Uncrowned Community Builders

In December 2018 Assemblywoman Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes was elevated to the position of Majority Leader of the New York State Assembly. Peoples-Stokes has served Buffalo's 141st Assembly District since 2003.

Peoples-Stokes was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. The daughter of a schoolteacher and a sanitation worker, Peoples-Stokes attended Buffalo Public Schools before earning her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and Master's Degrees in Student Personnel Administration from Buffalo State College. Stokes also holds an Honorary Doctorate from Medaille College. She worked briefly as a schoolteacher before the Buffalo Urban League and Citizen Action of NY. Peoples-Stokes went on to serve on the Erie County Legislature from 1993 until 2002, being appointed as Majority Leader in 1998.

Peoples-Stokes has a reputation for being a strong advocate who puts people and principle before politics. She is a fearless fighter for diversity in our state and has been an integral part of ensuring that Minority and Women Owned Businesses have a fair chance in obtaining state contracts. In recognition of these efforts, an Assembly Subcommittee on MWBE was created and she was selected to serve as Chair in 2012. In 2015 she was appointed as Chair of the Assembly's Committee on Governmental Operations. This committee maintains oversight on ethics reform and FOIL requests, state police, homeland security, disaster and emergency preparedness, MWBE, crime victims, human rights, and military and naval affairs. In June 2017, she was voted by her colleagues to be Chair of the New York State Legislative Women's Caucus which is a bi-partisan and bi-cameral group.

Peoples-Stokes has championed a Diversity in Medicine initiative that has promoted entry into the medical field with academic and financial supports for promising students of color. Peoples-Stokes secured resources to start Buffalo's Teacher Diversity Pipeline which will help teachers' aides and assistants obtain the proper training and certification to teach in NYS. Peoples-Stokes also successfully passed a law to decriminalize possession and the expungement of minor marijuana convictions from New Yorkers' criminal records, a critical accomplishment along the path towards the state legalization of marijuana and the reinvestment of disenfranchised communities of color, a bill she has sponsored for the last six years.

Majority Leader Peoples-Stokes attributes her accomplishments to her deep and abiding faith and family. She is a member of True Bethel Baptist Church and St. Luke's AME Zion Church and currently resides in Buffalo, New York with her family.



While we have updated Ms. Peoples-Stokes' biography, we are maintaining the original biography which follows:

As a former Educator, Community Based Organization Administrator and Community Organizer, Honorable Peoples has always set out to touch the lives of others in a positive manner. As a member of the NYS Assembly representing the 141st District, Assemblymember Peoples serves as the Chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight of MWBEs; and as a member of the Health; Insurance; Environmental Conservation; Government Operations; Alcohol/Substance Abuse; and Higher Education Committees. Adding to her already busy legislative schedule, Assemblymember Peoples also serves on the NYS Women's Legislative Caucus and as an Officer of the Black, Puerto Rican & Asian Legislative Caucus.

Her desire to enhance the lives of all around her has aided not only her district's constituency, but those throughout the Western New York region, by securing $24 Million for the Educational Opportunity Center; $1 Million for the Historic Michigan Preservation District; the clean up of 858 E. Ferry toxic waste; $50 Million towards Buffalo Public Schools; millions in revenue for minority and women owned businesses by giving them access to county contracts; and much needed funds to help keep Sheehan Memorial Hospital open, just to name a few. A true believer of her mantra, Assemblymember Peoples vows to continue the fight to ensure a better life for all.

Assemblymember Peoples and her staff have an open door, open issue policy in the Buffalo District Office. The office is known for its attention to constituent issues. The office has handled over 1000 constituent issues during the 2007-2008 session cycles. Assemblymember Peoples has helped with many national, local and statewide civic organizations including National Action Network (as a speaker in Harlem, NY). She has also participated in various church organizations, as well as youth organizations focusing on students in Elementary, High School and Higher Education. Assemblymember Peoples is not only known for her service across Western New York, but also in Niagara Falls, Lockport, and Syracuse.

A graduate of Buffalo Public Schools including Buffalo State College, where she earned a Master's Degree in Student Personnel Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, Assemblymember Peoples currently resides in Buffalo, New York with her daughter and grandson.