Thomas J. Kirwan
Thomas J. Kirwan | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New York State Assembly from the 104th district | |
| In office 1994–2008 2010–2011 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 17, 1933 Newburgh, New York, U.S. |
| Died | November 28, 2011 (aged 78) Newburgh, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
Thomas J. Kirwan (January 17, 1933 – November 28, 2011) was an American politician and member of the
.Prior to his election to the Assembly, Kirwan served for 28 years with the New York State Police, retiring with the position of lieutenant in the Bureau of Criminal Investigations. He spent four years with the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force.[1]
Kirwin was born in 1933 in
Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver's long-held Democratic supermajority in the Assembly Chamber by giving Assembly Republicans their 51st seat in the chamber, which would allow them to prevent the override of a gubernatorial veto.[6]
Kirwan had a reputation as a "reformer" after a 2007 lawsuit where he and Democratic
Joe Bruno over the infamous legislative dysfunction at the New York State Capitol in Albany, citing disenfranchisement of minority party members of both houses.[7] A pair of suits accused Senate and Assembly leadership of stifling minority legislators by not providing them equal resources for staff, withholding funds for member items, and making it impossible for minority legislators to have their bills heard in legislative committees for vote in their respective houses.[8] Although the plaintiffs were initially successful, because Kirwan lost his seat in 2008, appeals on the suit were never decided by the courts, and the New York State Legislature is still widely criticized by good government groups such as New York University's Brennan Center for Justice as "the most dysfunctional legislature in the United States of America".[9]
Kirwan, who had experienced heart trouble for several years, died of kidney failure on November 28, 2011, aged 78, at the
Newburgh campus of St. Luke's-Cornwall Hospital. He was survived by his widow, Verna, two children, and two grandchildren. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo scheduled a special election for March 20, 2012, to elect Kirwan's successor.[10][11][12]
References
- New York Observer. November 14, 2008
- ^ Record Online [dead link]
- ^ Kemble, William (December 2, 2008). "It's official: Skartados unseats Kirwan". Daily Freeman. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
- ^ Novinson, Michael. "Kirwan leads Assembly race after court decision". Times Herald-Record. February 16, 2011
- ^ Gross, Hank. "Kirwan declared winner of Assembly race". February 16, 2011
- Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. February 17, 2011
- New York Times. April 13, 2006
- New York Sun. November 26, 2004
- ^ Esmond, Paul. "Krueger, Kirwan sue for equal treatment in Legislature". Legislative Gazette. February 22, 2005
- ^ Times Herald Record, November 29, 2011, page 4
- ^ Sullivan, John."State Assemblyman Tom Kirwan has died". Times Herald-Record. November 28, 2011
- ^ Benjamin, Elizabeth. "RIP Assemblyman Kirwan" Archived 2011-12-12 at the Wayback Machine. State of Politics. November 28, 2011