Jess J. Present (July 28, 1921 – August 8, 1998) was an American politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

He was born on July 28, 1921, in Jamestown,

Chautauqua County, New York Chautauqua County is the westernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the population was 127,657. Its county seat is Mayville, New York, Mayville, an ...

. He attended Jamestown High School and

Allegheny College he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת , mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1) , faculty = 193 ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served in the

U.S. Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. Afterwards he became a

jeweler A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stone setting, engraving, fabrica ...

. He married Elaine Coates, and they had two sons. He was a member of 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 1966 to 1968, sitting in the 176th and

177th New York State Legislature The 177th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4, 1967, to May 25, 1968, during the ninth and tenth years of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany. Backgro ...

s. He was a member 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 ...

from 1969 until his death in 1998, sitting in the 178th, 179th, 180th, 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th, 191st and 192nd New York State Legislatures. Present almost lost his 1992 re-election campaign to his Democratic opponent Nancy Bargar after machine ballots showed Bargar ahead by 900 votes. However, after counting absentee ballots and performing a machine recount, Present was declared the winner by 190 votes. Present was hurt in the general election by having Republican Assemblyman John W. Hasper win nine percent of the vote as the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

nominee. Hasper had lost the Republican primary to Present in September 1992. Shortly after his election scare in 1992, Present was chosen as Deputy Majority Leader. Present was closely allied with

Rockefeller Republican The Rockefeller Republicans were members of the Republican Party (GOP) in the 1930s–1970s who held moderate-to- liberal views on domestic issues, similar to those of Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of New York (1959–1973) and Vice President of ...

Ralph J. Marino Ralph John Marino (January 2, 1928 – April 6, 2002) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Temporary President of the New York State Senate from 1989 to 1994. Life Marino was born on January 2, 1928, in Rochester, New Y ...

during his time as senator. In 1994, after the

Republican Revolution The "Republican Revolution", "Revolution of '94", or "Gingrich Revolution" are political slogans that refer to the Republican Party (GOP) success in the 1994 U.S. mid-term elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of ...

saw

George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. An attorney by profession, Pataki was elected mayor of his hometown of Peekskill, New York, and went on ...

elected governor against Marino's wishes, Marino was ousted as Majority Leader and replaced with

Joseph Bruno Joseph Louis Bruno (April 8, 1929 – October 6, 2020) was an American businessman and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from upstate New York. Bruno served in the New York State Senate from 1977 to 2008 and was Senate Majo ...

. Present left as Deputy Majority Leader in January 1995 when Bruno chose one of his allies for the post. Present died on August 8, 1998, in

Bemus Point, New York Bemus Point is a village in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The village is within the town of Ellery and is located along the eastern shore of Chautauqua Lake. The population was 312 at the 2020 census. Geography Bemus Point is loc ...

.''Jess J. Present, 77, Legislator and G.O.P. Leader''
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 d ...

'' on August 11, 1998

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Present, Jess J. Republican Party New York (state) state senators Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from Jamestown, New York 1921 births 1998 deaths Allegheny College alumni 20th-century American politicians United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II