Kenneth Sherbell (April 12, 1917 – January 23, 1998) was an American labor union leader and 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 April 12, 1917, in South Coventry,

Tolland County, Connecticut Tolland County is a county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, its population was 149,788. It is incorporated into 13 towns and was originally formed on 13 October 1785 from portions of eastern Ha ...

. The family removed to

East New York, Brooklyn East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough lin ...

. He attended the public schools and graduated from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

. While still in college, he began to work in a dry-goods store, and joined Local 65 of the Wholesale and Warehouse Workers Union, affiliated with the CIO. Later he became a union leader and became active in politics as a member of 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 ...

. In 1939, he married Evelyn Berkowitz, and they had two children. From May 1943 to December 1945, he served in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

as an

aviation machinist's mate Aviation Machinist's Mates (abbreviated as AD) are United States Navy aircraft engine mechanics that inspect, adjust, test, repair, and overhaul aircraft engines and propellers. More specifically, ADs install, maintain, and service various aircraf ...

, 2nd class. In November 1946, Sherbell was elected on the American Labor ticket, with

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

endorsement, to 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 ...

(10th D.), defeating the Democratic incumbent James A. Corcoran. Sherbell was a member of the State Senate in 1947 and 1948. At the

1948 United States presidential election The 1948 United States presidential election was the 41st quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 1948. In one of the greatest election upsets in American history, incumbent President Harry S. Truman, the Democra ...

, he supported

Henry A. Wallace Henry Agard Wallace (October 7, 1888 – November 18, 1965) was an American politician, journalist, farmer, and businessman who served as the 33rd vice president of the United States, the 11th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and the 10th U.S. S ...

and ran on the American Labor/Wallace–

Progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

ticket for re-election, but was defeated by Democrat

Herbert I. Sorin Herbert I. Sorin (August 1, 1900 – August 26, 1994) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life He was born on August 1, 1900, in New York City, the son of Herbert Sorin (died 1930) and Rae Goldberg Sorin (1882–1966). He attended ...

. Afterwards he remained active in organized labor, worked in

group insurance Group insurance is an insurance that covers a group of people, for example the members of a society or professional association, or the employees of a particular employer for the purpose of taking insurance. Group coverage can help reduce the proble ...

, and was president of a company which offered health insurance plans for unions. He died on January 23, 1998, in Parkway Hospital in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

.''Kenneth Sherbell, 80, Legislator, Official of Union and Executive''
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 February 2, 1998

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherbell, Kenneth 1917 births 1998 deaths Politicians from Brooklyn American Labor Party politicians New York (state) state senators Brooklyn College alumni People from Coventry, Connecticut 20th-century American legislators