Perry Duryea
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| Perry Belmont Duryea, Jr. | |
| Born | October 18, 1921 Montauk, New York, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Died | January 11, 2004 (aged 82) Southampton, New York, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Car accident |
| Spouse | Marie Therese Duryea |
| Children | two |
Perry Belmont Duryea, Jr. (October 18, 1921 Montauk, Suffolk County, New York - January 11, 2004 Southampton, Suffolk County, New York) was an American politician.
[edit] Life
His father ran a wholesale seafood business, Perry B. Duryea and Son, Inc., in Montauk. He attended East Hampton High School and graduated from Colgate University in 1942.
He attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy as a pilot of the U.S. Naval Air Transport Service, and entered the family business full-time after World War II.
Duryea began his career in public service as a member of the Montauk Public School Board of Education. He was President of the Long Island State Park Commission, Bethpage Park Authority, Jones Beach State Parkway Authority from 1963 to 1969, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Colgate University and Dowling College.
He was a Republican member from Suffolk County of the New York State Assembly from 1961 to 1978, was minority leader from 1966 to 1968, Speaker from 1969 to 1974, and minority leader again from 1975 to 1978. After the Watergate scandal the Republicans lost their majority in the Assembly, and Duryea remains to date the last Republican Speaker. Duryea was active in fighting against development of eastern Long Island including a successful fight in 1967 to stop plans to turn the Grumman Assembly Plant in Calverton, New York into the fourth major airport in metropolitan New York City.
He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1967, and a member of New York Republican State Central Committee in 1968.
In 1978, he was the Republican candidate for Governor of New York, but lost to the incumbent Hugh Carey.
He died at Southampton Hospital as the result of injuries suffered in a car accident, and was buried at the Fort Hill Cemetery in Montauk.
He had two children: Perry "Chip" Duryea III and Lynn Duryea.
A New York State office building in Islip, Long Island, is named for him.
[edit] Sources
- [1] Obit in NYT on January 13, 2004
- [2] Colgate Obituary
- Suffolk Jetport Seen at an Impasse in NYT on March 22, 1967
- [3] Political Graveyard
[edit] External Links
- [4] Finding Aid for the Papers of Perry B. Duryea, Jr.
- [5] M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives
| Preceded by ? |
New York State Assembly, Suffolk County 1st District 1961–1965 |
Succeeded by DISTRICT ELIMINATED |
| Preceded by NEW DISTRICT |
New York State Assembly, 1st District 1966–1978 |
Succeeded by John Behan |
| Preceded by George L. Ingalls |
Minority Leader of the New York State Assembly 1966–1968 |
Succeeded by Stanley Steingut |
| Preceded by Moses M. Weinstein |
Speaker of the New York State Assembly 1969 - 1974 |
Succeeded by Stanley Steingut |
| Preceded by Stanley Steingut |
Minority Leader of the New York State Assembly 1975–1978 |
Succeeded by James Emery |
| Preceded by Malcolm Wilson |
Republican Nominee for Governor of New York 1978 |
Succeeded by Lewis Lehrman |
