Merton Elmer Lewis (December 10, 1861 Webster, Monroe County, New York - May 2, 1937 Rochester, Monroe County, NY) was an American lawyer and politician.
He was the son of Charles Chadwick Lewis (b. 1826) and Rhoda Ann (Willard) Lewis. He graduated from Webster Union School, then studied law with James B. Perkins at Rochester. He was admitted to the bar in 1887, and commenced practice in Rochester. On January 2, 1886, he married Adeline Louise Moody (1866-1894).
He was delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1894. He was an alderman of Rochester from 1891 on, and as President of the Common Council since 1894 became Acting Mayor of Rochester after the resignation of George W. Aldridge in 1895.
In 1906, he ran for New York State Comptroller, but except for Governor Charles Evans Hughes, the whole Republican ticket was narrowly defeated by the ticket nominated by the Democratic Party and the Independence League.
In January 1915, he was appointed as First Deputy by Attorney General Egburt E. Woodbury. Woodbury resigned on April 19, 1917, and six days later Lewis was elected New York Attorney General by joint ballot of the New York State Legislature (vote: Lewis 173, Morris Hillquit 2), and in November 1917, he was elected to remain in office until the end of 1918.
In 1918, he declined to run for re-election, but ran in the Republican primary for governor instead. In August 1918, he urged the Republican voters to repudiate his opponent, the incumbent Governor Charles S. Whitman, because Whitman was backed by William Randolph Hearst whom he accused of having undermined the United States war effort against Germany. Whitman was re-nominated, but was defeated in the election by Al Smith.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by George W. Aldridge |
Mayor of Rochester, NY 1895 – 1896 |
Succeeded by George E. Warner |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by Egburt E. Woodbury |
New York State Attorney General 1917 – 1918 |
Succeeded by Charles D. Newton |
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