Joseph Zaretzki

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Joseph Zaretzki (March 9, 1900 New York City - December 20, 1981 The Bronx, New York City) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Majority Leader of the New York State Senate in 1965, the only Democrat in this position since the adoption of the New York State Constitution of 1938 until Malcolm Smith attained the position in 2009.

Life

He served in the United States Army during World War I.

He was a member of the New York State Senate where he represented the Washington Heights area of Manhattan from 1948 to 1974. He was the Democratic Minority Leader from 1957 to 1964, and from 1966 to 1974.

In 1965, the Democratic Party achieved for the only time since 1938 a majority in the State Senate, but the Democratic senators were divided in two factions, 15 senators allied with Mayor of New York City Robert F. Wagner, Jr., and 18 senators allied with U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy. After a month of deadlock, Zaretzki - the long-time Minority Leader and Wagner's candidate - was elected Majority Leader on February 3 with the votes of the Wagner men and the Republicans who had voted for Earl W. Brydges, but were urged by Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller to end the deadlock.

He died at the Beth Abraham Hospital in the Bronx.

Sources

His election to the majority leadership, in TIME Magazine on February 12, 1965
Obit in NYT on December 21, 1981 (subscription required)
Political Graveyard

New York State Senate
Preceded by Alexander Falk	New York State Senate, 23rd District 1948–1965	Succeeded by Irwin Brownstein
Preceded by Royden Letsen	New York State Senate, 32nd District 1966	Succeeded by Abraham Bernstein
Preceded by Whitney Seymour	New York State Senate, 28th District 1967–1972	Succeeded by Sidney von Luther
Preceded by Robert Garcia	New York State Senate, 29th District 1973–1974	Succeeded by Franz Leichter
Political offices
Preceded by Francis J. Mahoney	Minority Leader of the New York State Senate 1957–1964	Succeeded by Earl W. Brydges
Preceded by Walter J. Mahoney	Majority Leader of the New York State Senate 1965	Succeeded by Earl W. Brydges
Preceded by Earl W. Brydges	Minority Leader of the New York State Senate 1966–1974	Succeeded by Manfred Ohrenstein

v t e Presidents pro tempore/Majority Leaders of the New York State Senate

Robertson McCarthy vacant (1882) Jacobs McCarthy Pitts Low Fassett Cantor Saxton O'Connor Ellsworth Raines Allds Cobb Wagner Wagner/Murtaugh Brown Walters Lusk Walker Knight Fearon Dunnigan Pitcher Hanley Feinberg Wicks Mahoney Zaretzki Brydges Anderson Marino Bruno Skelos Smith Espada/Skelos Leadership crisis Smith/Espada Skelos

Persondata
Name	Zaretzki, Joseph
Alternative names
Short description	American politician
Date of birth	March 9, 1900
Place of birth
Date of death	December 20, 1981
Place of death

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