148th New York State Legislature

New York state legislative session February 2025 October 2019 148th January 1 December 31, 1925 Lt. Gov. Seymour Lowman (R) John Knight (R) Joseph A. McGinnies (R) 51 150 Republican (29–22) Republican (96–54) 1st January 7 March 27, 1925 2nd June 22 26, 1925 147th 149th The 148th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7 to June 26, 1925, during the third year of Al Smith's second tenure as Governor of New York, 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 (nine districts), Kings (eight), Bronx (three), Erie (three), Monroe (two), Queens (two) and Westchester (two). The Assembly districts were made up of contiguous area, all within the same county. At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Socialist Party, the Workers Party and the Socialist Labor Party also nominated tickets. Elections The 1924 New York state election, was held on November 4. Governor Al Smith (Dem.) was re-elected, but the other six incumbent Democratic state officers were defeated by their Republican challengers. State Senator Seymour Lowman (Rep.) was elected Lieutenant Governor, the last time in New York history that the governor and the lieutenant governor were elected from opposing tickets. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Democrats 1,627,000; Republicans 1,519,000; Socialists 100,000; Workers 6,000; and Socialist Labor 5,000. For the first time, a woman was elected to a statewide elective office: Florence E. S. Knapp was elected Secretary of State of New York. At the end of her term she was accused of maladministration, and was convicted of grand larceny in office in 1928. After the re-organisation of the state administration in 1926, the office became appointive, and has remained so ever since. Knapp remained the only woman elected to a statewide elective office in New York for fifty years, until the election of Mary Anne Krupsak as Lieutenant Governor of New York in 1974. Only one woman was elected to the State Assembly: Rhoda Fox Graves (Rep.), of Gouverneur, a former school teacher who after her marriage became active in women's organisations and politics. Sessions The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 7, 1925;MESSAGE LONGEST ON RECORD in NYT on January 8, 1925 (subscription required) and adjourned on March 27.New York Red Book (1939; pg. 241) Joseph A. McGinnies (Rep.) was elected Speaker. John Knight (Rep.) was elected Temporary President of the State Senate. In his annual message, Gov. Al Smith proposed a thorough reconstruction of the state administration. During the next two years, many state departments were abolished, merged or created. Most notably, of three offices which had been statewide elective since 1847, one (the Secretary of State) was made appointive, and two (the State Engineer and the State Treasurer) were abolished, the duties being taken over by other departments. The Legislature met for a special session at the State Capitol in Albany on June 22, 1925;BATTLE OVER PARKS WILL BEGIN TONIGHT AT SPECIAL SESSION in NYT on June 22, 1925 (subscription required) and adjourned on June 26.SMITH EXCORIATES WESTCHESTER GROUP FOR PARK DESERTION in NYT on June 26, 1925 (subscription required) This session was called by Gov. Al Smith to reconsider the state park legislation passed during the regular session. State Senate Districts 30em 1st District: Nassau and Suffolk counties 2nd and 3rd District: Parts of Queens County, i.e. the Borough of Queens 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th District: Parts of Kings County, i.e. the Borough of Brooklyn 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th District: Parts of New York County, i.e. the Borough of Manhattan 21st, 22nd and 23rd District: Parts of Bronx County, i.e. the Borough of the Bronx 24th District: Richmond County, i.e. the Borough of Richmond (now the Borough of Staten Island), and Rockland County 25th District: Part of Westchester County 26th District: Cortlandt, Greenburgh, Mount Pleasant, Ossining and part of Yonkers; in Westchester County 27th District: Orange and Sullivan counties 28th District: Columbia, Dutchess and Putnam counties 29th District: Delaware, Greene and Ulster counties 30th District: Albany County 31st District: Rensselaer County 32nd District: Saratoga and Schenectady counties 33rd District: Clinton, Essex, Warren and Washington counties 34th District: Franklin and St. Lawrence counties 35th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer and Lewis counties 36th District: Oneida County 37th District: Jefferson and Oswego counties 38th District: Onondaga County 39th District: Madison, Montgomery, Otsego and Schoharie counties 40th District: Broome, Chenango and Cortland counties 41st District: Chemung, Schuyler, Tioga and Tompkins counties 42nd District: Cayuga, Seneca and Wayne counties 43rd District: Ontario, Steuben and Yates counties 44th District: Allegany, Genesee, Livingston and Wyoming 45th and 46th District: Monroe County 47th District: Niagara and Orleans counties 48th, 49th and 50th District: Erie County 51st District: Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties Members thumb|Partisan composition of the Senate. The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Thomas F. Burchill, William J. Hickey and Leigh G. Kirkland changed from the Assembly to the Senate. Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..." District Senator Party Notes1stGeorge L. Thompson* Republicanre-elected2ndJohn L. Karle Republican3rdPeter J. McGarry* Democratre-elected4thPhilip M. Kleinfeld* Democratre-elected5thDaniel F. Farrell* Democratre-elected6thJames A. Higgins* Democratre-elected7thJohn A. Hastings* Democratre-elected8thWilliam L. Love* Democratre-elected9thFrank E. Johnson Democraton November 3, 1925, elected to the Municipal Court10thJeremiah F. Twomey* Democratre-elected11thDaniel J. Carroll* Democratre-elected12thJimmy Walker* Democratre-elected; Minority Leader; on November 3, 1925, elected Mayor of New York City13thThomas F. Burchill* Democrat14thBernard Downing* Democratre-elected15thNathan Straus Jr.* Democratre-elected16thThomas I. Sheridan* Democratre-elected17thCourtlandt Nicoll Republican18thMartin J. Kennedy* Democratre-elected19thDuncan T. O'Brien* Democratre-elected20thMichael E. Reiburn* Democratre-elected21stHenry G. Schackno* Democratre-elected22ndBenjamin Antin* Democratre-elected23rdJohn J. Dunnigan* Democratre-elected24thThomas J. Walsh Democrat25thWalter W. Westall* Republicanre-elected26thSeabury C. Mastick* Republicanre-elected27thCaleb H. Baumes* Republicanre-elected28thJ. Griswold Webb* Republicanre-elected29thArthur F. Bouton* Republicanre-elected30thWilliam T. Byrne* Democratre-elected31stJohn F. Williams Republican32ndThomas C. Brown Republican33rdMortimer Y. Ferris* Rep./Dem.re-elected34thWarren T. Thayer* Republicanre-elected35thJeremiah Keck Republican36thHenry D. Williams Republican37thPerley A. Pitcher Republican38thGeorge R. Fearon* Republicanre-elected39thWillis Wendell Republican40thB. Roger Wales Republican41stJames S. Truman Republican42ndCharles J. Hewitt* Republicanre-elected43rdErnest E. Cole* Rep./Soc.re-elected44thJohn Knight* Rep./Dem./Soc.re-elected; elected Temporary President45thJames L. Whitley* Republicanre-elected46thHomer E. A. Dick* Republicanre-elected47thWilliam W. Campbell* Rep./Dem.re-elected48thWilliam J. Hickey* Republican49thLeonard R. Lipowicz Republican50thLeonard W. H. Gibbs* Republicanre-elected51stLeigh G. Kirkland* Rep./Soc. Employees Clerk: Ernest A. Fay Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles R. Hotaling Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Principal Doorkeeper: First Assistant Doorkeeper: Stenographer: State Assembly Assemblymen thumb|Partisan composition of the Assembly in New York City Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..." District Assemblymen Party Notes Albany1stDelbert C. Hall Republican2ndJohn P. Hayes Democrat3rdFrederick B. Linen Republican AlleganyCassius Congdon* Republican Bronx1stNicholas J. Eberhard* Democrat2ndLester W. Patterson* Democrat3rdJulius S. Berg* Democrat4thLouis A. Schoffel* Democraton November 3, 1925, elected Register of Bronx Co.5thHarry A. Samberg* Democrat6thThomas J. McDonald* Democrat7thJohn F. Reidy* Democrat8thJoseph E. Kinsley* Democrat Broome1stEdmund B. Jenks* RepublicanChairman of Codes2ndForman E. Whitcomb* Republican CattaraugusJames W. Watson Rep./Soc. CayugaSanford G. Lyon* Rep./Soc. Chautauqua1stAdolf F. Johnson* Republican2ndJoseph A. McGinnies* Republicanelected Speaker ChemungHovey E. Copley* Republican ChenangoBert Lord* Republican ClintonGeorge W. Gilbert* Republican ColumbiaLewis F. Harder* Republican CortlandIrving F. Rice* Republican DelawareRalph H. Loomis* Republican Dutchess1stHoward N. Allen* Republican2ndJohn M. Hackett* Republican Erie1stJohn S. N. Sprague Republican2ndHenry W. Hutt* Republican3rdFrank X. Bernhardt Republican4thJohn J. Meegan* Democrat5thAnsley B. Borkowski* Republican6thCharles A. Freiberg* Republican7thEdmund F. Cooke* Republican8thNelson W. Cheney* Republican EssexFred L. Porter* Republican FranklinGeorge J. Moore* Republican Fulton and HamiltonEberly Hutchinson* RepublicanChairman of Ways and Means GeneseeCharles P. Miller* Republican GreeneEllis W. Bentley* Republican HerkimerTheodore L. Rogers Republican JeffersonJasper W. Cornaire Republican Kings1stCharles F. Cline* Democrat2ndMurray Hearn* Democrat3rdFrank J. Taylor* Democrat4thPeter A. McArdle* Democrat5thRobert C. Shephard Republican6thJoseph Reich* Democrat7thJohn J. Howard* Democrat8thMichael J. Reilly* Democrat9thRichard J. Tonry* Democrat10thBernard F. Gray* Democrat11thEdward J. Coughlin* Democrat12thMarcellus H. Evans* Democrat13thWilliam Breitenbach Democrat14thJoseph R. Blake* Democrat15thGerald F. Dunne Democrat16thMaurice Z. Bungard* Democrat17thEdward E. Fay Republican18thIrwin Steingut* Democrat19thJerome G. Ambro Democrat20thFrank A. Miller* Democrat21stWalter F. Clayton* RepublicanChairman of Cities22ndHoward C. Franklin* Democrat23rdJoseph F. Ricca* Rep./Dem. LewisClarence L. Fisher Republican LivingstonLewis G. Stapley* Republican MadisonJohn W. Gates Republican Monroe1stArthur T. Pammenter Republican2ndSimon L. Adler* RepublicanMajority Leader3rdCosmo A. Cilano Republican4thFred J. Slater Republican5thW. Ray Austin* Republican MontgomerySamuel W. McCleary* Republican Nassau1stEdwin W. Wallace* Republican2ndF. Trubee Davison* Republican New York1stPeter J. Hamill* Democrat2ndFrank R. Galgano* Democrat3rdSylvester A. Dineen Democrat4thSamuel Mandelbaum* Democrat5thFrank A. Carlin* Democrat6thMorris Weinfeld* Democrat7thJohn L. Buckley Democrat8thHenry O. Kahan* Democrat9thJohn H. Conroy* Democrat10thPhelps Phelps* Republican11thSamuel I. Rosenman* Democrat12thPaul T. Kammerer Jr. Democrat13thJohn P. Nugent* Democrat14thFrederick L. Hackenburg* Democrat15thSamuel H. Hofstadter Republican16thMaurice Bloch* DemocratMinority Leader17thMeyer Alterman* Democrat18thOwen M. Kiernan* Democrat19thAbraham Grenthal Republican20thLouis A. Cuvillier* Democrat21stPope B. BillupsPope Barrow Billups (born October 11, 1889, in Athens, Georgia), lawyer, African-American Republican22ndJoseph A. Gavagan* Democrat23rdA. Spencer Feld Democrat Niagara1stMark T. Lambert* Republican2ndFrank S. Hall* Republican Oneida1stGordon C. Ferguson Republican2ndRussell G. Dunmore* Republican3rdGeorge J. Skinner* Republican Onondaga1stHorace M. Stone* Republican2ndWillis H. Sargent Republican3rdRichard B. Smith* Republican OntarioRobert A. Catchpole Republican Orange1stDeWitt C. Dominick Republican2ndCharles L. Mead* RepublicanChairman of Public Institutions OrleansFrank H. Lattin* Republican OswegoVictor C. Lewis* Republican OtsegoFrank M. Smith Republican PutnamJohn R. Yale* Republicandied on July 17, 1925 Queens1stHenry M. Dietz* Democrat2ndOwen J. Dever* Democratresigned his seat on March 28, 1925, to accept an appointment as Director of the Queens Public Library3rdAlfred J. Kennedy* Democrat4thD. Lacy Dayton* Republican5thWilliam F. Brunner* Democrat6thHenry Baum Republican Rensselaer1stEdward J. Donohue Republican2ndWilliam D. Thomas Republican Richmond1stWilliam S. Hart* Democrat2ndWilliam L. Vaughan* Democrat RocklandWalter S. Gedney* Republican St. Lawrence1stRhoda Fox Graves Republican2ndWalter L. Pratt* Republican SaratogaBurton D. Esmond* Republican Schenectady1stCharles W. Merriam* Republican2ndWilliam M. Nicoll* Republican SchoharieKenneth H. Fake* Republican SchuylerWilliam Wickham* Republican SenecaWilliam H. Van Cleef* Republican Steuben1stWilson Messer* Republican2ndLeon F. Wheatley* Republican Suffolk1stJohn G. Downs Republican2ndJohn Boyle Jr.* Republican SullivanJ. Maxwell Knapp Republican TiogaDaniel P. Witter* Republican TompkinsJames R. Robinson* Republican UlsterMillard Davis Republican WarrenRichard J. Bolton Republican WashingtonHerbert A. Bartholomew* Republican WayneHarry A. Tellier Republican Westchester1stThomas Channing Moore* Republican2ndHerbert B. Shonk* Republican3rdMilan E. Goodrich* Republican4thAlexander H. Garnjost* Republican5thGeorge A. Krug Republican WyomingWebb A. Joiner* Republican YatesJames H. Underwood* Republican Employees Clerk: Fred W. Hammond Notes Sources Members of the New York Senate (1920s) at Political Graveyard Members of the New York Assembly (1920s) at Political Graveyard 148 Category:1925 in New York (state) Category:1925 U.S. legislative sessions