Catharine M. Young (born November 22, 1960) is an

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politician. From May 2005 to March 2019, Young represented

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State's 57th district in the

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. The district includes all of Chautauqua County,

Cattaraugus County Cattaraugus County (locally known as Catt County) is a county in Western New York, with one side bordering Pennsylvania. As of the United States 2020 census, the population was 77,042. The county seat is Little Valley. The county was created i ...

and Allegany County, as well as seven towns in Livingston County. Prior to serving as Senator, Young represented New York's 149th

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district from 1999 to 2005. She is a member of the

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Early life and education

A Livingston County native, Young grew up on a farm. She attended

State University of New York at Fredonia The State University of New York at Fredonia (SUNY Fredonia) is a public university in Fredonia, New York, United States. It is the westernmost member of the State University of New York. Founded in 1826, it is the sixty-sixth-oldest institute of ...

, where she met her future husband, Richard. Following a transfer, she graduated ''magna cum laude'' with a bachelor's degree in mass communication from St. Bonaventure University.

Early political career

Young was elected to the Cattaraugus County Legislature in 1995. Young first ran for New York State Assembly in 1998. When veteran Republican New York State Senator Jess Present died in August 1998 and was succeeded by Republican Assemblymember

Patricia McGee Patricia K. "Pat" McGee (October 12, 1934 – April 2, 2005) was a longtime New York State Assemblywoman and Senator from Franklinville, New York. Political career McGee was a registered Republican for her entire political career, and was fr ...

, McGee's Assembly seat became vacant. Running on the Republican and

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lines, Young defeated her Democratic opponent, Patrick Tyler, by a margin of 19,337 votes to 12,045 votes. Young served in the Assembly from 1999 to 2005.

New York Senate

After Sen. Patricia McGee died in office in 2005, Young was nominated to replace her. In a May 2005 special election, Young defeated Democrat Nancy Bargar, 29,559 votes to 12,800 votes. Rarely facing more than token opposition in subsequent campaigns, Young was unopposed in 2006 and won 78 percent of the vote against 2008 challenger Christopher Schaeffer. Mentioned as a potential candidate in 2010 to run against

Eric Massa Eric James Joseph Massa (born September 16, 1959) is a former American politician who served as a U.S. Representative for the 29th Congressional District of New York. A Democrat, he served in Congress from January 2009 until his resignation in ...

for

New York's 29th congressional district New York's 29th congressional district is an obsolete congressional district for the United States House of Representatives which most recently included a portion of the Appalachian Mountains, Appalachian mountains in New York (state), New York ...

, 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. According to Young, maintaining her Senate seat would give

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York (state), New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upsta ...

more of a voice in state government. Young has chaired the Agriculture Committee and the state’s Rural Resources Commission as well as the Senate Republican Campaign Committee. In 2016, Young was named Chair of the Senate Finance Committee; she was the first woman to hold that position. After losing 14-9 in a November 2018 attempt to oust incumbent Senate Republican Leader

John J. Flanagan John J. Flanagan (born May 7, 1961) is an American politician from Long Island, New York. A Republican, Flanagan represented New York's 2nd State Senate district from 2003 to 2020. He also served as senate majority leader from 2015 to 2019, and a ...

and being replaced as chair of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee in December 2018, Young announced on February 28, 2019 that she was resigning from the Senate effective March 10, 2019. Young indicated that she would begin work as Executive Director for the Center of Excellence in Food and Agriculture at

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campus in

Geneva, New York Geneva is a city in Ontario and Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake; all land portions of the city are within Ontario County; the water portions are in Seneca County. The population was 13, ...

on March 11, 2019.

Political positions

Social issues

On December 2, 2009, Young voted against same-sex marriage legislation that failed to pass the Senate. She again voted against allowing same-sex marriage in New York during the senate roll-call vote on the Marriage Equality Act when it came before the Senate on June 24, 2011; the bill narrowly passed nonetheless in a 33-29 vote. 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 rights.State Senate passes historic women's legislation
''Chautauqua Today'', Dunkirk, NY: Chautauqua Today, 22 June 2013, Larson, G., Retrieved 10 February 2014.

=Support for areas declared disasters

= In 2014, Young was recognized for helping to achieve the award of $700,000 in compensation monies from the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...

(FEMA) for

Gowanda, New York Gowanda is a village in western New York, United States. It lies partly in Erie County and partly in Cattaraugus County. The population was 2,512 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from a local Seneca language term meaning "almost surrou ...

as a result of the devastating flood that occurred there in 2009.Gowanda to receive $700K in FEMA funding
''The Post-Journal'', Jamestown, NY: The Post Journal, 31 January 2014, Retrieved 3 February 2014.
''The Observer'', Dunkirk, NY, 31 January 2014, Retrieved 10 February 2014. In 2009, a flash flood devastated the village, causing two deaths. Four feet of flood waters swept through the village, and caused much damage. The village was declared both a state and federal disaster site.

References

External links

New York State Senate: Catharine Young
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Catharine 1960 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Living people Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Republican Party New York (state) state senators People from Livingston County, New York People from Olean, New York St. Bonaventure University alumni Women state legislators in New York (state)