158th New York State Legislature

The 158th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to April 17, 1935, during the third year of Herbert H. Lehman's governorship, in Albany.

158th New York State Legislature
← 157th 159th →
New York State Capitol (2009)
Overview
Legislative body	New York State Legislature
Jurisdiction	New York, United States
Term	January 1 – December 31, 1935
Senate
Members	51
President	Lt. Gov. M. William Bray (D)
Temporary President	John J. Dunnigan (D)
Party control	Democratic (29–22)
Assembly
Members	150
Speaker	Irwin Steingut (D)
Party control	Democratic (77–73)
Sessions
1st January 2 – April 17, 1935

Background

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, the Communist Party and the Socialist Labor Party also nominated tickets. The Prohibition Party ran for the last time under the name of Law Preservation Party. In New York City, the "Recovery Party", the "City Fusion Party" and several other minor parties also nominated tickets.^[1]

Elections

The New York state election, 1934, was held on November 6. Governor Herbert H. Lehman and Lieutenant Governor M. William Bray were re-elected, both Democrats. Of the other eight statewide elective offices, six were carried by Democrats, one by the Republican chief judge with Democratic endorsement, and one by a Republican judge who ran on the Democratic ticket only. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Democrats 2,202,000; Republicans 1,394,000; Socialists 127,000; Communists 46,000; Law Preservation 20,500; and Socialist Labor 7,000.

For the first time there were three women in the Legislature: Ex-Assemblywoman Rhoda Fox Graves (Rep.), of Gouverneur, a former school teacher who after her marriage became active in women's organisations and politics, was the first woman elected to the State Senate; Assemblywoman Doris I. Byrne (Dem.), a lawyer from the Bronx, was re-elected; and Jane H. Todd (Rep.), of Tarrytown, was also elected to the Assembly.

For the first time since 1913, Democratic majorities were elected to both Houses of the Legislature. It remained the only time until 1965.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 2, 1935; and adjourned on April 17.^[2]

Irwin Steingut (Dem.) was elected Speaker.

John J. Dunnigan (Dem.) as re-elected Temporary President of the State Senate.

On April 16, the Legislature passed a bill making nudism a misdemeanor.^[3]

State Senate

Districts

• 1st District: Nassau and Suffolk counties
• 2nd and 3rd District: Parts of Queens County, i.e. the Borough of Queens
• 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th District: Parts of Kings County, i.e. the Borough of Brooklyn
• 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th District: Parts of New York County, i.e. the Borough of Manhattan
• 21st, 22nd and 23rd District: Parts of Bronx County, i.e. the Borough of the Bronx
• 24th District: Richmond County, i.e. the Borough of Richmond (now the Borough of Staten Island), and Rockland County
• 25th District: Part of Westchester County
• 26th District: Cortlandt, Greenburgh, Mount Pleasant, Ossining and part of Yonkers; in Westchester County
• 27th District: Orange and Sullivan counties
• 28th District: Columbia, Dutchess and Putnam counties
• 29th District: Delaware, Greene and Ulster counties
• 30th District: Albany County
• 31st District: Rensselaer County
• 32nd District: Saratoga and Schenectady counties
• 33rd District: Clinton, Essex, Warren and Washington counties
• 34th District: Franklin and St. Lawrence counties
• 35th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer and Lewis counties
• 36th District: Oneida County
• 37th District: Jefferson and Oswego counties
• 38th District: Onondaga County
• 39th District: Madison, Montgomery, Otsego and Schoharie counties
• 40th District: Broome, Chenango and Cortland counties
• 41st District: Chemung, Schuyler, Tioga and Tompkins counties
• 42nd District: Cayuga, Seneca and Wayne counties
• 43rd District: Ontario, Steuben and Yates counties
• 44th District: Allegany, Genesee, Livingston and Wyoming
• 45th and 46th District: Monroe County
• 47th District: Niagara and Orleans counties
• 48th, 49th and 50th District: Erie County
• 51st District: Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties

Members

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Edward J. Coughlin, Martin W. Deyo and George B. Kelly 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*	Rep./Law P.	re-elected
2nd	Joseph D. Nunan Jr.*	Democrat	re-elected
3rd	Frank B. Hendel*	Dem./Rec.	re-elected
4th	Philip M. Kleinfeld*	Democrat	re-elected
5th	John J. Howard*	Dem./Rec.	re-elected
6th	Edward J. Coughlin*	Dem./Rec.
7th	Jacob J. Schwartzwald	Democrat
8th	Joseph A. Esquirol*	Democrat	re-elected
9th	Henry L. O'Brien*	Dem./Law P.	re-elected; died on February 8, 1935
10th	Jeremiah F. Twomey*	Democrat	re-elected; Chairman of Finance
11th	James J. Crawford*	Democrat	re-elected
12th	Elmer F. Quinn*	Democrat	re-elected
13th	Thomas F. Burchill*	Democrat	re-elected
14th	Samuel Mandelbaum*	Democrat	re-elected
15th	John L. Buckley*	Democrat	re-elected
16th	John J. McNaboe*	Democrat	re-elected
17th	Joseph Clark Baldwin	Rep./Law P.
18th	John T. McCall*	Democrat	re-elected
19th	Duncan T. O'Brien*	Democrat	re-elected
20th	A. Spencer Feld*	Dem./Law P.	re-elected
21st	Lazarus Joseph*	Democrat	re-elected
22nd	Julius S. Berg*	Democrat	re-elected
23rd	John J. Dunnigan*	Democrat	re-elected; re-elected Temporary President
24th	Rae L. Egbert	Dem./Law P.
25th	Pliny W. Williamson	Rep./Law P.
26th	James A. Garrity	Democrat
27th	Thomas C. Desmond*	Republican	re-elected
28th	Frederic H. Bontecou*	Rep./Law P.	re-elected
29th	Arthur H. Wicks*	Rep./Soc.	re-elected
30th	William T. Byrne*	Democrat	re-elected
31st	Ogden J. Ross*	Democrat	re-elected
32nd	Edwin E. Miller	Republican
33rd	Benjamin F. Feinberg*	Republican	re-elected
34th	Rhoda Fox Graves	Republican
35th	Henry I. Patrie*	Rep./Law P.	re-elected; died on March 3, 1935
36th	William H. Hampton	Republican
37th	Perley A. Pitcher*	Rep./Law P.	re-elected
38th	George R. Fearon*	Republican	re-elected; Minority Leader
39th	Walter W. Stokes*	Republican	re-elected
40th	Martin W. Deyo*	Rep./Law P.
41st	C. Tracey Stagg	Republican
42nd	Charles J. Hewitt*	Republican	re-elected
43rd	Earle S. Warner*	Republican	re-elected
44th	Joe R. Hanley*	Rep./Law P.	re-elected
45th	George B. Kelly*	Democrat
46th	Norman A. O'Brien	Democrat
47th	William H. Lee*	Republican	re-elected
48th	David E. Doyle	Democrat
49th	Stephen J. Wojtkowiak*	Democrat	re-elected
50th	Nelson W. Cheney*	Republican	re-elected
51st	Leigh G. Kirkland*	Rep./Law P.	re-elected

Employees

• Clerk: James J. Reilly

State Assembly

Assemblymen

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

District		Assemblymen	Party	Notes
Albany	1st	John H. Cahill*	Democrat
	2nd	John P. Hayes*	Democrat	Chairman of Affairs of Cities
	3rd	S. Earl McDermott*	Dem./Law P.
Allegany		Harry E. Goodrich*	Republican
Bronx	1st	Matthew J. H. McLaughlin*	Democrat
	2nd	Doris I. Byrne*	Dem./Law P.	Chairwoman of Social Welfare
	3rd	Carl Pack*	Democrat
	4th	Samuel Weisman*	Democrat
	5th	Benjamin Gladstone*	Democrat
	6th	Christopher C. McGrath*	Democrat	Chairman of Public Education; on November 5, 1935, elected to the Municipal Court
	7th	Michael N. Delagi	Democrat	on November 5, 1935, elected to the Municipal Court[4]
	8th	John A. Devany Jr.*	Dem./Law P.
Broome	1st	Edward F. Vincent*	Republican
	2nd	James E. Hill	Republican
Cattaraugus		James W. Riley*	Republican
Cayuga		Andrew D. Burgdorf*	Rep./Law P.
Chautauqua	1st	Lloyd J. Babcock	Rep./Law P.
	2nd	Joseph A. McGinnies*	Rep./Law P.
Chemung		Chauncey B. Hammond	Republican
Chenango		Irving M. Ives*	Republican	Minority Leader
Clinton		McKenzie B. Stewart	Republican
Columbia		Frederick A. Washburn*	Rep./Law P.
Cortland		Albert Haskell Jr.	Republican
Delaware		E. Ogden Bush*	Republican
Dutchess	1st	Howard N. Allen*	Rep./Law P.
	2nd	Emerson D. Fite*	Rep./Law P.
Erie	1st	Joseph A. Nicosia*	Democrat
	2nd	Harold B. Ehrlich*	Republican
	3rd	Bert Fischer	Democrat
	4th	Anthony J. Canney*	Democrat
	5th	Edwin L. Kantowski*	Democrat
	6th	John V. Kane	Democrat
	7th	Arthur L. Swartz*	Republican
	8th	R. Foster Piper*	Republican
Essex		Fred L. Porter*	Republican
Franklin		John H. Black	Republican
Fulton and Hamilton		Harry F. Dunkel*	Republican
Genesee		Herbert A. Rapp*	Republican
Greene		William Haas	Dem./Soc.
Herkimer		David C. Wightman*	Republican
Jefferson		Russell Wright	Rep./Law P.
Kings	1st	Crawford W. Hawkins*	Democrat
	2nd	Albert D. Schanzer*	Democrat
	3rd	Michael J. Gillen*	Dem./Rec.
	4th	Bernard Austin	Democrat
	5th	Charles R. McConnell	Democrat
	6th	Julius Helfand	Democrat
	7th	William Kirnan*	Dem./Rec.
	8th	James V. Mangano	Dem./Vict.
	9th	Daniel McNamara Jr.*	Dem./Rec.
	10th	William C. McCreery*	Democrat	Chairman of Judiciary
	11th	Bernard J. Moran	Dem./Rec.
	12th	Edward S. Moran Jr.*	Dem./Rec.	Chairman of Insurance
	13th	Ralph Schwartz	Dem./Rec.
	14th	Aaron F. Goldstein*	Dem./City F.
	15th	Edward P. Doyle*	Democrat
	16th	Carmine J. Marasco	Democrat
	17th	George W. Stewart*	Dem./Rec.
	18th	Irwin Steingut*	Dem./Law. P.	elected Speaker; Chairman of Rules
	19th	George Kaminsky	Democrat
	20th	Joseph J. Monahan*	Democrat
	21st	Charles H. Breitbart*	Democrat
	22nd	Jacob H. Livingston*	Dem./Law P.
	23rd	G. Thomas Lo Re	Democrat
Lewis		Edward M. Sheldon*	Republican
Livingston		James J. Wadsworth*	Rep./Law P.
Madison		Wheeler Milmoe*	Republican
Monroe	1st	Pritchard H. Strong	Republican
	2nd	Joseph Di Fede	Democrat
	3rd	Earl C. Langenbacher*	Dem./Law P.
	4th	Paul R. Taylor*	Dem./Law P.	Chairman of Internal Affairs
	5th	Donald J. Corbett*	Democrat
Montgomery		L. James Shaver*	Republican
Nassau	1st	Harold P. Herman*	Republican
	2nd	Leonard W. Hall*	Republican
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	Majority Leader
	6th	Irving D. Neustein*	Democrat
	7th	Saul S. Streit*	Dem./ICL	Chairman of Re-Apportionment
	8th	Joseph Hamerman*	Democrat
	9th	Ira H. Holley	Dem./Law P.
	10th	Herbert Brownell Jr.*	Rep./City F.
	11th	Patrick H. Sullivan*	Democrat
	12th	John A. Byrnes*	Democrat	Chairman of Codes
	13th	William J. Sheldrick*	Democrat	Chairman of Motor Vehicles
	14th	Francis J. McCaffrey Jr.*	Democrat
	15th	Abbot Low Moffat*	Rep./Law P./C. F.
	16th	William Schwartz*	Democrat
	17th	Meyer Alterman*	Democrat	Chairman of Ways and Means
	18th	Salvatore A. Farenga	Democrat
	19th	James E. Stephens*	Dem./Law P.
	20th	Louis A. Cuvillier	Democrat	Democratic Whip;[5] died on May 18, 1935[6]
	21st	William T. Andrews	Dem./Law P.
	22nd	Daniel Flynn*	Democrat
	23rd	Alexander A. Falk	Dem./Law P.	Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
Niagara	1st	Fayette E. Pease*	Rep./Law P.
	2nd	Harry D. Suitor*	Republican
Oneida	1st	Frank T. Quinn*	Democrat
	2nd	Russell G. Dunmore*	Republican	died on December 14, 1935
	3rd	Fred L. Meiss*	Republican
Onondaga	1st	Horace M. Stone*	Republican
	2nd	George B. Parsons*	Republican
	3rd	Richard B. Smith*	Republican
Ontario		Harry R. Marble*	Republican
Orange	1st	Lee B. Mailler*	Republican
	2nd	Rainey S. Taylor*	Republican
Orleans		John S. Thompson*	Republican
Oswego		Ernest J. Lonis	Rep./Law P.
Otsego		Frank G. Sherman	Republican
Putnam		D. Mallory Stephens*	Republican
Queens	1st	Harold J. Crawford*	Dem./Law P.
	2nd	George F. Torsney*	Dem./Law P.
	3rd	Peter T. Farrell*	Dem./Law P.	Chairman of General Laws
	4th	James A. Burke	Dem./Lib./Rec.
	5th	Maurice A. FitzGerald*	Democrat	Chairman of Public Service
	6th	Frederick L. Zimmerman*	Dem./City F.
Rensselaer	1st	Michael F. Breen*	Dem./Soc.
	2nd	Maurice Whitney*	Republican
Richmond	1st	Charles Harry Robillard	Dem./Law P.
	2nd	Herman Methfessel	Democrat
Rockland		Laurens M. Hamilton*	Republican
St. Lawrence	1st	W. Allan Newell*	Republican
	2nd	Warren O. Daniels*	Republican
Saratoga		William E. Morris*	Republican
Schenectady	1st	Oswald D. Heck*	Republican
	2nd	Harold Armstrong*	Rep./Law P.
Schoharie		William S. Dunn*	Dem./Soc.	Chairman of Agriculture
Schuyler		Edward K. Corwin*	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*	Rep./Law P.
Sullivan		J. Maxwell Knapp*	Republican
Tioga		Frank G. Miller*	Republican
Tompkins		James R. Robinson*	Republican
Ulster		J. Edward Conway*	Rep./Soc.
Warren		Harry A. Reoux*	Republican
Washington		Herbert A. Bartholomew*	Republican
Wayne		Harry L. Averill*	Rep./Law P.
Westchester	1st	Herbert R. Smith*	Republican
	2nd	Ralph A. Gamble*	Republican
	3rd	Hugh A. Lavery*	Democrat
	4th	Jane H. Todd	Republican
	5th	William F. Condon*	Republican	on November 5, 1935, elected Register of Westchester Co.
Wyoming		Harold C. Ostertag*	Republican
Yates		Fred S. Hollowell*	Republican

Employees

• Clerk: Homer W. Storey^[7]

Notes

1. see ELECTION NOTICE in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on October 30, 1934
2. ROW AMONG DEMOCRATS DELAYS THE LEGISLATURE BUT ADJOURNMENT NEARS in The New York Times on April 17, 1935 (subscription required)
3. ALBANY VOTES BILL OUTLAWING NUDISM in The New York Times on April 16, 1935 (subscription required)
4. 4 BRONX JUSTICES SWORN; New Members of Municipal Court to Speed Calendar in The New York Times on December 20, 1935 (subscription required)
5. Cuvillier to Be Party Whip in Assembly in The New York Times on January 5, 1935 (subscription required)
6. LOUIS A. CUVILLIER DIES OF PNEUMONIA in The New York Times on May 19, 1935 (subscription required)
7. Homer W. Storey (c.1895–1937), of Rochester, see PARTY LEADER DIES in the Niagara Falls Gazette, of Niagara Falls, on October 12, 1937

Sources

• Members of the New York Senate (1930s) at Political Graveyard
• Members of the New York Assembly (1930s) at Political Graveyard
• IVES IS ELECTED MINORITY LEADER in the Daily Sentinel, of Rome, on January 2, 1935
• CHAIRMAN OF CHOICE POST in the Plattsburgh Daily Republican, of Plattsburgh, on January 8, 1935