10/17/2026
Yesterday was emotional for me. As I looked around the room at the retirement reception for New York State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, NYS Assemblywoman, I couldn’t help but reflect on the last 12 years and just how much this incredible woman means to me.
To many, she’s a trailblazer, a history maker, and a force to be reckoned with. But to me, she’s CPS. My mentor, my confidante, my friend, and someone who has been like a second mother to me.
For 12 years, I had the privilege of working alongside CPS in Albany. Somewhere along the way, what began as a professional relationship became family. We’ve shared long days, difficult conversations, plenty of laughter, some frustrations, incredible victories, and moments that tested us in ways most people will never know.
And if you know CPS, you know she has a special gift. She can chastise you and empower you all in the same conversation! She’ll tell you exactly what she thinks, whether you want to hear it or not, but you’ll walk away better because of it. Trust me, I’ve been on the receiving end of a few of those conversations!
I’ve watched her make incredibly difficult decisions, sometimes wrestling with them personally, but ultimately doing what she believed was right for the people she served. I’ve witnessed her strength, compassion, generosity, and unwavering faith. I’ve seen her stand firm when it wasn’t popular and extend kindness when no one was watching.
But what I treasure most is what she’s poured into me personally.
CPS has challenged me, corrected me, encouraged me, prayed for me, opened doors for me, and believed in me. She’s celebrated my victories and helped me navigate difficult moments. She’s never been afraid to tell me the truth, and I’ve always known that even when the words were tough, they came from a place of love.
CPS, thank you for loving me enough to push me, for seeing things in me that I sometimes couldn’t see in myself, and for being someone I could admire, look up to, lean on, and strive to emulate.
Your legacy is so much bigger than the legislation you’ve passed, the barriers you’ve broken, or the history you’ve made. It lives in the people you’ve helped, the communities you’ve fought for, and the countless lives you’ve touched. I’m blessed to be one of them.
To everyone who came out yesterday to celebrate CPS, thank you. Seeing so many people from different walks of life gather to honor her was a beautiful reminder of the love and respect she’s earned throughout Buffalo, Western New York, and our state.
Although she’ll continue serving through December 31, yesterday was an opportunity to give her some of the flowers she so richly deserves.
CPS, you’ve spent so much of your life taking care of everybody else. My prayer is that this next chapter brings you peace, joy, rest, and time to enjoy the things you’ve sacrificed so much for. Although, knowing you, I doubt retirement means you’ll be sitting still for very long!
There is only one CPS, and there will never be another.
I love you. I honor you. I thank God for you. And I’ll forever be grateful that He saw fit to bring you into my life.
You’ve made history, but the difference you’ve made in my life is a gift I’ll carry forever. 💜 ~LHP
