George Onorato (November 5, 1928 – February 21, 2015) was an American politician from New York.

Life

Onorato was born on November 5, 1928, in

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He graduated from

Long Island City High School Long Island City High School, commonly abbreviated L.I.C. or LICHS, is a public high school in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. The present building was built in 1995. The school had an enrollment of around 2,500 in 2015. Demographics As ...

. He served in the 118th Medical Battalion of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

from 1950 to 1952. He married Athena Georgakakos, and they had three children. He was Secretary and Treasurer of Local 41 of the

International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers The International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) is a labor union in the United States and Canada which represents bricklayers, restoration specialists, pointers/cleaners/caulkers, stonemasons, marble masons, cement masons, ...

for 15 years, and entered politics as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. On June 28, 1983, he was elected to the New York State Senate, to fill the vacancy caused by the appointment of Anthony V. Gazzara as Chairman of the New York State Liquor Authority. Onorato was re-elected several times, and remained in the State Senate until 2010, sitting in the 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th,

189th 189th may refer to: *189th (Canadien-Français) Battalion, CEF, a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War *189th Airlift Squadron, a unit of the Idaho Air National Guard that flies the C-130 Hercules *189th Airlift Wing, ...

, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 194th, 195th, 196th, 197th and

198th New York State Legislature The 198th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7, 2009, to December 31, 2010, during the later part of David Paterson's governorship, in Albany. On June 8, 2009, ...

s. He was Vice Chair of the Minority Conference, Co-chair of the New York State Armed Forces Legislative Caucus, and Co-Chairman of the New York State Senate Democratic Task Force on Energy & Conservation. He generally opposes same-sex marriage legislation. He is a member of New York State Senate Democratic Puerto Rican and Hispanic Task Force, the Senate Minority Task Force on Vietnam Veterans, and the Senate Minority Task Force on Waterfront Development. On December 2, 2009, Onorato voted against

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

legislation, which failed to pass the Senate. Onorato announced on January 11, 2010, that he would not be a candidate for re-election. He died on February 21, 2015, in

East Elmhurst, Queens East Elmhurst is a residential neighborhood in the northwest section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded to the south by Jackson Heights and Corona, to the north and east by Bowery Bay, and to the west by Woodside and Ditmar ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onorato, George Democratic Party New York (state) state senators 1928 births 2015 deaths People from Astoria, Queens 21st-century American politicians