151st New York State Legislature explained

The 151st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4 to March 22, 1928, during the sixth 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 also nominated tickets.

Elections

The New York state election, 1927, was held on November 8. 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 John F. O'Brien who was nominated by the Democrats and endorsed by the Republicans.

Assemblywoman Rhoda Fox Graves (Rep.), of Gouverneur, a former school teacher who after her marriage became active in women's organisations and politics, was re-elected, and remained the only woman legislator.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 4, 1928; and adjourned on March 22.^[1]

Joseph A. McGinnies (Rep.) was re-elected Speaker.

State Senate

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)..."

District	Senator	Party	Notes
1st	George L. Thompson		Republican	Chairman of Conservation
2nd	Stephen F. Burkard		Democrat
3rd	Alfred J. Kennedy		Democrat
4th	Philip M. Kleinfeld		Democrat
5th	Daniel F. Farrell		Democrat
6th	Marcellus H. Evans		Democrat
7th	John A. Hastings		Democrat
8th	William L. Love		Democrat
9th	Charles E. Russell		Democrat
10th	Jeremiah F. Twomey		Democrat
11th	Louis J. Jacobson		Democrat	elected to fill vacancy. in place of Daniel J. Carroll
12th	Elmer F. Quinn		Democrat
13th	Thomas F. Burchill		Democrat
14th	Bernard Downing		Democrat	Minority Leader
15th	John L. Buckley		Democrat
16th	Thomas I. Sheridan		Democrat
17th	Abraham Greenberg		Democrat	unsuccessfully contested by Courtlandt Nicoll (R)[2]
18th	Martin J. Kennedy		Democrat
19th	Duncan T. O'Brien		Democrat
20th	A. Spencer Feld		Democrat
21st	Henry G. Schackno		Democrat
22nd	Benjamin Antin		Democrat
23rd	John J. Dunnigan		Democrat
24th	Thomas J. Walsh		Democrat
25th	Walter W. Westall		Republican	Chairman of Internal Affairs
26th	Seabury C. Mastick		Republican	Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
27th	Caleb H. Baumes		Republican	Chairman of Codes
28th	J. Griswold Webb		Republican	Chairman of Public Health
29th	Arthur H. Wicks		Republican	Chairman of Revision
30th	William T. Byrne		Democrat
31st	John F. Williams		Republican	Chairman of Affairs of Villages
32nd	Thomas C. Brown		Republican	Chairman of Penal Institutions
33rd	Henry E. H. Brereton		Republican	Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
34th	Warren T. Thayer		Republican	Chairman of Public Service
35th	Jeremiah Keck		Republican	Chairman of Public Printing
36th	Henry D. Williams		Republican	Chairman of Military Affairs; Chairman of Privileges and Elections
37th	Perley A. Pitcher		Republican	Chairman of Civil Service; Chairman of Re-Organization of State Government
38th	George R. Fearon		Republican	Chairman of Judiciary
39th	John W. Gates		Republican
40th	B. Roger Wales		Republican	Chairman of Insurance
41st	James S. Truman		Republican	Chairman of Labor and Industry
42nd	Charles J. Hewitt		Republican	Chairman of Finance
43rd	Leon F. Wheatley		Republican	Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills
44th	John Knight		Republican	Temporary President; Chairman of Rules
45th	James L. Whitley		Republican	Chairman of Affairs of Cities; on November 6, 1928, elected to the 71st U.S. Congress
46th	Homer E. A. Dick		Republican	Chairman of Public Education
47th	William W. Campbell		Republican	Chairman of Banks; Chairman of Re-Apportionment
48th	William J. Hickey		Republican	Chairman of General Laws
49th	Leonard R. Lipowicz		Republican	Chairman of Pensions
50th	Charles A. Freiberg		Republican	Chairman of Canals
51st	Leigh G. Kirkland		Rep./Soc.	Chairman of Agriculture

Employees

• Clerk: Ernest A. Fay
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles R. Hotaling

State Assembly

Assemblymen

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

District		Assemblymen	Party	Notes
Albany	1st	George B. Lidzy		Democrat
	2nd	John P. Hayes		Democrat
	3rd	Rudolph I. Roulier		Democrat
Allegany		Cassius Congdon		Republican
Bronx	1st	Nicholas J. Eberhard		Democrat
	2nd	William F. Smith		Democrat
	3rd	Julius S. Berg		Democrat
	4th	Herman M. Albert		Democrat
	5th	Harry A. Samberg		Democrat
	6th	Christopher C. McGrath		Democrat
	7th	John F. Reidy		Democrat
	8th	Joseph E. Kinsley		Democrat
Broome	1st	Edmund B. Jenks		Republican
	2nd	Forman E. Whitcomb		Republican
Cattaraugus		James W. Watson		Republican
Cayuga		Chauncey D. Van Alstine		Republican
Chautauqua	1st	Hubert E. V. Porter		Republican
	2nd	Joseph A. McGinnies		Republican	re-elected Speaker
Chemung		G. Archie Turner		Republican
Chenango		Bert Lord		Republican
Clinton		Charles D. Munsil		Republican
Columbia		Henry M. James		Republican
Cortland		Irving F. Rice		Republican
Delaware		Ralph H. Loomis		Republican
Dutchess	1st	Howard N. Allen		Republican
	2nd	John M. Hackett		Republican
Erie	1st	Charles J. Gimbrone		Republican
	2nd	Henry W. Hutt		Republican
	3rd	Frank X. Bernhardt		Republican
	4th	William J. Gleason		Republican
	5th	Ansley B. Borkowski		Republican
	6th	Howard W. Dickey		Republican
	7th	Edmund F. Cooke		Republican	on November 6, 1928, elected to the 71st U.S. Congress
	8th	Nelson W. Cheney		Republican
Essex		Fred L. Porter		Republican
Franklin		John E. Redwood		Republican
Fulton and Hamilton		Eberly Hutchinson		Republican	Chairman of Ways and Means
Genesee		Charles P. Miller		Republican
Greene		Ellis W. Bentley		Republican
Herkimer		Theodore L. Rogers		Republican
Jefferson		Jasper W. Cornaire		Republican
Kings	1st	Charles F. Cline		Democrat
	2nd	Murray Hearn		Democrat
	3rd	Michael J. Gillen		Democrat
	4th	George E. Dennen		Democrat
	5th	John J. Cooney		Democrat
	6th	Jacob J. Schwartzwald		Democrat
	7th	John J. Howard		Democrat
	8th	Robert E. Sweeney		Democrat
	9th	Richard J. Tonry		Democrat
	10th	William C. McCreery		Democrat
	11th	Edward J. Coughlin		Democrat
	12th	Edward S. Moran Jr.		Democrat
	13th	William Breitenbach		Democrat
	14th	Jacob P. Nathanson		Democrat
	15th	Edward P. Doyle		Democrat
	16th	Maurice Z. Bungard		Democrat
	17th	Robert K. Story Jr.		Republican
	18th	Irwin Steingut		Democrat
	19th	Jerome G. Ambro		Democrat
	20th	Frank A. Miller		Democrat
	21st	Joseph A. Esquirol		Democrat
	22nd	Jacob H. Livingston		Democrat
	23rd	Albert M. Cohen		Democrat
Lewis		Clarence L. Fisher		Republican
Livingston		A. Grant Stockweather		Republican
Madison		Arthur A. Hartshorn		Republican
Monroe	1st	Arthur T. Pammenter		Republican
	2nd	Harry J. McKay		Republican
	3rd	Cosmo A. Cilano		Republican
	4th	Fred J. Slater		Republican
	5th	W. Ray Austin		Republican
Montgomery		Rufus Richtmyer		Republican
Nassau	1st	Edwin W. Wallace		Republican
	2nd	Leonard W. Hall		Republican	on November 6, 1928, elected Sheriff of Nassau Co.
New York	1st	Peter J. Hamill		Democrat
	2nd	Frank R. Galgano		Democrat
	3rd	Sylvester A. Dineen		Democrat
	4th	Samuel Mandelbaum		Democrat
	5th	Frank A. Carlin		Democrat
	6th	Louis J. Lefkowitz		Republican
	7th	Saul S. Streit		Democrat
	8th	Henry O. Kahan		Democrat
	9th	John H. Conroy		Democrat
	10th	Phelps Phelps		Republican
	11th	Maurice F. Cantor		Democrat
	12th	John A. Byrnes		Democrat
	13th	John P. Nugent		Democrat
	14th	Joseph T. Higgins		Democrat
	15th	Samuel H. Hofstadter		Republican
	16th	Maurice Bloch		Democrat	Minority Leader
	17th	Meyer Alterman		Democrat
	18th	Vincent H. Auleta		Democrat
	19th	Abraham Grenthal		Republican
	20th	Louis A. Cuvillier		Democrat
	21st	Albert Grossman		Democrat
	22nd	Joseph A. Gavagan		Democrat
	23rd	Alexander A. Falk		Democrat
Niagara	1st	William Bewley		Republican
	2nd	Frank S. Hall		Republican	died on September 5, 1928[3]
Oneida	1st	Gordon C. Ferguson		Republican
	2nd	Russell G. Dunmore		Republican	Majority Leader
	3rd	George J. Skinner		Republican
Onondaga	1st	Horace M. Stone		Republican
	2nd	Willis H. Sargent		Republican
	3rd	Richard B. Smith		Republican
Ontario		Robert A. Catchpole		Republican
Orange	1st	DeWitt C. Dominick		Republican
	2nd	Alexander G. Hall		Republican
Orleans		Frank H. Lattin		Republican
Oswego		Victor C. Lewis		Republican
Otsego		Frank M. Smith		Republican
Putnam		D. Mallory Stephens		Republican
Queens	1st	Carl Deutschmann		Democrat
	2nd	Frank B. Hendel		Democrat
	3rd	Charles W. Posthauer		Democrat
	4th	Jere F. Ryan		Democrat
	5th	William F. Brunner		Democrat	on November 6, 1928, elected to the 71st U.S. Congress
	6th	Paul P. Gallagher		Democrat
Rensselaer	1st	Michael F. Breen		Democrat
	2nd	Maurice Whitney		Republican
Richmond	1st	Francis A. Hannigan		Democrat
	2nd	William L. Vaughan		Democrat
Rockland		Walter S. Gedney		Republican
St. Lawrence	1st	Rhoda Fox Graves		Republican
	2nd	Walter L. Pratt		Republican
Saratoga		Burton D. Esmond		Republican
Schenectady	1st	Charles W. Merriam		Republican
	2nd	William M. Nicoll		Republican
Schoharie		Kenneth H. Fake		Republican
Schuyler		James A. Shepard		Republican
Seneca		William H. Van Cleef		Republican
Steuben	1st	Wilson Messer		Republican
	2nd	Webster Edmunds		Republican
Suffolk	1st	John G. Downs		Republican
	2nd	John Boyle Jr.		Republican
Sullivan		Guernsey T. Cross		Democrat
Tioga		Daniel P. Witter		Republican
Tompkins		James R. Robinson		Republican
Ulster		Millard Davis		Republican
Warren		Paul L. Boyce		Republican
Washington		Herbert A. Bartholomew		Republican
Wayne		Harry A. Tellier		Republican
Westchester	1st	William C. Olsen		Republican
	2nd	Herbert B. Shonk		Republican	Chairman of Aviation
	3rd	Milan E. Goodrich		Republican
	4th	Alexander H. Garnjost		Republican
	5th	William F. Condon		Republican
Wyoming		Joe R. Hanley		Republican
Yates		Edwin C. Nutt		Republican

Employees

• Clerk: Fred W. Hammond

Sources

• Members of the New York Senate (1920s) at Political Graveyard
• Members of the New York Assembly (1920s) at Political Graveyard
• ASSEMBLY CREATES AIR COMMITTEE in The New York Times on January 10, 1928 (subscription required)

Notes and References

1. https://www.nytimes.com/1928/03/23/archives/legislature-ends-with-a-slaughter-of-smiths-bills-attack-on.html LEGISLATURE ENDS WITH A SLAUGHTER OF SMITH'S BILLS
2. https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0C17FB3A59127A93C4A81789D85F4C8285F9 GREENBERG'S RIGHT TO SEAT CONFIRMED
3. News: 6 September 1928. Frank S. Hall, Aged Member of Assembly, Is Called By Death. XXXV. 1. Niagara Falls Gazette. 146. Niagara Falls, N.Y.. Fultonhistory.com.