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Politics & Government

Paul Becomes First Indian-American Woman on County Legislature (VIDEO)

Paul: Democrat, Working Families, Independence Stewart: Republican, Conservative

Aney Paul59, of Nanuet beat Hank Stewart, 52, of Chestnut Ridge for the Rockland County Legislative District 14, which was held by Legislator Bob Jackson. District 14 encompasses the towns of Ramapo and Clarkstown: Nanuet, Spring Valley, Chestnut Ridge and New City. This makes her the first Indian-American woman to serve on the county legislature

"I'm so happy about this. Our work is just beginning. We will build on the success of our past legislators and look for partners on issues that require all of our creative solutions," said Paul. "It took teamwork to make to make this happen and I'm ready to work for the people of District 14. Having moved to Rockland County 24 years ago, I have always felt there is no greater honor than serving our community."

Results from elections officials in Rockland show Paul  winning with 1,591 votes and Stewart with 959 votes. In Rockland County, 2,557 voters participated in Tuesday's District 14 County Legislature vote, according to Board of Elections statistics.

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““I salute Aney Paul for a very diligent effort by her and all of her supporters, and congratulate her on the win. Of course I’m disappointed with the outcome, however, I am at peace with the effort," said Stewart. "My campaign workers and I gave it our best effort. I hope some of the ideas I put forth will gain traction and resonate, especially the proposals regarding sustainable technologies. I think that’s very important.”

Paul is a nurse at Nyack Hospital with a BS in Health Administration from St. Joseph's College, Brooklyn, Masters in Nursing with a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner from Lehman College, Bronx, Masters in Public Health from New York Medical College, Valhalla.

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"We made it," said Augustine Paul, Aney's husband. "This is fantastic. We worked so hard and we want to thank everyone that made this happen."

This was also Stewart's first election.

“Prior to this I only ran for the bus. It has been a tremendous learning experience. I think there’s a good book in here somewhere,” he said. “I ran a campaign of ideas and substance and that wasn’t enough, so that’s disappointing. However, I am optimistic because there are parts of the system that do work. I’ve had the privilege of meeting a lot of people who do care and are really trying to do good for the community.”

For more information on these candidates, read this .

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