159th New York State Legislature

The 159th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 1 to May 13, 1936, during the fourth year of Herbert H. Lehman's governorship, in Albany.

159th New York State Legislature
158th 160th
The facade of the New York State Capitol building in bright daylight
Overview
Legislative bodyNew York State Legislature
JurisdictionNew York, United States
TermJanuary 1 – December 31, 1936
Senate
Members51
PresidentLt. Gov. M. William Bray (D)
Temporary PresidentJohn J. Dunnigan (D)
Party controlDemocratic (29–22)
Assembly
Members150
SpeakerIrving M. Ives (R)
Party controlRepublican (81–69)
Sessions
1stJanuary 1 – May 13, 1936

Background

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Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1894, re-apportioned in 1917, 51 Senators and 150 assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts; senators for a two-year term, assemblymen for a one-year term. The senatorial districts consisted either of one or more entire counties; or a contiguous area within a single county. The counties which were divided into more than one senatorial district were New York (nine districts), Kings (eight), Bronx (three), Erie (three), Monroe (two), Queens (two) and Westchester (two). The Assembly districts were made up of contiguous area, all within the same county.

At this time there were two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Socialist Party and the Communist Party also nominated tickets. In New York City, a "City Fusion" and a "Jeffersonian" ticket were also nominated.

Elections

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The New York state election, 1935, was held on November 5. No statewide elective offices were up for election.

Assemblywomen Doris I. Byrne (Dem.), a lawyer from the Bronx, and Jane H. Todd (Rep.), of Tarrytown, were re-elected.

Sessions

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The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 1, 1936; and adjourned on May 13.[1]

Irving M. Ives (Rep.) was elected Speaker.

State Senate

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Districts

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Members

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The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Jacob H. Livingston and Harry F. Dunkel changed from the Assembly to the Senate.

Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

District Senator Party Notes
1st George L. Thompson* Republican
2nd Joseph D. Nunan Jr.* Democrat
3rd Frank B. Hendel* Democrat
4th Philip M. Kleinfeld* Democrat
5th John J. Howard* Democrat
6th Edward J. Coughlin* Democrat
7th Jacob J. Schwartzwald* Democrat
8th Joseph A. Esquirol* Democrat
9th Jacob H. Livingston* Democrat elected to fill vacancy, in place of Henry L. O'Brien
10th Jeremiah F. Twomey* Democrat Chairman of Finance
11th James J. Crawford* Democrat
12th Elmer F. Quinn* Democrat
13th Thomas F. Burchill* Democrat
14th Samuel Mandelbaum* Democrat on June 20, 1936, appointed to the U.S. District
Court for the Southern District of New York
15th John L. Buckley* Democrat
16th John J. McNaboe* Democrat
17th Joseph Clark Baldwin* Republican
18th John T. McCall* Democrat
19th Duncan T. O'Brien* Democrat
20th A. Spencer Feld* Democrat
21st Lazarus Joseph* Democrat
22nd Julius S. Berg* Democrat
23rd John J. Dunnigan* Democrat Temporary President
24th Rae L. Egbert* Democrat
25th Pliny W. Williamson* Republican
26th James A. Garrity* Democrat
27th Thomas C. Desmond* Republican
28th Frederic H. Bontecou* Republican
29th Arthur H. Wicks* Rep./Soc.
30th William T. Byrne* Democrat on November 3, 1936, elected to the 75th U.S. Congress
31st Ogden J. Ross* Democrat
32nd Edwin E. Miller* Republican
33rd Benjamin F. Feinberg* Republican
34th Rhoda Fox Graves* Republican
35th Harry F. Dunkel* Republican elected to fill vacancy, in place of Henry I. Patrie
36th William H. Hampton* Republican
37th Perley A. Pitcher* Republican
38th George R. Fearon* Republican Minority Leader
39th Walter W. Stokes* Republican
40th Martin W. Deyo* Republican
41st C. Tracey Stagg* Republican
42nd Charles J. Hewitt* Republican
43rd Earle S. Warner* Republican
44th Joe R. Hanley* Republican
45th George B. Kelly* Democrat on November 3, 1936, elected to the 75th U.S. Congress
46th Norman A. O'Brien* Democrat
47th William H. Lee* Republican
48th David E. Doyle* Democrat
49th Stephen J. Wojtkowiak* Democrat
50th Nelson W. Cheney* Republican
51st Leigh G. Kirkland* Republican

Employees

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State Assembly

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Assemblymen

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Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

District Assemblymen Party Notes
Albany 1st Erastus Corning 2nd Democrat
2nd John P. Hayes* Democrat
3rd S. Earl McDermott* Democrat
Allegany William H. MacKenzie Republican
Bronx 1st Matthew J. H. McLaughlin* Democrat
2nd Doris I. Byrne* Democrat
3rd Carl Pack* Democrat
4th Samuel Weisman* Democrat
5th Julius J. Gans Democrat[2]
6th Peter A. Quinn Democrat
7th Bernard R. Fleisher Democrat
8th John A. Devany Jr.* Democrat
Broome 1st Edward F. Vincent* Republican
2nd James E. Hill* Republican
Cattaraugus James W. Riley* Republican
Cayuga Andrew D. Burgdorf* Republican
Chautauqua 1st Lloyd J. Babcock* Republican
2nd Carl E. Darling Republican
Chemung Chauncey B. Hammond* Republican
Chenango Irving M. Ives* Republican elected Speaker; Chairman of Rules
Clinton McKenzie B. Stewart* Republican
Columbia Frederick A. Washburn* Republican
Cortland Albert Haskell Jr.* Republican
Delaware E. Ogden Bush* Republican Chairman of Public Health
Dutchess 1st Howard N. Allen* Republican Chairman of Agriculture
2nd Emerson D. Fite* Republican
Erie 1st Frank A. Gugino Republican
2nd Harold B. Ehrlich* Republican
3rd Frank X. Bernhardt Republican
4th Anthony J. Canney* Democrat
5th Edwin L. Kantowski* Democrat
6th Fred Koehler Republican
7th Arthur L. Swartz* Republican Chairman of Penal Institutions
8th R. Foster Piper* Republican Chairman of Insurance
Essex Thomas A. Leahy Republican
Franklin John H. Black* Republican
Fulton and Hamilton Denton D. Lake Republican
Genesee Herbert A. Rapp* Republican Chairman of Motor Vehicles
Greene Paul Fromer Republican
Herkimer David C. Wightman* Republican
Jefferson Russell Wright Republican
Kings 1st Crawford W. Hawkins* Democrat
2nd Albert D. Schanzer* Democrat
3rd Michael J. Gillen* Democrat
4th Bernard Austin* Democrat
5th Charles R. McConnell* Democrat
6th Robert J. Crews Rep./City F.
7th William Kirnan* Dem./Jeff.
8th James V. Mangano* Democrat
9th Edgar F. Moran Democrat
10th William C. McCreery* Dem./Jeff.
11th Bernard J. Moran* Democrat
12th Edward S. Moran Jr.* Democrat
13th Ralph Schwartz* Democrat
14th Aaron F. Goldstein* Democrat
15th Edward P. Doyle* Democrat
16th Carmine J. Marasco* Democrat
17th George W. Stewart* Democrat
18th Irwin Steingut* Democrat Minority Leader
19th George Kaminsky* Democrat
20th Eugene J. Keogh Democrat on November 3, 1936, elected to the 75th U.S. Congress
21st Charles H. Breitbart* Democrat
22nd Clement A. Shelton Democrat
23rd G. Thomas LoRe* Democrat
Lewis Fred A. Young Republican
Livingston James J. Wadsworth* Republican Chairman of Public Welfare and Relief
Madison Wheeler Milmoe* Republican
Monroe 1st Pritchard H. Strong Republican
2nd Charles R. Haggerty Republican
3rd Earl C. Langenbacher* Democrat
4th Harry J. Gaynor Republican
5th Walter H. Wickins Republican
Montgomery L. James Shaver* Republican
Nassau 1st Harold P. Herman* Republican Chairman of Mortgage and Real Estate
2nd Leonard W. Hall* Republican Chairman of Re-Apportionment
New York 1st James J. Dooling* Democrat
2nd Nicholas A. Rossi* Democrat
3rd Eugene R. Duffy* Democrat
4th Leonard Farbstein* Democrat
5th John F. Killgrew* Democrat
6th Irving D. Neustein* Democrat
7th Saul S. Streit* Democrat
8th Stephen J. Jarema Democrat
9th Ira H. Holley* Democrat
10th Herbert Brownell Jr.* Rep./City F. Chairman of Affairs of the City of New York
11th Patrick H. Sullivan* Democrat
12th John A. Byrnes* Democrat
13th William J. Sheldrick* Democrat
14th Francis J. McCaffrey Jr.* Democrat
15th Abbot Low Moffat* Republican Chairman of Ways and Means
16th William Schwartz* Democrat
17th Meyer Alterman* Democrat
18th Salvatore A. Farenga* Democrat
19th Robert W. Justice Democrat
20th Michael J. Keenan Democrat
21st William T. Andrews* Democrat
22nd Daniel Flynn* Democrat
23rd William J. A. Glancy Democrat
Niagara 1st Fayette E. Pease* Republican
2nd Harry D. Suitor* Republican
Oneida 1st Paul B. Mercier Democrat
2nd William R. Williams Republican
3rd Fred L. Meiss* Republican
Onondaga 1st Horace M. Stone* Republican Chairman of Judiciary
2nd George B. Parsons* Republican
3rd Richard B. Smith* Republican Chairman of Affairs of Cities
Ontario Harry R. Marble* Republican
Orange 1st Lee B. Mailler* Republican
2nd Rainey S. Taylor* Republican Chairman of General Laws
Orleans John S. Thompson* Republican Chairman of Public Service
Oswego Ernest J. Lonis* Republican
Otsego Frank G. Sherman* Republican
Putnam D. Mallory Stephens* Republican Chairman of Banks
Queens 1st Mario J. Cariello Democrat
2nd George F. Torsney* Democrat
3rd Peter T. Farrell* Democrat
4th Daniel E. Fitzpatrick Democrat
5th Maurice A. FitzGerald* Democrat
6th James L. Dixon Democrat
Rensselaer 1st Philip J. Casey Ind. Dem.[3]
2nd Maurice Whitney* Rep./Ind. C. Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
Richmond 1st Charles Bormann Democrat
2nd Herman Methfessel* Democrat
Rockland Laurens M. Hamilton* Republican Chairman of Civil Service
St. Lawrence 1st W. Allan Newell* Republican
2nd Warren O. Daniels* Republican
Saratoga William E. Morris* Republican
Schenectady 1st Oswald D. Heck* Republican Majority Leader
2nd Harold Armstrong* Republican
Schoharie William S. Dunn* Dem./Soc.
Schuyler Floyd E. Meeks Republican
Seneca James D. Pollard* Republican
Steuben 1st Wilson Messer* Republican
2nd J. Austin Otto* Republican
Suffolk 1st John G. Downs* Republican
2nd Hamilton F. Potter* Republican
Sullivan J. Maxwell Knapp* Republican
Tioga Frank G. Miller* Republican Chairman of Public Printing
Tompkins James R. Robinson* Republican Chairman of Codes
Ulster J. Edward Conway* Rep./Soc.
Warren Harry A. Reoux* Republican
Washington Herbert A. Bartholomew* Republican Chairman of Internal Affairs
Wayne Harry L. Averill* Republican Chairman of Public Education
Westchester 1st Herbert R. Smith* Republican
2nd Ralph A. Gamble* Republican Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
3rd Hugh A. Lavery* Democrat
4th Jane H. Todd* Republican Chairwoman of Social Welfare
5th William T. Grieve Republican
Wyoming Harold C. Ostertag* Republican Chairman of Affairs of Villages
Yates Fred S. Hollowell* Republican Chairman of Excise

Employees

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Notes

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  1. ^ New York Red Book (1939; pg. 252)
  2. ^ Benjamin Gladstone, the previous incumbent, won the election on November 5, 1935 but died unexpectedly the following month. Gans won the special election held on January 21, 1936 to replace him. (Assembly Seat Won by Bronx Democrat – Gans Is Victor in Special Vote — Communist Runs Second, Republican Fourth. New York Times, January 22, 1966, p. 2.)
  3. ^ Casey was a Democrat who was elected on the Republican and Independent Citizens tickets, defeating the incumbent Democrat Michael F. Breen who ran on the Democratic and Socialist tickets for re-election.

Sources

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