157th New York State Legislature


The 157th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to August 18, 1934, during the second year of Herbert H. Lehman's governorship, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1894, re-apportioned in 1917, 51 Senators and 150 assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts; senators for a two-year term, assemblymen for a one-year term. The senatorial districts consisted either of one or more entire counties; or a contiguous area within a single county. The counties which were divided into more than one senatorial district were New York, Kings, Bronx, Erie, Monroe, Queens and Westchester. The Assembly districts were made up of contiguous area, all within the same county.
At this time there were two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Socialist Party and the Communist Party also nominated tickets. The Prohibition Party adopted at this time the name Law Preservation Party: to emphasize that Prohibition should be preserved while it was in the process of being repealed. They endorsed the "dry" candidates and nominated own candidates in many districts where "wet" candidates were the front-runners. In New York City, a "City Fusion" and a "Recovery" ticket were nominated for the local elections held at the same time.

Elections

The New York state election, 1933, was held on November 7. The only statewide elective office up for election was a judgeship on the New York Court of Appeals which was carried by the incumbent Democrat Leonard C. Crouch who was nominated by the Democrats and endorsed by the Republicans, the Law Preservation Party and the City Fusion.
The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Judge of the Court of Appeals, was: Democrats/Republicans/Law Preservation/City Fusion 3,250,000; Socialists 100,000; and Communists 31,000.
Doris I. Byrne, a lawyer from the Bronx, was the only woman elected to the 157th Legislature.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 3, 1934; and adjourned at 2.30 a.m. on April 28.
Joseph A. McGinnies was re-elected Speaker.
Marguerite O'Connell was elected Clerk of the New York State Senate to fill the unexpired term of her deceased husband Patrick H. O'Connell, becoming the first woman to hold this office.
Assembly Clerk Fred W. Hammond encountered opposition from the Republican State Committee Chairman W. Kingsland Macy who instructed his followers not to vote for Hammond. The second ballot for assembly clerk, on January 4, stood: Hammond 66; Louis A. Cuvillier 62; Charles F. Close 16; Ward H. Arburry 3; and Clement Curry 1. The split persisted, and no clerk could be elected. On January 12, in an unprecedented move, Speaker McGinnies appointed Hammond as Clerk without election.
State Senator Warren T. Thayer was accused to act as a lobbyist for a utility company while having been chairman of the senate committee in charge of the pertaining legislation. He resigned his seat on June 11. He was tried before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and on June 19, the State Senate in special session found Thayer guilty of official misconduct by the unanimous vote of the 47 senators present.
The Legislature met for a special session at the State Capitol in Albany on July 10, 1934; and adjourned on August 18.

State Senate

Districts

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..."
DistrictSenatorPartyNotes
1stGeorge L. Thompson*Republican
2ndJoseph D. Nunan, Jr.*DemocratChairman of Civil Service
3rdFrank B. Hendel*DemocratChairman of Public Printing
4thPhilip M. Kleinfeld*DemocratChairman of Excise
5thJohn J. Howard*DemocratChairman of Penal Institutions
6thMarcellus H. Evans*DemocratChairman of General Laws;
on November 6, 1934, elected to the 74th U.S. Congress
7thGeorge Blumberg*Republican
8thJoseph A. Esquirol*DemocratChairman of Public Health
9thHenry L. O'Brien*DemocratChairman of Labor and Industry
10thJeremiah F. Twomey*DemocratChairman of Finance
11thJames J. Crawford*DemocratChairman of Pensions
12thElmer F. Quinn*DemocratChairman of Codes
13thThomas F. Burchill*DemocratChairman of Public Service
14thSamuel Mandelbaum*DemocratChairman of Cities
15thJohn L. Buckley*DemocratChairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
16thJohn J. McNaboe*DemocratChairman of Conservation; and of Re-Apportionment
17thAlbert Wald*DemocratChairman of Revision
18thJohn T. McCall*DemocratChairman of Banks
19thDuncan T. O'Brien*DemocratChairman of Insurance
20thA. Spencer Feld*DemocratChairman of Public Education
21stLazarus JosephDemocratelected to fill vacancy, in place of Henry G. Schackno;
Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills
22ndJulius S. Berg*DemocratChairman of Privileges and Elections
23rdJohn J. Dunnigan*DemocratTemporary President; Chairman of Rules
24thHarry J. Palmer*DemocratChairman of Internal Affairs
25thWalter W. Westall*Republican
26thSeabury C. Mastick*Rep./Law P.
27thThomas C. Desmond*Republican
28thJ. Griswold Webb*Republicandied on May 5, 1934
28thFrederic H. BontecouRepublicanelected on July 5 to fill vacancy
29thArthur H. Wicks*Rep./Law P.
30thWilliam T. Byrne*DemocratChairman of Judiciary; and of Agriculture
31stOgden J. Ross*DemocratChairman of Military Affairs
32ndAlexander G. Baxter*Republicandied on August 30, 1934
33rdBenjamin F. Feinberg*Republican
34thWarren T. Thayer*Republicanresigned his seat on June 11
35thHenry I. Patrie*Rep./Law P.
36thMichael J. Kernan*DemocratChairman of Affairs of Villages
37thPerley A. Pitcher*Republican
38thGeorge R. Fearon*RepublicanMinority Leader
39thWalter W. Stokes*Republican
40thBert Lord*Rep./Law P.on November 6, 1934, elected to the 74th U.S. Congress
41stFrank A. Frost*Rep./Law P.
42ndCharles J. Hewitt*Republican
43rdEarle S. Warner*Republican
44thJoe R. Hanley*Rep./Law P.
45thCosmo A. Cilano*Republican
46thFred J. Slater*Republican
47thWilliam H. Lee*Republican
48thLawrence G. Williams*Republican
49thStephen J. Wojtkowiak*DemocratChairman of Commerce and Navigation
50thNelson W. Cheney*Republican
51stLeigh G. Kirkland*Rep./Law P.

Employees

Assemblymen

Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on..."

Employees