The 166th New York State Legislature, consisting of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

and the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

, met from January 8, 1947, to March 13, 1948, during the fifth and sixth years of

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...

governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the

New York Constitution The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1938, re-apportioned in 1943, 56 Senators and 150 assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts for two-year terms. 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 Kings (nine districts), New York (six), Bronx (five), Queens (four), Erie (three), Westchester (three), Monroe (two) and Nassau (two). The Assembly districts consisted either of a single entire county (except Hamilton Co.), or of contiguous area within one county. At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. The

American Labor Party The American Labor Party (ALP) was a political party in the United States established in 1936 that was active almost exclusively in the state of New York. The organization was founded by labor leaders and former members of the Socialist Party of ...

, the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

also nominated tickets.

Elections

The

New York state election, 1946 The 1946 New York state election was held on November 5, 1946, to elect the Governor of New York, governor, the Lieutenant Governor of New York, lieutenant governor, the New York State Comptroller, state comptroller, the Attorney General of New ...

, was held on November 5. Governor

and Lieutenant Governor Joe R. Hanley were re-elected, both Republicans. The other five statewide elective offices up for election were carried by four Republicans, and the Democratic Chief Judge with Republican, American Labor and Liberal endorsement. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Republicans 2,826,000; Democrats 1,532,000; American Labor 429,000; Liberals 177,000; and Communists 90,000. All four women members of the previous legislature—State Senator

Rhoda Fox Graves Rhoda Fox Graves (July 2, 1877 – January 25, 1950) was a suffragist, women's rights activist, and early female Republican party politician from St. Lawrence County, New York in the United States. Graves was the first woman to serve in the Ne ...

(Rep.), of Gouverneur; and Assemblywomen

Mary A. Gillen Mary A. Gillen (October 8, 1894 – September 14, 1963) was an American politician from New York (state), New York. Life She was born Mary Agnes Burke on October 8, 1894, the daughter of Michael Burke (1856–1912) and Anne Bridget (O'Gara) Burke ...

(Dem.), of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

; Gladys E. Banks (Rep.), of

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

; and Genesta M. Strong (Rep.), of

Plandome Heights Plandome Heights is a village in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered part of the Greater Manhasset area, which is anchored by Manhasset. The population was 1,005 at the 2010 census. The ...

—were re-elected.

Janet Hill Gordon Janet Hill Gordon (January 11, 1915 – September 17, 1990) was an American lawyer and politician. Life She was born Janet Hill on January 11, 1915 in Manhattan, the daughter of James P. Hill (1878–1950) and Florine Hill. Her father was Presidin ...

(Rep.), a lawyer of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

;

Elizabeth Hanniford Elizabeth Hanniford (January 1, 1909 – December 1977) was an American politician from New York. Life Elizabeth Hanniford was born on January 1, 1909, in New York City. She attended public schools, and then became a statistician. She married K ...

(Rep.), a statistician of

;

Mildred F. Taylor Mildred F. Taylor (April 21, 1905 – January 4, 1981) was an American politician from New York. Life She was born Mildred Frick on April 21, 1905, in Lyons, Wayne County, New York, the daughter of Louis Frick and Belle (Everhart) Frick (1874–1 ...

(Rep.), a coal dealer of

Lyons Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

; and Maude E. Ten Eyck (Rep.), of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

; were also elected to the Assembly. The New York state election, 1947, was held on November 4. No statewide elective offices were up for election. Four vacancies in the State Senate, and four vacancies in the Assembly were filled.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the first regular session (the 170th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 8, 1947; and adjourned on March 18. Oswald D. Heck (Rep.) was re-elected

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

. Benjamin F. Feinberg (Rep.) was re-elected Temporary President of the State Senate. The Legislature met for the second regular session (the 171st) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 7, 1948; and adjourned on March 13.''LEGISLATURE LETS RENT LAWS STAND AS SESSION CLOSES''
in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' on March 14, 1948 (subscription required)

State Senate

Districts

Members

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. MacNeil Mitchell, Sidney A. Fine and George T. Manning changed from the Assembly to the Senate at the beginning of this Legislature. Assemblyman Ernest I. Hatfield was elected to fill a vacancy in the Senate. Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

Employees

* Clerk: William S. King * Sergeant-at-Arms: Harold W. Cole

State Assembly

Assemblymen

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

Employees

* Clerk:

Ansley B. Borkowski Ansley Bernard Borkowski (January 15, 1898 – December 1, 1992) was an American lawyer and politician from New York (state), New York. Life He was born on January 15, 1898, in Buffalo, New York. He attended Canisius High School and Canisius Coll ...

Notes

Sources

''Know Your Legislators''
in ''The State Employee'' (January 1947, Vol. 16, No. 1, pg. 16f and 23)

at Political Graveyard

at Political Graveyard {{NYLegislatures 166 1947 in New York (state) 1948 in New York (state) 1947 U.S. legislative sessions 1948 U.S. legislative sessions