Lawrence Mott Rulison (May 2, 1917 – July 23, 1966) was an American lawyer 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 May 2, 1917, in

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Onondaga County, New York Onondaga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The county seat is Syracuse. Onondaga County is the core of the Syracuse, NY MSA. History The name ''Onondaga'' derives fro ...

, the son of Howard V. Rulison (died (1947). He attended the public schools and Christian Brothers Academy. He graduated from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

in 1938, and then from

Syracuse University College of Law Syracuse University College of Law (SUCOL) is a Juris Doctor degree-granting law school of Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. It is one of only four law schools in upstate New York. Syracuse was accredited by the American Bar Association ...

. 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. Marine Corps, eventually attaining the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. On June 5, 1943, he married Catherine Elizabeth Fox (1914–2008), and they had eight children. Rulison was elected on December 18, 1945, to 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 ...

, to fill the vacancy caused by the election of Frank J. Costello as Mayor of Syracuse. Rulison was re-elected several times, and remained in the Assembly until 1958, sitting in the 165th, 166th, 167th, 168th, 169th, 170th and

171st New York State Legislature The 171st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 9, 1957, to March 26, 1958, during the third and fourth years of W. Averell Harriman's governorship, in Albany. Ba ...

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 ...

(44th D.) from 1959 to 1964, sitting in the 172nd, 173rd and

174th New York State Legislature The 174th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 9, 1963, to December 30, 1964, during the fifth and sixth years of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany. Ba ...

s. In 1964, the

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handed down several decisions establishing that State legislatures should 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 to apportion their election districts. A special Federal Statutory Court declared the New York apportionment formulae for both the State Senate and the State Assembly unconstitutional, and the State Legislature was ordered to re-apportion the seats by April 1, 1965. The court also ruled that the November 1964 election should be held under the 1954 apportionment, but those elected could serve only for one year (in 1965), and an election under the new apportionment should be held in November 1965. Senators John H. Hughes and Rulison questioned the authority of the federal court to shorten the term of the 1964 electees, alleging excessive costs for the additional election in an off-year. In November 1964, Rulison ran for re-election, but was defeated by Democrat Earl E. Boyle. On February 1, 1965, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Statutory Court's ruling. In December 1965, Rulison was appointed to the

New York Power Authority The New York Power Authority (NYPA), officially the Power Authority of the State of New York, is a New York State public-benefit corporation. It is the largest state public power utility in the United States. NYPA provides some of the lowest-co ...

. He died on July 23, 1966, in Upstate Medical Center in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

.''LAWRENCE RULISON OF STATE AUTHORITY''
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 July 25, 1966 (subscription required)

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rulison, Lawrence M. 1917 births 1966 deaths Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Lawyers from Syracuse, New York Republican Party New York (state) state senators Syracuse University College of Law alumni 20th-century American politicians Politicians from Syracuse, New York 20th-century American lawyers