s aid agencies, including Child Care Action Campaign, West Corp., the Mental Health Association of Westchester, and St. Bernard’s Center for Learning.