VoterLens
New York State Senate District 37
UCLA—Bachelor of Arts; SUNY Buffalo School of Law—JD
Data last updated 10/21/2026
Shelley Mayer was elected to the New York State Senate to represent the 37th District in an April 2018 special election and was re-elected in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024. Before the Senate, she served six years in the New York State Assembly representing Yonkers, and earlier worked as an attorney including Assistant Attorney General, Chief Counsel to the New York State Senate Democrats, Senior Counsel at Columbia Law School's National State Attorney General Program, and Vice President of Government and Community Affairs at Continuum Health Partners.
Committee Assignments: Education Chair · Ethics and Internal Governance Chair · Elections Member · Finance Member · Judiciary Member · Labor Member · Legislative Women's Caucus Member · Rules Member
Shelley Mayer supports expanding access to healthcare through school telehealth, emergency medical services planning, patient health-data access, continuity of cancer care, vaccine standards, and reproductive healthcare protections. As the Democratic State Senator for New York Senate District 37, her recent healthcare record includes sponsoring or voting for multiple health-related bills in the 2025-2026 session.
Shelley Mayer, Democratic/Working Families senator for New York State Senate District 37, emphasizes worker protections, unemployment assistance, small-business support, and job training/workforce data as part of her Economy & Jobs record. Her relevant actions include sponsoring WARN Act reforms, sponsoring Shared Work outreach for employers, co-sponsoring unemployment repayment relief, and voting for a labor-market skills-gap database.
Shelley Mayer supports immigrant-protective policies focused on keeping immigration enforcement out of schools without judicial process, preserving access to public education regardless of immigration status, and funding immigration legal services. She has also aligned with Democratic efforts to increase transparency and accountability for ICE and other immigration-enforcement activity in New York.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Mayer stated that schools should be secure places and promoted her bill requiring procedures for reviewing immigration-enforcement requests and protecting students and parents regardless of immigration status.
SourceMayer announced $20,000 in funding for the Community Resource Center in Mamaroneck to hire a part-time attorney to assist clients seeking immigration legal services.
SourceMayer participated in Democratic efforts to limit cooperation with federal immigration operations and outlined why schools should be off limits to ICE except with judicial process.
SourceShelley Mayer, Democratic state senator for New York Senate District 37, supports climate resilience, flood mitigation, shoreline protection, and clean-energy transition policies, including electric school buses. Her climate and energy record emphasizes helping Westchester and other New York communities adapt to flooding and other climate impacts while advancing zero-emission transportation infrastructure.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Mayer's campaign site says she will continue prioritizing addressing climate change as part of her service and re-election campaign for New York's 37th Senate District.
SourceShelley Mayer, Democratic New York State Senator for District 37 and Senate Education Committee chair, emphasizes public-school funding equity, expanded pre-K and afterschool programs, universal school meals, student voice in school governance, and less reliance on standardized tests in teacher evaluations. Her record includes sponsoring education bills on student government, school-board student representation, teacher/principal evaluation reform, Foundation Aid review, and limits on AI humanoid robots in instructional roles.
Shelley Mayer supports a public-safety agenda centered on gun-violence prevention, ERPO enforcement, safe firearm storage, school emergency preparedness, and locally coordinated emergency response. As the Democratic incumbent State Senator for New York Senate District 37, she has sponsored multiple bills framed as improving gun safety and emergency response capacity.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Mayer publicly celebrated the signing of her gun buyback legislation, stating that it took the successful Yonkers Gun Buyback Program statewide to help remove guns from communities.
SourceNYSenate.gov
https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/shelley-b-mayer/aboutFetched: biography, education, location, committees
Open States / Plural Policy
https://open.pluralpolicy.com/vote/664ddc61-8a8f-4b08-b72d-d656a7a9d793/Fetched: votingRecord
Transparency USA
https://www.transparencyusa.org/ny/candidate/shelley-b-mayerFetched: campaignFinance
Blue Voter Guide District 37
https://bluevoterguide.org/district/NY/New_York_State_Senate_District_37/51826/830Fetched: endorsements
Environmental Advocates NY Action
https://eaaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/eaaction_scorecard_2021_final-10-19.pdfFetched: ratings
New York League of Conservation Voters
https://www.nysenate.gov/sites/default/files/in-the-news/attachment/2018-scorecard-final.pdfFetched: ratings
Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts
https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/uploads/filer_public/f2/02/f202ff2c-c444-49b0-b57d-795cc2cf2b3c/2024_ratings_senate_oct.pdfFetched: ratings
Westchester County Firearm Owners Association
https://www.gunpoliticsny.com/files/WCFOA-Voter-Guide-2024.pdfFetched: ratings
New York State Senate - S2077
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S2077Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate - Telehealth abortion shield press release
https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/shelley-b-mayer/new-york-state-senate-and-assembly-pass-legislationFetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate - S7987
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S7987/amendment/originalFetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate - S8806
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S8806Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate - S8853
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S8853Fetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - About Shelley B. Mayer
https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/shelley-b-mayer/aboutFetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - Senator Shelley B. Mayer profile
https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/shelley-b-mayerFetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - Shelley B. Mayer About
https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/shelley-b-mayer/aboutFetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - Senate Bill S8597
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S8597Fetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - Federal Immigration Policies issue page
https://www.nysenate.gov/issues/federal-immigration-policiesFetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - Mayer proposes bill to prohibit ICE from gaining access to schools
https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/2026/shelley-b-mayer/state-senator-shelley-mayer-proposes-bill-prohibit-ice?page=0Fetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - Mayer co-sponsors MELT legislation
https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/shelley-b-mayer/senator-shelley-b-mayer-co-sponsors-melt-legislation?page=3Fetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - Mayer announces funding for immigration legal services
https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2019/shelley-mayer/senator-shelley-mayer-announced-20000-funding-legal?page=7Fetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - New York Democrats push to limit ICE operations
https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/2025/shelley-b-mayer/new-york-democrats-push-limit-ice-operations?page=8Fetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - About Shelley Mayer
https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/shelley-b-mayer/aboutFetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - Senate Bill S3590
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S3590Fetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - Senate Bill S8003
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S8003Fetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - Mayer and Harckham flood mitigation press release
https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/shelley-b-mayer/sens-mayer-and-harckham-announce-legislation-establish?page=7Fetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - Senate Bill S5186
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S5186/amendment/originalFetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - Student governments in secondary schools bill
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S1732Fetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - Student ex-officio school board members bill
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S9018Fetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - Teacher and principal evaluations bill
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S9054Fetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - Foundation Aid formula study bill
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S7536Fetched: issuePositions
NYSenate.gov - Humanoid robots and AI avatars in instructional settings bill
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S10671Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate - Shelley B. Mayer official profile
https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/shelley-b-mayer/aboutFetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate - Critical Gun & Public Safety Legislation press release
https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024/shelley-b-mayer/senator-shelley-b-mayer-urges-governor-sign-criticalFetched: issuePositions
Governor Kathy Hochul - gun laws signing announcement
https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-major-reduction-gun-violence-and-signs-legislation-strengthening-newFetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate - S2588 bill page
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S2588Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate - S2449 bill page
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/S2449Fetched: issuePositions