The 186th New York State Legislature, consisting 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 comp ...

and 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 Ass ...

, met from January 9, 1985, to December 31, 1986, during the third and fourth 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

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 Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

. The

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, the Liberal Party, the

Right to Life Party The New York State Right to Life Party was a minor anti-abortion American political party that was active only in the state of New York and was founded to oppose the legalization of abortion in New York State in 1970. History In 1970 the Right t ...

, the Libertarian Party, the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...

, the

New Alliance Party The New Alliance Party (NAP) was an American political party formed in New York City in 1979. Its immediate precursor was an umbrella organization known as the Labor Community Alliance for Change, whose member groups included the Coalition of ...

and the

Workers World Party The Workers World Party (WWP) is a revolutionary Marxist–Leninist communist party founded in 1959 by a group led by Sam Marcy of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). Marcy and his followers split from the SWP in 1958 over a series of long-stan ...

also nominated tickets.

Elections

The New York state election, 1984, was held on November 6. No statewide elective offices were up for election. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for U.S. president, was: Republicans 3,377,000; Democrats 3,120,000; Conservatives 288,000; Liberals 118,000; Libertarians 12,000; Communists 4,000; New Alliance 3,000; and Workers World 2,000. Twenty of the 23 women members of the previous legislature—State Senators Mary B. Goodhue (Rep.), a lawyer of

Mount Kisco Mount Kisco is a village and town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The town of Mount Kisco is coterminous with the village. The population was 10,959 at the 2020 United States census over 10,877 at the 2010 census. It serves as ...

; and Olga A. Méndez (Dem.), of

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, ...

; and Assemblywomen Elizabeth Connelly (Dem.), of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

; Pinny Cooke (Rep.), of

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

; 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 ...

; 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 (Dem.), of

;

Julia Harrison Julia Harrison (June 10, 1920 – August 3, 2017) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the New York City Council representing Flushing, Queens, from 1986 to 2001. In 2001, newly enacted term-limit regulations forced Ha ...

(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 ...

; Rhoda S. Jacobs (Dem.), of

; Cynthia Jenkins (Dem.), a librarian of

; Gerdi E. Lipschutz (Dem.), of

;

Helen M. Marshall Helen Marie Marshall (nee Sargent September 30, 1929 – March 4, 2017) was an American politician from New York City. She was Borough President of Queens from 2002 - 2013. She was also the first African-American Borough President of Queens. Bio ...

(Dem.), a teacher and librarian of

;

Nettie Mayersohn Nettie Mayersohn (May 30, 1924 – August 13, 2020) was a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 27th District in Flushing, Queens. Her district extended from Kew Gardens Hills, to Kew Gardens and the northern edge of Richmond ...

(Dem.), of

; Mary M. McPhillips (Dem.), of Middletown; 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 unincorp ...

; Barbara Patton (Dem.), a lawyer of Hempstead;

Toni Rettaliata Antonia Patricia Rettaliata (née Bifulco; October 20, 1944 – April 8, 2020) was an American politician from New York. Life She was born on October 20, 1944, in Huntington, Suffolk County, New York, the daughter of Pasquale Bifulco and Mary (Fin ...

(Rep.), of Huntington; Louise M. Slaughter (Dem.), of Fairport; and Helene Weinstein (Dem.), a lawyer of

—were re-elected. Nancy Larraine Hoffmann (Dem.), of

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy * Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

;

Velmanette Montgomery Velmanette Montgomery (born December 22, 1942) is an American Democratic Party politician who represented the 25th district of the New York State Senate from 1984 until 2020. The district comprised Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Red Hook, Bedford-S ...

(Dem.), of

; and

Suzi Oppenheimer Suzanne "Suzi" Oppenheimer (born December 13, 1934) is an American politician from New York, who served from 1985 to 2012 in the New York State Senate. Early life and education Oppenheimer was born on December 13, 1934, in New York City. She at ...

(Dem.), of

Mamaroneck Mamaroneck ( ) is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 31,758 at the 2020 United States census over 29,156 at the 2010 census. There are two villages contained within the town: Larchmont and the Village of ...

; were also elected to the State Senate.

Catherine Nolan Catherine T. Nolan (born March 12, 1958) is an American politician who serves as the Deputy Speaker of the New York State Assembly. Nolan represents the 37th Assembly District, which includes the Queens neighborhoods of Sunnyside, Ridgewood, ...

(Dem.), of

, was also elected to the Assembly. Thus the 186th Legislature began having 24 women members, surpassing the previous record of 23 in the

185th New York State Legislature 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's governorship, in Albany. Backgrou ...

(1983–1984). The New York state election, 1985, was held on November 5. One vacancy in the State Senate was filled.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the first regular session (the 208th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 9, 1985; and recessed indefinitely on June 30. Stanley Fink (Dem.) was re-elected Speaker of the Assembly. Warren M. Anderson (Rep.) was re-elected Temporary President of the Senate. On February 1, 1985, Lt. Gov. DelBello resigned, and Anderson acted as lieutenant governor until the end of 1986. The Legislature met for a special session on December 10, 1985. This session was called by Governor Cuomo to consider legislation concerning malpractice insurance rates; the sale of all State holdings in companies which do business in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

; the time limit for suits in cases of harm by toxic substances; hostile corporate takeovers; low-income housing in New York City; and municipal liability insurance rates. The Legislature met for the second regular session (the 209th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 8, 1986; and recessed indefinitely on July 3. The Legislature met for another special session from December 11 to 30, 1986. This session was called by Governor Cuomo to consider legislation concerning the creation of 23 judgeships in New York City; the financing of the mass transit system in New York City; a revision of the State's tax system; and subsidies for elderly people to buy prescription drugs.''CUOMO CALLS EXTRA SESSION OF LEGISLATURE''
by Jeffrey Schmalz, in ''The New York Times'' on December 4, 1986

State Senate

Senators

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

Employees

* Secretary: Stephen F. Sloan

State Assembly

Assembly members

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 A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

: Francine Misasi

Notes

Sources

''THE RESULTS OF THE BALLOTING FOR NEW YORK STATE 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 ...

'' on November 8, 1984
''MEMBERS OF NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY AND VOTES THEY RECEIVED''
in ''The New York Times'' on November 8, 1984

in ''The New York Times'' on January 10, 1985 {{NYLegislatures 186 1985 in New York (state) 1986 in New York (state) 1985 U.S. legislative sessions 1986 U.S. legislative sessions