Secretary of State of New York

Secretary of State of New York
Incumbent
Cesar A. Perales

since May 2, 2011
Department of State
Formation 1778
First holder John Morin Scott
Website www.dos.ny.gov

The Secretary of State of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York which leads the Department of State (NYSDOS).[1]

The current Secretary of State of New York is Cesar A. Perales.

History

The office of the Secretary of State of New York was established in 1778, and is one of the oldest government agencies of the state of New York.

Until 1822, the Secretary of State was appointed by the Council of Appointment for an indefinite term,[2] but could be substituted at any time, especially if the majority party in the Council changed. Besides his other duties, the Secretary of State was also the secretary of the Council of Appointment.

From 1823 to 1845, the Secretary was elected by joint ballot of the New York State Legislature for a term of three years.

From 1847 on, the Secretary and the other state cabinet officers were elected by the voters at the state elections in November in odd years to a two-year term, so that, until 1877, they served in the second half of the term of the governor in office and the first half of the term of the succeeding governor, since the governors at the time were elected to a two-year term in even years. From 1877 on, the Governor served a three-year term, while the Secretary continued to be elected for two years.

The Secretary elected in 1895 received an additional year and served a three-year term, and from 1898 on, the Secretary and other state officers were elected in even years to a two-year term at the same time as the Governor, and they served concurrently.

In 1926, during the governorship of Al Smith, the state administration was reorganized, and the office became appointive and has remained so. The last Secretary elected was Florence E. S. Knapp, the first appointed by the Governor was Robert Moses.

On March 31, 2011, Part A of Chapter 62 of the Laws of 2011 merged the former New York State Consumer Protection Board into the Department of State creating a new Division of Consumer Protection.

Duties

The Secretary is responsible for the regulation of a number of businesses and professions, including private investigators, cosmetologists, real estate brokers and appraisers, and notaries public. The Secretary also regulates cemeteries, registers corporations and business organizations, and maintains business records under the Uniform Commercial Code and other laws. The New York State Athletic Commission is vested within the department and regulates combat sports such as boxing and professional wrestling occurring within the state.

The Secretary's office includes the Office of Local Government Services, which provides training assistance to local governments in areas such as fire prevention, coastal management, and code enforcement.

List of Secretaries of State

Secretary of State Tenure Party Notes
John Morin Scott March 13, 1778 – September 14, 1784 died in office
Lewis Allaire Scott October 23, 1784 – March 17, 1798 son of John Morin Scott; died in office; longest-serving Secretary of State (13 years and almost 5 months)
Daniel Hale March 24, 1798 – August 10, 1801 Federalist
Thomas Tillotson August 10, 1801 – March 16, 1806 Democratic-Republican
Elisha Jenkins March 16, 1806 – February 16, 1807 Democratic-Republican
Thomas Tillotson February 16, 1807 – February 1, 1808 Dem.-Rep./Lewisite
Elisha Jenkins February 1, 1808 – February 2, 1810 Dem.-Rep./Clintonian
Daniel Hale February 2, 1810 – February 1, 1811 Federalist
Elisha Jenkins February 1, 1811 – February 23, 1813 Democratic-Republican
Jacob R. Van Rensselaer February 23, 1813 – February 16, 1815 Federalist
Peter Buell Porter February 16, 1815 – February 12, 1816 Democratic-Republican
Robert L. Tillotson February 12, 1816 – April 16, 1817 son of Thomas Tillotson
Charles D. Cooper April 16, 1817 – April 24, 1818 Democratic-Republican son-in-law of Acting Governor John Tayler
John Van Ness Yates April 24, 1818 – February 14, 1826 Democratic-Republican first appointed, in 1823 re-elected by the State Legislature
Azariah Cutting Flagg February 14, 1826 – January 12, 1833 Democratic-Republican three terms; then elected New York State Comptroller
John Adams Dix January 15, 1833 – February 4, 1839 Democrat two terms
John Canfield Spencer February 4, 1839 – October 11, 1841 Whig resigned to become Secretary of War
Archibald Campbell October 11, 1841 – February 7, 1842 (none) as Deputy Secretary, acted until the election of a successor
Samuel Young February 7, 1842 – February 8, 1845 Dem./Barnburner
Nathaniel S. Benton February 8, 1845 – December 31, 1847 Dem./Hunker legislated out of office by State Constitution of 1846
Christopher Morgan January 1, 1848 – December 31, 1851 Whig first Secretary elected by general ballot; two terms
Henry S. Randall January 1, 1852 – December 31, 1853 Democrat
Elias W. Leavenworth January 1, 1854 – December 31, 1855 Whig
Joel T. Headley January 1, 1856 – December 31, 1857 American
Gideon J. Tucker January 1, 1858 – December 31, 1859 Democrat
David R. Floyd-Jones January 1, 1860 – December 31, 1861 Democratic
Horatio Ballard January 1, 1862 – December 31, 1863 Union
Chauncey Depew January 1, 1864 – December 31, 1865 Union
Francis C. Barlow January 1, 1866 – December 31, 1867 Republican
Homer A. Nelson January 1, 1868 – December 31, 1871 Democrat two terms
G. Hilton Scribner January 1, 1872 – December 31, 1873 Republican
Diedrich Willers, Jr. January 1, 1874 – December 31, 1875 Democrat
John Bigelow January 1, 1876 – December 31, 1877 Democrat
Allen C. Beach January 1, 1878 – December 31, 1879 Democrat
Joseph B. Carr January 1, 1880 – December 31, 1885 Republican three terms
Frederick Cook January 1, 1886 – December 31, 1889 Democrat two terms
Frank Rice January 1, 1890 – December 31, 1893 Democrat
John Palmer January 1, 1894 – December 31, 1898 Republican two terms (1894–1895, 1896–98)
John T. McDonough January 1, 1899 – December 31, 1902 Republican two terms
John F. O'Brien January 1, 1903 – December 31, 1906 Republican two terms
John S. Whalen January 1, 1907 – December 31, 1908 Dem./Ind. L.
Samuel S. Koenig January 1, 1909 – December 31, 1910 Republican
Edward Lazansky January 1, 1911 – December 31, 1912 Democrat
Mitchell May January 1, 1913 – December 31, 1914 Democrat
Francis Hugo January 1, 1915 – December 31, 1920 Republican three terms
John J. Lyons January 1, 1921 – December 31, 1922 Republican
James A. Hamilton January 1, 1923 – December 31, 1924 Democrat
Florence E. S. Knapp January 1, 1925 – January 17, 1927 Republican first woman in this office; and last elected Secretary of State
Robert Moses January 17, 1927 – January 1, 1929 Republican first Secretary of State appointed by the Governor
Edward J. Flynn January 1, 1929 – January 17, 1939 Democrat
Michael F. Walsh January 17,[3] 1939 – January 1, 1943 Democratic
Thomas J. Curran January 1, 1943 – January 1, 1955 Republican
Carmine DeSapio January 1, 1955 – January 1, 1959 Democratic
Caroline K. Simon January 1, 1959 – August 22, 1963 Republican appointed a judge of the New York Court of Claims
John P. Lomenzo August 22, 1963 – January 1, 1974 Republican
John J. Ghezzi January 1, 1974 – January 1, 1975 Republican
Mario Cuomo January 1, 1975 – December 31, 1978 Democrat elected Lieutenant Governor
Basil Paterson January 1, 1979 – January 1, 1983 Democrat
Gail Shaffer January 1, 1983 – January 4, 1995 Democrat
Alexander Treadwell January 4, 1995 – April 12, 2001 Republican became Chairman of the Republican State Committee
Randy Daniels April 12, 2001 – September 23, 2005 Republican a Democrat when appointed, became a Republican in 2002, resigned
Frank Milano September 23, 2005 – April 19, 2006 Republican as First Deputy Secretary acted until the appointment of a successor
Christopher Jacobs April 19, 2006 – January 1, 2007 Republican
Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez January 1, 2007 – September 1, 2010 Democrat
Ruth Noemí Colón September 1, 2010 – May 2, 2011 Democrat
Cesar A. Perales May 2, 2011 - Incumbent Democrat confirmed by State Senate on June 7, 2011

See also

Notes

  1. Executive Law § 90. "There shall be in the state government a department of state. The head of the department shall be the secretary of state [...]"
  2. Article XXVIII of the State Constitution of 1777 said: "...that where, by this convention, the duration of any office shall not be ascertained, such office shall be construed to be held during the pleasure of the council of appointment."
  3. Nominated on January 9 by the Governor, and confirmed on January 17 by the State Senate

Source

External links