# Sandy Galef

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{{short description|Former Member of New York State Assembly}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Sandy Galef
| image               = Sandy Galef.jpg
| caption             = Galef in 2013
| alt                 = Sandy Galef, a white woman with white hair and wearing a red jacket, stands in front of a microphone.
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1940|05|07}}
| birth_place         = [La Crosse, Wisconsin](/source/La_Crosse%2C_Wisconsin), U.S.
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [Democrat](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States))
| spouse              = Steven Galef (married 1963-1998)
| children            = 2
| alma_mater          = [Purdue University](/source/Purdue_University) {{small|(B.A.)}}<br>[University of Virginia](/source/University_of_Virginia) {{small|(M.A.)}}
| state_assembly      = New York
| district            = [95th](/source/New_York's_95th_State_Assembly_district)
| predecessor         = Incumbent
| term_start          = January 1, 2013
| term_end            = December 31, 2022
| successor           = [Dana Levenberg](/source/Dana_Levenberg)
| state_assembly2     = New York
| district2           = [90th](/source/New_York's_90th_State_Assembly_district)
| predecessor2        = [George Pataki](/source/George_Pataki)
| term_start2         = January 1, 1993
| term_end2           = December 31, 2012
| successor2          = [Redistricted](/source/Redistricting)
| office3             = Minority Leader of the Westchester County Board of Legislators
| term_start3         = January 1, 1984
| term_end3           = December 31, 1992
| office4             = [Westchester County Legislator](/source/Westchester_County_Board_of_Legislators)<br>from the 9th District
| term_start4         = January 1, 1983
| term_end4           = December 31, 1992
| office5             = Westchester County Legislator<br>from the 2nd District
| term_start5         = January 1, 1980
| term_end5           = December 31, 1982
| signature           = Sandra R. Galef Signature.png
| birth_name          = Sandra Risk
}}

'''Sandra Galef''' (née '''Risk'''; born May 7, 1940) is an American politician who served as a member of the [New York State Assembly](/source/New_York_State_Assembly) for 30 years.{{r|official biography}}{{r|News12 retirement}}

==Early life and career==
Galef was born Sandra Risk in [LaCrosse, Wisconsin](/source/LaCrosse%2C_Wisconsin) on May 7, 1940. In 1944, she moved with her family to [Westchester County](/source/Westchester_County) in New York.{{r|official biography}} She received a B.A. from [Purdue University](/source/Purdue_University) and an M.A. in education from the [University of Virginia](/source/University_of_Virginia), and began her career as a teacher in a rural schoolhouse near [Charlottesville, Virginia](/source/Charlottesville%2C_Virginia).{{r|official biography}} Then, Galef moved back to New York, where she worked as a teacher in [Scarsdale, New York](/source/Scarsdale_Public_Schools).{{r|Galef reflection}} In 1963, she married Steven Galef, a former Westchester County legislator and attorney, with whom she had two children; she remained married to Steven until his death in 1998.{{r|husband obit}} She is Jewish.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sandy Galef's Biography |url=https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/4316/sandy-galef |access-date=January 18, 2026 |website=Vote Smart}}</ref>

==Legislative career==
In 1980, Galef was elected to the [Westchester County Board of Legislators](/source/Westchester_County_Board_of_Legislators), where she represented the 2nd and 9th Districts and served as the minority leader from 1984 until 1992, when she was elected to the Assembly.{{r|official biography}}{{r|Feron 1983}}{{r|Whitehouse 1983}}

Galef was elected to the 90th Assembly District and began her term in 1993.{{r|official biography}} During her time in the Assembly, Galef chaired the Real Property Tax Committee, the Libraries and Education Technology Committee, and the Subcommittee for Rural Health, and was a member of the Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions Committee, the Election Law Committee, the Governmental Operations Committee, and the Health Committee.{{r|official biography}}

In 1997, Galef introduced an amendment to make the language of the [New York State Constitution](/source/Constitution_of_New_York) [gender neutral](/source/Gender-neutral_language). Galef argued that the [gendered language](/source/Male_as_norm) of the Constitution was "old-fashioned" and that a change to gender neutral language was "symbolically ... important". New York voters adopted the amendment in November 2001.{{r|McKinley 2001}}{{r|McGrath 2001}} In 1999, Galef was an early supporter of [charter schools](/source/charter_schools) in New York.{{r|Feld 1999}} Galef also supported several [good government](/source/good_government) causes, including measures to build consensus with [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) members of the assembly,{{r|Hare 1999}} campaign finance reform,{{r|Wallace 2000}}{{r|Wiessner 2007}}{{r|Fixing Albany}} and staff budget parity between the majority and the minority in the Assembly.{{r|Scott 2007}}

In December 2022, Governor [Kathy Hochul](/source/Kathy_Hochul) signed a bill introduced by Galef that allows [city and town clerks](/source/Municipal_clerk) to issue a one-day permit to a non-ordained individual to officiate a specific wedding in New York.{{r|Dollinger 2022}}

Throughout her legislative career, Galef hosted two television shows, "Dear Sandy" and "Speakout with Sandy Galef", on [public access television](/source/public_access_television).{{r|official biography}}

==References==
<references>
{{r|n="official biography"|r={{cite web |title=Biography |url=https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Sandy-Galef/bio/ |website=Assemblywoman Sandy Galef |access-date=7 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204052705/https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Sandy-Galef/bio/ |archive-date=4 December 2022 |url-status=dead |language=en}}}}

{{r|n="News12 retirement"|r={{cite news |last1=Galindo |first1=Nadia |title=Longtime Assembly Member Sandy Galef Retires |url=https://longisland.news12.com/longtime-assembly-member-sandy-galef-retires |access-date=7 April 2023 |work=[News 12 Long Island](/source/News_12_Networks) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407013510/https://longisland.news12.com/longtime-assembly-member-sandy-galef-retires |url-status=live |archive-date=7 April 2023 |language=en}}}}

{{r|n="husband obit"|r={{cite news |last=Bonnett|first=Cara|title=Former Legislator Steven Galef, 'Voice of Reason,' Dies at 58|newspaper=Review Press Reporter|location=Bronxville, N.Y.|date=2 July 1998|page=8|url=https://news.hrvh.org/veridian/?a=d&d=bronxvillereviewpressreporterBRONXVILLE19980702.1.8&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408155822/https://news.hrvh.org/veridian/?a=d&d=bronxvillereviewpressreporterBRONXVILLE19980702.1.8&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------|archive-date=8 April 2023|access-date=6 April 2023 |language=en}}}}

{{r|n="Galef reflection"|r={{cite web |last1=Galef |first1=Sandy |title=Reflecting on the Road I Traveled |url=https://riverjournalonline.com/news/sandy-galef-reflecting-on-the-road-i-traveled/29154/ |website=River Journal Online |access-date=16 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202135854/https://riverjournalonline.com/news/sandy-galef-reflecting-on-the-road-i-traveled/29154/ |archive-date=2 February 2022 |date=2 February 2022 |url-status=live |language=en}}}}

{{r|n="Feron 1983"|r={{cite news |last1=Feron |first1=James |title=Led By Mrs. Galef, Democrats Plan Challenge to G.O.P. |work=Westchester Weekly, [New York Times](/source/New_York_Times) |date=4 December 1983 |pages=1,6 |language=en}}}}

{{r|n="Whitehouse 1983"|r={{cite news |last1=Whitehouse |first1=Franklin |title=9th District: The 'Fair Fight' Campaign |work=Westchester Weekly, [New York Times](/source/New_York_Times) |date=25 September 1983 |page=1 |language=en}}}}

{{r|n="McKinley 2001"|r={{cite web |last1=McKinley, Jr. |first1=James C. |title=Voters to Decide on Gender-Neutral Constitution |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/15/nyregion/voters-to-decide-on-gender-neutral-constitution.html |website=[New York Times](/source/New_York_Times) |access-date=23 April 2023 |date=15 May 2001 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230423195053/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/15/nyregion/voters-to-decide-on-gender-neutral-constitution.html |archive-date=23 April 2023 |url-status=live |language=en}}}}

{{r|n="McGrath 2001"|r={{cite web |last1=McGrath |first1=Darryl |title=Six State Constitutions Use Gender-Neutral Wording |url=https://womensenews.org/2001/12/six-state-constitutions-use-gender-neutral-wording/ |website=Women's eNews |access-date=23 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315050327/https://womensenews.org/2001/12/six-state-constitutions-use-gender-neutral-wording/ |archive-date=15 March 2023 |date=9 December 2001 |url-status=live |language=en}}}}

{{r|n="Feld 1999"|r={{cite news |last1=Feld |first1=Jayne J. |title=Charter Schools May Take a While to Catch On |date=4 January 1999 |work=[Journal News](/source/The_Journal_News) |location=[White Plains, N.Y.](/source/White_Plains%2C_New_York) |language=en |page=B1}} {{ProQuest|896767182}}.}}

{{r|n="Hare 1999"|r={{cite news |last1=Hare |first1=Mark |title=A State Legislator Calls for Consensus, and Is, of Course, Voted Down |work=[Democrat and Chronicle](/source/Democrat_and_Chronicle) |date=19 February 1999 |location=[Rochester, N.Y.](/source/Rochester%2C_New_York) |language=en |page=B1}} {{ProQuest|911515264}}.}}

{{r|n="Wallace 2000"|r={{cite news |last1=Wallace |first1=Jeremy |title=Campaign Spending Comes into Question |work=[Journal News](/source/The_Journal_News) |date=30 July 2000 |location=[White Plains, N.Y.](/source/White_Plains%2C_New_York) |page=A1 |language=en}} {{ProQuest|908677043}}.}}

{{r|n="Scott 2007"|r={{cite news |last1=Scott |first1=Brendan |title=Bonacic Bill Aims to Shake Up Legislature Patronage |work=[Times Herald-Record](/source/Times_Herald-Record) |publisher=[McClatchy-Tribune Business News](/source/McClatchy) |date=19 April 2007 |location=[Middletown, N.Y.](/source/Middletown%2C_Orange_County%2C_New_York) |language=en}} {{ProQuest|465145907}}.}}

{{r|n="Wiessner 2007"|r={{cite news |last1=Wiessner |first1=Dan |title=Lawmakers Raise Cash, Then Give It to Other Politicians |work=[Journal News](/source/The_Journal_News) |date=30 July 2007 |location=[White Plains, N.Y.](/source/White_Plains%2C_New_York) |page=B1 |language=en}} {{ProQuest|442944150}}.}}

{{r|n="Dollinger 2022"|r={{cite web |last1=Dollinger |first1=Arielle |title=Saying 'I Do'? 1-day Wedding Officiant Permit Cuts Cost, Hassle |url=https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/fashion-and-shopping/officiant-marriages-wedding-permits-lxw3jhr3 |website=[Newsday](/source/Newsday) |access-date=23 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228110421/https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/fashion-and-shopping/officiant-marriages-wedding-permits-lxw3jhr3 |archive-date=28 February 2023 |language=en |date=20 January 2023 |url-status=live}}}}

{{r|n="Fixing Albany"|r={{cite news |last1=Randolph |first1=Eleanor |title=Fixing Albany: Two Ways to Boost Democracy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/26/opinion/fixing-albany-two-ways-to-boost-democracy.html |work=[New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |date=26 May 2003 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230423212931/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/26/opinion/fixing-albany-two-ways-to-boost-democracy.html |archive-date=23 April 2023 |page=A14 |language=en |url-status=live}}}}
</references>

{{Authority control}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-ny-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=[George Pataki](/source/George_Pataki)}}
{{s-ttl|title=[New York State Assembly, 95th District](/source/New_York_State_Assembly)|years=1993–2022}}
{{s-aft|after=[Dana Levenberg](/source/Dana_Levenberg)}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galef, Sandy}}
Category:1940 births
Category:Living people
Category:Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly
Category:Legislators from Westchester County, New York
Category:Politicians from Westchester County, New York
Category:Women state legislators in New York (state)
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:Politicians from Yonkers, New York
Category:Purdue University alumni
Category:Curry School of Education alumni
Category:21st-century American women politicians
Category:21st-century members of the New York State Legislature
Category:20th-century members of the New York State Legislature
Category:20th-century American women politicians
Category:Jewish American women in politics

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sandy Galef](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Galef) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Galef?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.