The 185th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5, 1983, to December 31, 1984, during the first and second years of

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo (, ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as ...

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

On May 8, 1982, Senate Republicans and Assembly Democrats announced that they had agreed upon a new apportionment. The number of seats in the State Senate was increased from 60 to 61. The new district lines were

gerrymander In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

ed by the Republican Senate majority to increase Republican strength, and by the Democratic Assembly majority to increase Democratic strength. On June 23, 1982, a special panel of three federal judges ordered Special Master Robert P. Patterson Jr. to revise the new apportionment proposed by the Legislature. On July 3, 1982, the revised re-apportionment was approved by the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

. Thus, 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 constitut ...

of 1938 and the U.S. Supreme Court decision to follow the

One man, one vote "One man, one vote", or "one person, one vote", expresses the principle that individuals should have equal representation in voting. This slogan is used by advocates of political equality to refer to such electoral reforms as universal suffrage, ...

rule, re-apportioned in 1982 by the Legislature, 61 Senators and 150 assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts for two-year terms. Senate and Assembly districts consisted of approximately the same number of inhabitants, the area being apportioned contiguously without restrictions regarding county boundaries. At this time there were two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Conservative Party, 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 ...

, the Right to Life Party, the

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

, a "Statewide Independent Party", a "Unity Party", the New Alliance Party, and the Socialist Workers Party also nominated tickets.

Elections

The New York state election, 1982, was held on November 2. Lieutenant Governor

was elected Governor, and Westchester County Executive Alfred DelBello was elected Lieutenant Governor, both Democrats. The elections to the other three statewide elective offices resulted in the re-election of the three incumbent officeholders: a Republican Comptroller, a Democratic Attorney General and a Democratic U.S. Senator. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Democrats 2,560,000; Republicans 2,249,000; Conservatives 230,000; Liberals 116,000; Right to Life 52,000; Libertarians 17,000; Statewide Independents 16,000; Unity 6,000; New Alliance 5,000; and Socialist Workers 4,000. Sixteen of the nineteen women members of the previous legislature—State Senators Carol Berman (Dem.), of

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

; Mary B. Goodhue (Rep.), a lawyer of Mount Kisco; Olga A. Méndez (Dem.), of East Harlem, and

Linda Winikow Linda Winikow (May 9, 1940 – August 24, 2008) was an American politician from New York. Winikow pleaded guilty to grand larceny, commercial bribe receiving and making illegal campaign contributions. Early life On May 9, 1940, Winikow was bo ...

(Dem.), of Spring Valley; and Assemblywomen

Elizabeth Connelly Elizabeth Ann "Betty" Connelly (June 19, 1928 – May 25, 2006) was a politician from Staten Island, New York who represented the North Shore community from 1973 to 2000. She was the first woman to win elective office to any district encompassing ...

(Dem.), of Staten Island;

Pinny Cooke Audre "Pinny" Cooke (December 26, 1923 – August 1, 2004) was an American social activist and politician from New York. Life She was born Audre Trupin on December 26, 1923, in Syracuse, New York. There she attended Nottingham High School. She gr ...

(Rep.), of

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; Geraldine L. Daniels (Dem.), 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 ...

; Gloria Davis (Dem.), of

; Eileen C. Dugan (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 ...

;

Aurelia Greene Aurelia Greene (October 26, 1934 – May 8, 2021) represented District 77 in the New York State Assembly, which comprises the Highbridge, Morrisania, and Morris Heights sections of The Bronx. She had been representing her district since 1982. ...

(Dem.), of

;

Rhoda S. Jacobs Rhoda S. Jacobs (born September 29, 1936) is an American politician from New York. A Democrat, she was until 2014 a member of the New York State Assembly from the 42nd Assembly District in Brooklyn, which primarily includes the neighborhoods of ...

(Dem.), of

; Gerdi E. Lipschutz (Dem.), of

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 ...

; May W. Newburger (Dem.), of

Great Neck Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kings Point, and Russell Gardens, and a number of unincor ...

; Toni Rettaliata (Rep.), of Huntington; Gail S. Shaffer (Dem.), of North Blenheim; and

Helene Weinstein Helene E. Weinstein (born September 6, 1952) is an American politician who represents District 41 in the New York State Assembly, which comprises Sheepshead Bay, Flatlands, East Flatbush, Midwood and Canarsie. Biography First elected in 1980, ...

(Dem.), a lawyer of

—were re-elected. Anna V. Jefferson (Dem.), an accountant of

, was also elected to the State Senate. Cynthia Jenkins (Dem.), a librarian of

; Helen M. Marshall (Dem.), a teacher and librarian of

; Nettie Mayersohn (Dem.), of

; Mary M. McPhillips (Dem.), of Middletown; Barbara Patton (Dem.), a lawyer of Hempstead; and Louise M. Slaughter (Dem.), of Fairport; were also elected to the Assembly. Gail S. Shaffer did not take her seat in the Assembly, and was appointed as

Secretary of State of New York The secretary of state of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York who leads the Department of State (NYSDOS). The current secretary of state of New York is Robert J. Rodriguez, a Democrat. Duties The secre ...

instead. On May 24, 1983, Julia Harrison (Dem.), of

, was elected to fill a vacancy in the Assembly. Thus the 185th Legislature finished having 23 women members, surpassing the previous record of 19 in the 184th New York State Legislature (in 1982). The New York state election, 1983, was held on November 8. One vacancy in the Assembly was filled.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the first regular session (the 206th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 5, 1983; and recessed indefinitely on June 28.

Stanley Fink Stanley Fink (February 6, 1936 – March 4, 1997) was an American lawyer and politician. Life Fink was born on February 6, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York City. He attended New Utrecht High School. He graduated from Brooklyn College in 1956, and fr ...

(Dem.) was re-elected Speaker of the Assembly. Warren M. Anderson (Rep.) was re-elected Temporary President of the Senate. The Legislature met for a special session on September 15, 1983, to consider changes to the laws concerning transportation of cargoes. The Legislature met for the second regular session (the 207th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 4, 1984; and recessed indefinitely shortly before 2 a.m. on July 1. An hour after midnight, on May 30, the State Assembly rejected after a stormy debate of many hours the proposal to raise the

legal drinking age The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary between ...

from 19 to 21 years; the vote stood 80 to 69. The Legislature met for another special session on December 6, 1984. At this session, the legislators raised the wages of the legislators who were elected to the next Legislature; approved a sales tax increase for Erie County; and extended a corporate tax surcharge used to subsidize the New York City mass transit system.''EXTENSION OF TAX TO RETAIN FARES VOTED IN ALBANY''
by Michael Oreskes, in ''The New York Times'' on December 7, 1984

State Senate

Senators

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Andrew Jenkins and Lloyd Stephen Riford Jr. changed from the Assembly to the Senate at the beginning of this Legislature. Assemblyman Leonard P. Stavisky was elected to fill a vacancy in the Senate. Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

Employees

* Secretary:

Stephen F. Sloan Stephen or Steven is a common English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Ac ...

State Assembly

Assemblymen

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

Employees

* Clerk:

Catherine A. Carey Catherine Ann Carey (born 1945) is an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life She was born in 1945, in Lackawanna, Erie County, New York, the daughter of William James Carey and Mary Clare (Kuebler) Carey. She graduated with a B.A. f ...

Notes

Sources

''VOTING IN NEW YORK STATE FOR 61 SEATS IN THE SENATE''
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 November 4, 1982
''VOTE TOTALS FOR RACES IN THE NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY''
in ''The New York Times'' on November 4, 1982 {{NYLegislatures 185 1983 in New York (state) 1984 in New York (state) 1983 U.S. legislative sessions 1984 U.S. legislative sessions