Tuesday, May 27 officially began a new career for Sam Sutton, the first Sephardic Jew to be elected to the New York state Senate. The first Sephardic Jew in the legislature was Assemblywoman Lena Cymbrowitz, z”l. Sutton’s was a 30-day campaign culminating on Tuesday, May 20.
Shortly after being sworn in by Rabbi Joseph Beyda, head of school at the Yeshiva of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School in Brooklyn, Sutton received his committee assignments from Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. He is now the chairman of the Administrative Regulations Review Commission (ARRC). Two other senators sit on the committee, one Republican and one Democrat. The ARRC reviews each newly proposed rule to examine issues of compliance with legislative intent as well as the impact on the economy and affected parties.
Sutton is also a member of six other committees, including Aging, Disabilities, Education, Health, New York City Education, and Social Services. With the legislative session drawing to a close, committees are holding their final meetings of the year. Sutton attended the Health and Education committee meetings on Wednesday, May 28 but did not speak when introduced by the chairmen of the committees – Shelley Mayer, a Yonkers Democrat and Gustavo Rivera, a Bronx Democrat. Additionally, at two committee meetings he attended he sat silently, and remained silent also after the welcome he received on the Senate floor with a standing ovation.
Sutton served with the Sephardic Bikur Cholim, a social service organization, for 30 years. He has worked for the Sephardic Community Federation, New York Cancer Center, and the Safe Foundation, and is a former trustee of the NYU Langone Medical Center. He is also a co-founder and board chair of TEACH-NY, a group advocating for funding to nonpublic schools such as yeshivas and Jewish day schools. He previously ran a business importing women’s accessories.
Based on his introduction to Albany, Sutton appears to be a quiet type. Maybe it was the pressure of only having a few weeks before the session wraps up for the year, or possibly he didn’t want to inadvertently say something incorrectly. He declined several attempts by The Jewish Press to conduct a personal interview.
Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, a Borough Park Democrat, has known Sutton for many years and the two know each other’s children by name. They share phone calls and text messages regularly. “I was taught a long time ago that those who don’t talk are the doers. Sam is a doer,” Eichenstein told The Jewish Press. “We’ll be working on many, many issues together and I look forward to it and I’m really excited.”
A Senate Democrat who once represented a large portion of Sutton’s district before the boundaries were shifted is also a big fan of Sutton. “There are questions about education, public safety, the rise of antisemitism, and issues that he’s led on during his entire career, issues that he can speak to personally,” Senator Andrew Gounardes (D – Bay Ridge, Brooklyn) told The Jewish Press. “Many of us share concerns over those issues, but unless you can speak to those issues personally, it’s a different type of advocacy. He’s going to be very effective to bring his own personal experiences to these discussions.
“I’ve known him for just shy of a decade,” Goundardes continued. “I first met him when I was elected because I represented a large portion of the Syrian community in Brooklyn. We had not known each other previously and we hit it off. We’ve stayed close ever since. We probably spoke once or twice a week every week since I was elected in 2018. He’s Jewish; I’m Greek. We have the same spirit and ethos so we’re connected in more ways than one. I’m so ecstatic. He’s going to do a phenomenal job.”
The accolades continued from colleagues – most importantly from the Senate floor. Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, a Yonkers Democrat, heaped praise on the Senator.
“[He] joins us with a deep and well-earned reputation as a community leader. He’s spent decades fighting for his neighbors and communities in south Brooklyn,” she said. “He is working to improve access to quality education, advocating for small businesses, standing up for working families. Sam brings a lifetime of service and deep understanding of what communities need to thrive.
“His record of advocacy and coalition-building will be an invaluable asset to our chamber as we continue our work to advance a bold agenda focused on opportunity, equity, and economic growth. I know he will be a tireless champion for his constituents and a strong partner in delivering strong results for every corner of New York. Welcome!” Stewart-Cousins concluded.
Senator James Skoufis (D – Woodbury, Orange County) represents large swaths of several communities that encompass Jewish populations, including the Satmar-based village of Kiryas Joel. He understands where Sutton is coming from. “I’m thrilled that the seat is going to be filled by someone who comes to the Capitol with an exceptional reputation. He’s someone who is not new to public service,” Skoufis told The Jewish Press. “He’s been extremely active in the Sephardic community in Brooklyn. I’m thrilled to have a new colleague who is also going to be not only a great public servant, but an additional voice on behalf of a large Jewish constituency.”
Brooklyn Democratic Party Chairwoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, who is also an assemblywoman, told The Jewish Press that Sutton didn’t wait to be sworn in before getting to work. “What was very interesting about this is Sam Sutton was not even in the seat and he was already negotiating with the Majority Leader and Deputy Majority Leader on substantial equivalency [an education-related issue], and he got it,” Bichotte Hermelyn (D – Flatbush) gushed with pride. “Wow, that’s amazing! He is wonderful…He is experienced. He is a community guy.”
Another big fan of Sutton’s is a fellow Orthodox Jew, newly-minted Assemblyman Kalman Yeger. “In the eight years since I’ve been in office. Sam and I have spoken or texted almost every day anyway. This is not a change in the relationship except he’s got a new title and we’re going to lean on him a little more than we used to,” Yeger (D – Midwood) told The Jewish Press. “We need a partner. We need somebody in the majority, and we got that in Sam. We saw during the budget that we needed somebody at the table. We had people at the table but nobody from our community because Simcha had already left. We lost a huge champion when Simcha went down to take my old job, which was his old job. Now that [we’ve] got Sam, we’re going to be good. I’m so proud of him. I’m kvelling.”
Yeger is relieved that there will be a seamless continuity from Simcha Felder to Sutton. “I’m grateful he put himself forward because this is something he doesn’t have to do at his time of life. He stood up, he stood tall, and he’s been involved in every single battle,” Yeger said. “Sam is somebody who has been involved in every aspect of communal life for decades. He knows the system. He stood up for our community for a very long time. I’m very proud of him. We need someone really strong in the other chamber partnering with us the way Simcha did, and I look forward to doing that with Sam.”
Yeger, a Democrat, has also run on the Republican and Conservative lines in several races, also had nothing but praise for Sutton’s political opponent, Nachman (Carl) Caller. “There were two good people running. That’s the abundance of riches that our community had,” he said. “The Republican candidate is a wonderful human being, someone who is involved, he’s an askan, a good person. We got very lucky.”
An assemblyman who has known Sutton since his days on the New York City Council, is pleased to have another member of the New York chapter of the National Association of Jewish Legislators. “He’s an outstanding leader in the Jewish community. He gets involved in so many different issues. He’s a real grassroots individual. He started out representing the Syrian community in Brooklyn and has expanded significantly into the broader Jewish community,” Assemblyman David Weprin (D – Hollis, Queens) told The Jewish Press. “I think he will be a real asset up here in Albany.
“He may have to give up his involvement with TEACH-NY now that he’s a state senator. He’s been fighting for the private and parochial schools, for the yeshivas. I think he will be a tremendous advocate. Sam has a good business background. He has ties into the business community as well so I think he will be an asset up here.”
Sutton, 70, wears hearing aids and a kippah, and keeps kosher. Sutton’s given name is Solomon. When reached by text recently, Sutton wrote Sam is “what everyone calls me since I was a kid.”
His district includes parts of several Brooklyn neighborhoods from south to central Brooklyn, including Midwood, Flatbush, Borough Park, Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach, and Sheepshead Bay.
Even with all the accolades from members of the Assembly and Senate, hopefully soon readers of The Jewish Press will hear from Sutton in his own words.
The Senate Democratic press office included a “happy” quote from Sutton in their news release about the Senator: “I’m committed to continuing to give back by delivering the representation our families deserve, representation that listens, works hard and delivers real results. Whether it’s standing up for safer streets, better schools, stronger small businesses or protecting the rights and dignity of every New Yorker, I’m ready to get to work,” Sutton was quoted in the news release.
The session is expected to wrap up on Tuesday, June 24.
