Mary Anne Krupsak | |
|---|---|
 Krupsak in 1974 | |
| Lieutenant Governor of New York | |
| In office January 1, 1975 – December 31, 1978 | |
| Governor | Hugh Carey |
| Preceded by | Warren M. Anderson(acting) |
| Succeeded by | Mario Cuomo |
| Member of theNew York State Senate from the 44th district | |
| In office January 1, 1973 – December 31, 1974 | |
| Preceded by | James H. Donovan |
| Succeeded by | Fred Isabella |
| Member of theNew York State Assembly from the 104th district | |
| In office January 1, 1969 – December 31, 1972 | |
| Preceded by | Donald A. Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Thomas W. Brown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mary Anne Krupczak (1932-03-26)March 26, 1932 Schenectady, New York, U.S. |
| Died | December 28, 2024(2024-12-28) (aged 92) Geneva, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | [1] |
| Alma mater | University of Rochester(B.A.) Boston University(M.S.) University of Chicago(J.D.) |
Mary Anne Krupsak (March 26, 1932 – December 28, 2024) was an American lawyer and politician fromNew York. She was thelieutenant governor of New York from 1975 to 1978. She was the first woman to hold the office.
Krupsak was born on March 26, 1932, inSchenectady, New York, the daughter of Ambrose M. Krupczak and Mamie (Wytrwal) Krupczak. She grew up inAmsterdam,Montgomery County, New York, where her parents ran a pharmacy. Her father was a Democratic member of the Board of Supervisors of Montgomery County, representing the City of Amsterdam's Fourth Ward. She is of Polish ancestry.[2]
She attended theUniversity of Rochester, where she earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1953. She then received a master's degree in public communications fromBoston University in 1955.[3] She worked in theNew York State Department of Commerce as a public information officer, and also for the gubernatorial campaign ofW. Averell Harriman.[2]After his victory, she joined the Governor's staff and remained through his term.[4] When he lost hisbid for reelection, she went to work for a year with U.S. RepresentativeSamuel S. Stratton.[4] In 1959, she decided to obtain a J.D. degree and entered theUniversity of Chicago Law School, graduating in 1962.[2][3] After graduation, she practiced law briefly, taking a job with the vice president ofMobil,Howard J. Samuels, before returning to Albany to be an assistant counsel for the state Senate staff.[4] In 1970, Krupsak married Edwin Margolis, a law professor atHunter College and counsel to Democratic members of the Assembly.[4]
Krupsak was a member of theNew York State Assembly from 1969 to 1973, sitting in the178th and179th New York State Legislatures.[2] Her district includedMontgomery County and part ofSchenectady.[2] She was a member of theNew York State Senate from1973 to 1975.[2]
In May 1974, Krupsak announced her intention to seek the Democratic nomination forLieutenant Governor of New York.[5] She was initially rebuffed by the state Democratic committee which in June endorsed a then-novice politician,Mario Cuomo, for the position.[6] Krupsak campaigned through the primary season and won the strong support of women's rights groups, labor unions, and liberal organizations.[7] In the September primary she handily beat both Cuomo and a second rival, liberal ManhattaniteAntonio Olivieri.[7] She was elected lieutenant governor in theelection of November 1974.[8]
Contrary to widely reported comments during the campaign, Krupsak was not the first woman nominated by a major New York political party for statewide office. That distinction belongs toFlorence Knapp, a Republican nominated for (and elected to)New York Secretary of State in 1924.[9] Krupsak, however, was the first woman elected to the lieutenant governorship.[10]
Elected with GovernorHugh Carey, Krupsak became upset with how Carey treated her in office and felt she was not given enough to do. After committing to run for a second term with Carey in1978, Krupsak decided to withdraw from the ticket and instead challenge Carey for the Democratic nomination for governor.[8] She lost the Democratic primary to Carey, and after running unsuccessfully for Congress in 1980,[11] she retired from politics.
She was a senior partner of the firm of Krupsak and Mahoney, P.C., Attorneys at Law inAlbany[12] and was senior partner and co-founder of Krupsak, Wass de Czege and Associates, an Economic Development Consulting firm based inBuffalo.[13]
Krupsak died inGeneva, New York, on December 28, 2024, at the age of 92.[1][14]
