Assemblywoman Destito has fought to bring new developments to the Griffiss Business and Technology Park. In January 2003, Destito visited and helped convince the Israel Aircraft Industries to open the now-thriving Empire Aero Center aircraft maintenance facility at the Griffiss Business and Technology Park in Rome.

RoAnn Destito has continually fought for the good-paying jobs Mohawk Valley needs. She has supported a number of programs aimed at helping business owners. She voted to lower business taxes by $3.8 billion dollars. She worked to re-open local rail service, providing transportation to small manufacturing businesses along the Utica-Rome manufacturing corridor. And she provided a $1.5 million multi-modal grant toward the project.

Destito has been successful in having Empire Zones designated in Utica, Rome, and one shared by Oneida and Herkimer counties. These Empire Zones provide new and expanding businesses with incentives, such as tax breaks and decreased utility rates.

Destito has introduced legislation aimed at cleaning up contaminated industrial sites for redevelopment, guaranteeing $120 million to the Superfund program.

Destito has successfully fought to improve and update our schools. In February 2004, Destito secured a $300,000 state grant to significantly reduce class sizes in the Utica School District, and help fund the Millennium Project and the Young Scholars' Program. She provided $1.5 million to the Rome City School District to build the new Rome Free Academy at the Griffiss Business and Technology Park. She has helped to secure funding for anti-violence, extended school day programs, both in Rome and Utica City School Districts.

Destito has worked to provide quality, affordable health care to the residents of the Mohawk Valley. She was a strong supporter of the Health Care Reform Act - protecting patients, improving patient care and maintaining essential health care jobs. She also sponsored legislation improving access to health care for residents of rural areas of New York State.

Providing programs that help senior citizens remain independent and healthy has also been a top priority. She sponsored legislation easing eligibility requirements for seniors applying for the STAR program. She has fought to make the EPIC program affordable to more New Yorkers. And when Utica's East Side Senior Center was forced to close due to budgetary problems, Destito served on a committee of local leaders who worked to re-open the center.

RoAnn Destito has proven her dedication to the residents of the Mohawk Valley. She is continually active in her community. She served on the board of the Senior Citizens Council of Rome and was one of the founders of the Mid-York Child Care Coordinating Council. Destito has worked extensively with Project DARE, the Oneida County Teen Pregnancy Coalition, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Oneida County Runaway and Homeless Youth Advisory Board, and the National Council on Alcoholism. Destito is also former president of the Business and Professional Women’s Club of Rome.

Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito serves as Chair of the Governmental Operations committee, as well as various other committees and Task Forces. She is chair of the sub-committee Displaced Homemakers. She also serves on the Aging, Agriculture, Labor, Mental Health, Small Business, Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce and Industry, and the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Destito is part of the Assembly Majority Steering Committee, the Legislative Commission on Science and Technology, the Subcommittee on Special Problems of the Aging, and she served as Vice-Chair of the Legislative Commission for Development of Rural Resources.

Destito was appointed to the Budget Reform Conference Committee. She also oversees Homeland Security and Disaster Preparedness. Destito made history when appointed to the Joint Assembly-Senate Conference Committee, the committee responsible for increasing speed limits on NYS highways. Destito was also part of the Conference Committee that established the successful Power for Jobs program, a program designed to help retain and create jobs throughout the state.

As a constant fighter for New York State, and especially the Mohawk Valley, Destito’s accomplishments have not been overlooked. A number of organizations have honored Destito with various community service awards. She received the “Friends of Law Enforcement” award from the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA). She was also honored with the “Richard W. Couper Living Legend Award” by the Oneida County Historical Society, the New York Farm Bureau’s “Circle of Friends” Award, and the “Zonta Yellow Rose Award,” honoring those women active in the local community. She is a past recipient of the YWCA’s “Salute to Outstanding Woman in Government” award and a 1996 recipient of the “Woman of the Year” award from the Utica Business and Professional Women’s Club.

RoAnn Maggiolino Destito was born in Utica in January of 1956. Her late father, Maurice Maggiolino, a World War II veteran, was a Utica firefighter for 28 years. Her mother, Rose DeTraglia Maggiolino, was a public health nurse for almost 40 years.

After graduating from Utica Catholic Academy, Destito earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Relations at LeMoyne College. Destito permanently returned to the Mohawk Valley after her college graduation.