Political career
Christensen was a member of the Syracuse Common Council before being elected to the Assembly. [1] She was first elected to the Assembly in 1990, defeating Syracuse Common Councilman Joseph O'Hara in the Democratic primary election, and then incumbent Republican William Bush in the general election. [2] She became the first woman from Onondaga County elected to the New York State Assembly. [2]
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Onondaga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 467,026. The county seat is Syracuse.
She was subsequently reelected nine times; her closest reelection was in 2002, when she defeated Republican nominee Bill Sanford, a former Assemblyman, with 59 percent of the vote. [1] Christensen decided not to seek reelection in 2010, [2] retiring to spend more time with her family. [1]
In the Assembly, Christensen was primarily known for her constituent services work, rather than policymaking efforts. [1] Christensen was a principal sponsor of the New York safe-haven law. [1] [3] In 2002, Christensen supported the unsuccessful effort of Assemblyman Michael Bragman to oust Sheldon Silver as speaker of the Assembly. [1]
Safe-haven laws are statutes in the United States that decriminalize the leaving of unharmed infants with statutorily designated private persons so that the child becomes a ward of the state. "Safe-haven" laws typically let parents remain nameless to the court, often using a numbered bracelet system as the only means of linking the baby to the parent. Some states treat safe-haven surrenders as child dependency or abandonment, with a complaint being filed for such in juvenile court. The parent either defaults or answers the complaint. Others treat safe-haven surrenders as adoption surrenders, hence a waiver of parental rights. Police stations, hospitals, and fire stations are all typical locations to which the safe-haven law applies.
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