Florence M. Sullivan (January 20, 1930 – June 21, 2020) was an American lawyer and politician from New York who served in 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 ...

from the 50th district from 1979 to 1983.

Life

She was born Florence Grady on January 20, 1930, in Brooklyn. She married, and raised three children in

Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base and ...

. Then she went back to school, earned a college degree, and taught high school. She graduated from

St. John's University School of Law St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University. The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers Juris Doctor degrees and degrees for Maste ...

in 1974, was admitted to the bar in 1975, and worked as an Assistant D.A. of Kings County. She also entered politics as a Republican. She was a member of the

from 1979 to 1982, sitting in the 183rd and

184th New York State Legislature The 184th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7, 1981, to December 31, 1982, during the seventh and eighth years of Hugh Carey's governorship, in Albany. Backgro ...

s. In 1982, she ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senator from New York, and defeated

Whitney North Seymour, Jr. Whitney North Seymour Jr. (July 7, 1923 – June 29, 2019), known to friends as Mike Seymour, was an American politician and attorney from New York City. Born to a prominent family, Seymour graduated from Princeton University and Yale Law Scho ...

and

Muriel Siebert Muriel Faye Siebert (September 12, 1928 – August 24, 2013) was an American businesswoman who was the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, and the first woman to head one of the NYSE's member firms. She joined the 1,365 mal ...

. Sullivan was also nominated on the Conservative and the

Right to Life The right to life is the belief that a being has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another entity. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues including capital punishment, with some people seeing it as ...

tickets to oppose the incumbent Democrat

Daniel Patrick Moynihan Daniel Patrick Moynihan (March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was an American politician, diplomat and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New York in the United States Senate from 1977 until 2001 and served as an ...

at the United States Senate election in New York, 1982, but Moynihan scored a decisive victory over Sullivan, polling almost the double number of votes. She was a partner in the New York City law firm of Connors & Sullivan. Sullivan died in Brooklyn on June 21, 2020, aged 90.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Florence M. 1930 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers Candidates in the 1982 United States elections Lawyers from Brooklyn Politicians from Brooklyn Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly St. John's University School of Law alumni Women state legislators in New York (state)