Catharine Young
| Catharine Young | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Young (right) with Rep. Randy Kuhl | |
| Member of the New York Senate from the 57th district | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office May 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Patricia McGee |
| Member of the New York State Assembly from the 149th district | |
| In office January 1999 – May 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Patricia McGee |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Giglio |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 22, 1960[1] Livingston County, New York[2] |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Richard[3] |
| Children | three[3] |
| Residence | Olean, New York[2] |
| Alma mater | St. Bonaventure University[3] |
| Profession | politician |
| Website | Official website |
Catharine M. "Cathy" Young[2] (born November 22, 1960[1]) is an American legislator on the state level who, as a member of the Republican Party, has represented New York's 149th State Assembly district from 1999 to 2005 and, since May 2005, the 57th State Senate district, which includes all of Chautauqua County, Cattaraugus County and Allegany County, and the lower half of Livingston County.
Education and family
A Livingston County native, Catherine Young grew up on a third-generation dairy and crops farm, and attended State University of New York at Fredonia, where she met her future husband, Richard and, following a transfer, graduated magna cum laude, with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, from St. Bonaventure University, a private, Franciscan Catholic institution, near Cattaraugus County's largest city, Olean. She also holds the rank of major in the Civil Air Patrol and, between legislative sessions in the state capital, Albany, resides with her husband and three children in Olean.[3] When in session, she resides in North Greenbush, New York.
Political career
Catharine Young entered elective office at the age of 37 when veteran Republican New York State Senator Jess Present died in August 1998, near the end of his fifteenth term, and was succeeded by Republican Assembly member Patricia McGee, thus opening a vacancy for McGee's Assembly seat. Running on the Republican and Conservative Party lines, Young defeated her Democratic opponent Patrick Tyler 19,337 to 12,045. She won by even larger margins in the 2000 and 2004 elections and ran unopposed in 2002. During her time in the Assembly, Young was named to several top leadership positions, including Assistant Minority Leader Pro Tempore. She also favored "Penny's Law" which provided for juvenile justice reform.
When Patricia McGee died three months into her 2005 State Senate term, Young was nominated to replace her in the May 10 special election. Running on the Republican, Conservative and Independence Party, she achieved a decisive victory over her Democratic rival Nancy Bargar, 29,559 to 12,800.
Appointed to chair the Senate Agriculture Committee, and co-chair of the Administrative Regulations Review Commission, she also served on the Rural Resources Commission, Transportation Committee, Health Committee, Environmental Conservation Committee, Housing Committee, and Insurance Committee. During her time as Agriculture chair, Young streamlined and expanded agricultural programs and championed the Dairy Assistance Program which provided state resources to dairy farmers and, following the Democratic takeover in January 2009, had been the ranking member on the Committee.
She now Chairs the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources and the Senate Committee on Housing, Construction, and Community Development.
On December 2, 2009 she voted against the bill, which was not passed, to legalize same-sex marriage.[4] She again voted against the Marriage Equality Act when it came before the Senate on June 24, 2011; the bill passed nonetheless.
Young voted in favor of the State Senate's version of the Women's Equality Act in June 2013, which did not include the State Assembly's provisions for expanding abortion.[5]
Rarely facing more than token opposition in elections, she was unopposed in 2006 and won 78 percent of the vote against 2008 challenger Christopher Schaeffer.[6] In 2010 she defeated Allegany County legislator Michael McCormick by an 85–15 margin. Mentioned as a potential candidate in 2010 to run against Eric Massa for New York's 29th congressional district,[7] she stated that although the opportunity was "very tempting", her seat had to be retained in order to help Senate Republicans retake control of the chamber, thus giving Upstate New York more of a voice in state government (even though the Senate Republican leader, Dean Skelos, is from downstate Long Island) and prevent gerrymandering efforts to eliminate upstate representation.[8]
Election results
State Assembly
- November 1998 general election, NYS Assembly, 149th AD[9]
- November 2000 general election, NYS Assembly, 149th AD[10]
- November 2002 general election, NYS Assembly, 149th AD[11]
- November 2004 general election, NYS Assembly, 149th AD[12]
State Senate
- May 2005 special election, NYS Senate, 57th SD[13]
- November 2006 general election, NYS Senate, 57th SD[14]
- November 2008 general election, NYS Senate, 57th SD[15]
- November 2010 general election, NYS Senate, 57th SD[16]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "State Senate: Catharine M. Young (R), District 57". Capitol Info. Archived from the original on April 6, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Senator Catharine M. 'Cathy' Young (NY)". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Catharine Young: Biography". New York State Senate. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ Rukavina, Michael (November 5, 2008). "Young wins, state GOP loses". The OBSERVER (UK).
- ↑ 20th District Result Could Affect Massa. Roll Call. April 2, 2009]
- ↑ Young Responds to Massa Resignation. WGRZ. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
- ↑ "General Election Results, State Assembly: November 3, 1998" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. December 15, 1998. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
- ↑ "General Election Results, State Assembly: November 7, 2000" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. December 11, 2000. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
- ↑ "General Election Results, State Assembly: November 5, 2002" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. December 13, 2002. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
- ↑ "General Election Results, State Assembly: November 2, 2004" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. December 6, 2004. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
- ↑ "Special Election Results, 57th Senate District: May 10, 2005" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. 2005. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
- ↑ "General Election Results, State Senate: November 7, 2006" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. December 14, 2006. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
- ↑ "General Election Results, State Senate: November 4, 2008" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. December 4, 2008. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
- ↑ "General Election Results, State Senate: November 2, 2010" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. December 13, 2010. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
External links
| New York Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Patricia McGee |
New York State Assembly, 149th District 1999–2005 |
Succeeded by Joseph Giglio |
| New York State Senate | ||
| Preceded by Patricia McGee |
New York State Senate, 57th District 2005–present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Patricia McGee |
Chairperson of the Senate Agriculture Committee 2005–2008 |
Succeeded by Darrel Aubertine |
| Preceded by Pedro Espada |
Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development 2011–present |
Incumbent |