Assemb. Philip Ramos proposes on election night

Tough as it was for most local Democrats, election night was memorable for Assemb. Philip Ramos (D-Brentwood). He not only won re-election, but also proposed marriage to Angela Lopez on stage as a ballroom full of party activists looked on.

Ramos called Lopez up to the stage, saying she had been "through the highs and lows," helping him knock on doors and campaign at train stations at 5:45 in the morning.

"I was so surprised, I almost couldn't stand, and I asked him to hold me up," Lopez said later. The couple, together for four years, is working out a date for a wedding. Ramos said he would have gotten down on one knee, but "no one would have been able to see me behind the podium." -- Rick Brand