Senate Democrats announced their committee assignments this afternoon, with freshmen Sens. Ted O’Brien, Terry Gipson, Geroge Latimer and Cecilia Tkaczyk all scoring ranking positions.

Update: ‏Sen. Brad Hoylman was also appointed to ranking positions on Consumer Protection and Investigations and Government Operations Committees. Also, Sen. James Sanders, who turned down a chairmanship offered by the IDC-GOP coalition, is the ranker for the Civil Service Committee and Social Services.

Handing ranking posts to Gipson and Tkaczyk are especially key because they narrowly won their elections in closely fought battles in Republican-friendly districts.

While obviously not as good as a chairmanship, a ranking post still gives a lawmaker some visibility and attention on a particular issue.

Gipson will be a ranking member on Agriculture and Local Governments; while Tkaczyk will receive the minority’s top positions on Mental Health and Disabilities, as well as Elections.

Here’s the full list:

Committee Handups 1 28 132 by Nick Reisman

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