# 151st New York State Legislature

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 1927 New York state election 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.
Joseph A. McGinnies (Rep.) was re-elected Speaker.

## State Senate
### Districts

* 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

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

### Employees

* Clerk: Fred W. Hammond