Elizabeth O'C. Little

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Elizabeth O'C. Little is a New York State Senator. A member of the Republican Party, she was first elected in 2002. She serves in the 45th Senate District, which includes all are part of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Warren and Washington Counties. Little was born in Glens Falls, and currently resides in Queensbury.

On Tuesday November 7, 2006 Senator Little won reelection to the Senate by an overwhelming margin garnering close to 70 percent of the vote. In recent years Little has expressed intrest in running for U.S. Congress in New York's 20th congressional district.

1 History
2 Awards
3 Voting Record
4 External links

[edit] History

Prior to her election to the State Senate in November 2002 She served in the New York State Assembly for seven years where she was a member of numerous committees and task forces. Senator Little first entered public service as a member and later Chair of the Town of Queensbury Recreation Commission. In 1986 she was elected to serve as an At-Large Supervisor to the Warren County Board of Supervisors for the Town of Queensbury, where she served on numerous boards and committees, including the Warren County Recycling Advisory Committee which she organized and chaired, and as County Budget Officer in 1990 and 1991.

Senator Little is a graduate of St. Mary's Acadamy and the College of Saint Rose with a degree in Elementary Education. A former teacher and realtor, Senator Little is the mother of six children; Elizabeth, David, Robert, Thomas, Carolyn, and Luke, and the grandmother of ten.

[edit] Awards

Senator Little has received numerous Awards and distinctions during her years of public service.

1992, Libery Bell Award for Community Service
1997, Adirondack Girl Scouts Women of Distinction Award
2000, New York State Federation of Republican Women, Woman of the Year Award
- Adirondack Regional Tourism Council, Public Sector Partnership Award
2005, New York State Farm Bureau "Circle of Friends"
- The Community Health Association of New York, Legislative Leadership Award

[edit] Voting Record

Little has maintained a very conservative voting record in the State Senate. In 2005, she supported the positions of the New York State Conservative Party 76% of the time. [1]

[edit] Abortion

In 2004, Little was endorsed by the New York State Right to Life Committee, and NARAL Pro-Choice America has considered her voting record on reproductive issues to be anti-abortion most years. In 2000, Little received a 0% rating from NARAL. [2] Little also opposes embryonic stem cell research and emergency contraception.

[edit] Civil Rights

Little's record on civil rights issues is mixed. She supported the Empire State Pride Agenda 40% of the time in 1998 and 33% of the time in 2000. [3]

[edit] Environment

Little has generally opposed increased environmental protections. Recently she has proposed legislation which would strip away much of the authority of the Adirondack Park Agency. According to North Country Public Radio, Little's changes would give "local governments more control over development, shortened the APA's time-frame for reviewing projects, and (eliminate) the Agency's oversight over campgrounds." [4] According to Adirondack Council spokseman Brian Houseal, "if the legislature approves this bill, the Adirondack Park Agency might as well close the doors and hang a 'for sale' sign on the front of the building." [5] Little recived the lowest rating in the Senate from Environmental Advocates of New York during the 2005 session [6].

[edit] Gun Control

Little also generally opposes gun control, receiving an A from the NRA in 2004 and a 0% from New Yorkers Against Gun Violence in 2002. [7]

[edit] Other issues

Little was one of a handful of State Senators to earn an "F" rating from the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy's report card on Middle Class issues in 2005. Drum gave Little an overall score of 22%, the lowest in the State Senate. She opposed Auto Insurance Fraud Reform (S 2390), the Empire State Wage Act, and Gun Industry Civil Liability.[8]