Savino out of the running in 23rd Senate District

February 16, 2022 Jaime DeJesus

Diane Savino will retire from the state Senate at the end of the year.

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Democratic state Sen. Diane Savino, who represents the 23rd District, said Monday that she will not run for re-election this year.

The district currently includes Brighton Beach, Coney Island, parts of Bath Beach, Bensonhurst, Sheepshead Bay and Sunset Park, and the east and north shores of Staten Island.The lines were redrawn recently to remove Bath Beach and Sheepshead Bay and add Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill.

Savino was first elected to the Senate in 2004.

“I ran for office to get things done, and now I have decided it is time to let someone else lead,” Savino told the Staten Island Advance. “I am not going away, although some might wish I would. I will be exploring other opportunities to remain in service to the people of this city and state.”

Savino endorsed her former deputy chief of operations, Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, who announced her run for the seat on Tuesday. Former Councilmember and Taxi and Limousine Commissioner David Yassky and District Leader Bianca Rajpersaud are also running.

“When COVID was at its peak, Jessica led the charge in my office to help schedule over 1,000 Staten Island and Brooklyn residents to get their vaccination appointments,” Savino said. “When constituents were without heat and electricity in some of this district’s most underserved communities, Jessica led the charge to ensure they had a voice to connect them with their government.”

Before joining the Senate, Savino was the vice president of Social Service Employees Union Local 371.

“I wanted to take my advocacy for workers’ rights to the state capital,” she said. “In the intervening years I have successfully passed historic labor laws in NY, from the first Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in the nation to landmark wage theft protection laws, misclassification laws and strengthening the right to organize here in NYS.”