Amanda Lefton (Provided photo)

ALBANY — The state Senate voted Wednesday evening to confirm Amanda Lefton to lead the state Department of Environmental Conservation in a 57-4 vote. With her nomination’s passage, Lefton becomes the DEC’s 16th commissioner since it was established in 1970.

Lefton was nominated by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Feb. 25 to head up the sprawling agency. She officially began serving in that role on March 3, taking the reins from Sean Mahar, who had been serving as the DEC’s interim commissioner since April 15, 2024, following former DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos’ departure. Maher resumed his role as the executive deputy commissioner, which he began serving as in 2022, prior to his elevation to interim commissioner.

State law dictates that acting commissioners, who do not require state Senate confirmation, can only serve for up to one year, essentially giving the state Senate up to a year to confirm a nominee for the position until the governor has to choose someone else.

Ultimately, the state Senate took just over three months to elevate Lefton to the full role. Lefton faced a joint confirmation hearing Tuesday as the state Senate Finance and Environmental Conservation Committees. The committees’ chairpersons spoke in favor of Lefton on the state Senate floor ahead of the full body’s vote.

State Senator Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, who chairs the Finance Committee, called Lefton an “extraordinarily impressive nominee” and lauded her past work in the public and private sectors. She reminded her colleagues how significant of a role it was, given that the DEC is one of the largest state government conservation agencies in the nation. It has a staff of about 3,000, manages roughly 4 million acres of protected land throughout the state and has an operating budget of about $2.6 billion in New York’s 2025-26 budget, which was signed on May 9.

“There might not be anyone with as large of a portfolio as the DEC commissioner and I feel after an hour-and-a-half … of questioning (Tuesday), most of my colleagues who were there actually agree: she’s ready for the job,” Krueger said.

State Senator Pete Harckham, who chairs the Environmental Conservation Committee, noted that throughout the nomination process, Lefton had received widespread support from the environmental committee and various environmental protection advocacy groups throughout the state.

Harckham said Lefton was proactive about making herself accessible to state senators for questions as they considered her nomination. He noted that while he thought she was the right person to take the helm, she would do so against strong headwinds.

“She’s going to be leading a really fabulous team at DEC, but at a very challenging time,” he said. “We have no partners in Washington right now … so it’s essential that we in New York maintain our leadership position.”

Harckham said the emergence of so-called “forever chemicals,” such as PFAS and PFOA, also pose new challenges that the agency will have to address. He also said the state will remain committed to environmental justice issues, as the federal government “just wants us to wash under the rug.”

“She’s got her hands full,” he said. “But, I firmly believe that she is up to the job.”

State Senators Dean Murray, R-East Patchogue, and Jose M. Serano, D-South Bronx, also spoke in Lefton’s favor before the vote. No state senators spoke against her nomination on the floor during that session.

Of the 63-member body, which has 41 members who caucus as Democrats and 22 who caucus as Republicans, four voted against Lefton’s nomination. Those were state senators Mark Walcyzk, R-Watertown; Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, R-Malverne; James Skoufis, D-Woodbury; and Alexis Weik, R-Sayville.

Lefton was in attendance, sitting in one of the state senate galleries during the vote. She briefly stood up afterwards and thanked state senators.

Prior to her appointment, Lefton, 39, worked for RWE, a multinational electricity company. She led offshore wind turbine development initiatives. Lefton also served as the Department of the Interior’s director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management under the Biden Administration and previously served as a first assistant secretary for energy and environment for then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. She was also the deputy director of policy for The Nature Conservancy, an environmental nonprofit organization.

Lefton is originally from Queens and grew up on Long Island. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University at Albany.