Aravella Simotas

Aravella Simotas (born October 9, 1978) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party, who currently represents parts of western Queens, including Astoria and parts of Long Island City in the New York State Assembly.She is the first woman elected to office from her district.

Simotas was born in Rhodesia. She immigrated to the United States from Greece and settled in Astoria with her parents and brother when she was an infant. She graduated from P.S. 17, Junior H.S. 126, and William C. Bryant High School.

She received a B.A, degree (summa cum laude) from Fordham University in 1999, followed by a J.D. degree from the Fordham University School of Law in 2002. During law school, she was the managing editor at the Fordham Environmental Law Journal.

Simotas began her career in public service as a district representative for Speaker of the New York City Council, Peter Vallone Sr. and later for New York City Council member Peter Vallone Jr. While at law school, she also worked at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, where she developed a passion for environmental advocacy.

After law school, Simotas served as a law clerk at the United States Court of International Trade. She later practiced law at Bickel & Brewerand worked with the Bickel & Brewer Storefront, "an organization that provides legal representation to the economically challenged."

Simotas served as a member of the Queens Community Planning Board 1 and the United Community Civic Association.

2010 election

Simotas was first elected to office in 2010.She received the Democratic Party nomination and ran unopposed in the November 2, 2010 general election.

2012 election

Simotas was unopposed in the 2012 Democratic primary.In the general election, she ran on both the Democratic and Working Families Party lines, and was opposed by Republican Julia Haitch.

According to preliminary results collected by the Daily News, Simotas won re-election to the State Assembly, for the new District 36, in the general election on November 6, 2012 with 84% of the vote.

She was endorsed by Local 1199, a labor union representing health care workers. She was endorsed by the Empire State Pride Agenda, an LGBT advocacy group, in both her 2010 and 2012 races.

Committee assignments

Simotas's Committee Assignments as of 2018 included:

• Chair, Committee on Ethics and Guidance
• Co-Chair, Legislative Ethics Commission
• Insurance
• Judiciary
• Ways and Means
• Energy

Simotas was appointed Chair of the Assembly's Ethics and Guidance Committee in 2017. Under her leadership, the Committee updated the Assembly's policy prohibiting harassment and discrimination to require expedited investigations and expand the types of conduct violating the policy.

From 2014-2017, Simotas served as Chair of the Assembly's Task Force on Women's Issues.

Policy positions

Sexual Violence

In 2012, Simotas introduced the "Rape is Rape" bill to expand the definition of rape in New York State law to include forced anal and oral sexual contact. The bill has passed in the Assembly every year since 2013.

Simotas passed legislation in 2016 to combat the rape kit backlog by mandating timely processing and testing of rape kits. In 2017, she introduced legislation to establish a Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights and prevent premature destruction of evidence. The bill was signed into law in 2018.

In 2019, the legislature passed Simotas' bill to extend New York's five-year statute of limitations for second and third degree rape to 20 years and 10 years respectively.

Simotas authored a package of bills aimed at strengthening protections against sexual harassment in the workplace and pushed the legislature to hold the first public hearings on the subject in 27 years. In June, 2019, the legislature passed Simotas' comprehensive bill to eliminate the severe or pervasive standard for harassment claims, extend the time period for employees to file complaints, hold employers accountable for harassment committed by supervisors, and establish protections for workers who sign non-disclosure agreements.

Simotas is currently sponsoring a series of bills to combat sexual abuse in medical settings. The bills would require health care providers to undergo background checks as a condition of licensure, expand the information about patients' rights and reporting options available online, and require doctors who are disciplined for misconduct to notify their patients.

Health Care

In 2015, legislation introduced by Simotas made New York the first state in the country to designate pregnancy as a qualifying event to enroll in health insurance through the state health exchange.

In 2016, Simotas introduced the Fair Access to Fertility Treatment Act to require insurers to cover in vitro fertilization, as well as fertility preservation services for cancer patients. Provisions of Simotas' proposal were enacted as part of the 2019-2020 state budget.

Simotas introduced legislation to establish a Newborn Health and Safe Sleep Pilot Program to combat infant mortality by distributing "baby boxes", essential care items and educational materials to new parents in high risk areas. The bill was signed into law in October 2017.

Simotas co-sponsors the New York Health Act to establish a single-payer system to provide universal, comprehensive health care to all New Yorkers.

LGBTQ Rights

Simotas voted in favor of marriage equality in New York, which she termed "my proudest moment as a legislator and, frankly, as a person...." Simotas had been a lead sponsor ("co-sponsor") of Assembly Bill A08354, which passed the Assembly by an 80–63 vote, later passed the Senate, and was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Since she first took office, Simotas supported the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), for which she was a "multi-sponsor".

Simotas is currently the primary sponsor of legislation to establish an LGBT Long-Term Care Facility Residents Bill of Rights and prohibit discrimination against transgender parents in custody cases.

Energy and Environment

Simotas earned a perfect score on the New York League of Conservation Voters 2019 Environmental Scorecard.

Simotas has been chairperson of Smart Power NY, a coalition to develop new energy sources for the area, since April 2012. Its first goal was to support the utility NRG Energy with their plan to replace its "decades-old, dirty" power plant in Astoria with a newer generator.NRG wants to replace 31 generators with new ones that will increase the megawatts of power while reducing emissions. Emissions would be reduced because the new plants will use natural gas, while the current generators run primarily on oil. As of 2018, of the 19 Astoria facilities listed in the 2018 NYISO Gold Book as being owned by NRG, 7 of the facilities are on the deactivated list (at a total of 140 MW of capacity rights), and 12 of the facilities (at a total of 558 MW in nameplate capacity) have each consistently produced less than 15 GWh a year since 2011. This is equivalent to running at full capacity for less than 4% of the year. These 12 units still collect annual revenues from the NYISO's capacity market for not producing energy. For example, at 6.40 ($/kW - Month), the 12 actively listed facilities would produce an annual capacity market revenue of $42.8 million for NRG. It is unclear if the 7 deactivated units still collect capacity market revenues. In July 2017, NRG filed a request with the New York State Public Service Commission to avoid Article 10 siting procedures for a proposed turbine replacement project which would represent a total proposed capacity of 579 MW. The turbine upgrades listed in the filing are new simple-cycle turbines. The filing states that since the proposed capacity is not 25 MW greater than the existing facility, Article 10 regulation is not required. As of November 2018, no ruling has been issued by the NYSPSC.

Community Issues

Simotas has pushed for the allocation of additional polling sites and the expansion of early voting.

Simotas joined several other public officials in protesting against the anti-immigrant Greek organization, Golden Dawn, which held a recruitment meeting in Queens.Simotas said that the anti-immigrant message was not welcome in her community; she expressed anger because she is an immigrant herself.

Simotas has supported the expansion of Mount Sinai Queens hospital, which is undergoing a massive $125 million building project, noting the expanding population of western Queens and the necessity of increased healthcare opportunities to meet the needs of a growing community.

In October 2013, Simotas hosted a seminar for Astoria seniors about Medicare, health insurance, and local resources.

In 2013, Simotas supported the retention and expansion of Gifted and Talented programs in her district.

Simotas has been active in keeping local public schools open and functioning in her district, including Long Island City High School, which has been threatened with closing or "co-location" (consolidation) since the early 2010s.

Simotas has pushed for cleaner streets in Astoria, calling upon Mayor Bill de Blasio to take action and reduce street waste and litter.

Simotas is married to John Katsanos, and they have one daughter, born in 2012.