Alfred Benedict DelBello (November 3, 1934 – May 15, 2015) was an American politician and lawyer from New York. A registered Democrat, he served as the

lieutenant governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a Constitution of New York, constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governo ...

from 1983 to 1985. DelBello was the first Democrat to be elected Westchester County Executive, an office he held from 1974 until 1982, when he stepped down to become lieutenant governor. He began his political career as a city councilman in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

. He was elected the mayor of Yonkers in November 1969, defeating incumbent Republican mayor James F.X. O'Rourke. DelBello took office in January 1970 as the city's youngest mayor in history (at the time) at the age of 35, as well of the first Democratic mayor of Yonkers in more than thirty years. DelBello, who served as mayor from 1970 to 1974, won re-election to a second term on November 2, 1971.

Life

DelBello was born on November 3, 1934, in

Yonkers Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...

. He received his bachelor's degree from

Manhattan College Manhattan University (previously Manhattan College) is a private, Catholic university in New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers (Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools) as an academy fo ...

and his law degree from Fordham University School of Law. He was admitted to the New York bar and practiced law. DelBello served on the

City Council, was Mayor of Yonkers, and was the first Democrat to become Westchester County Executive prior to being elected lieutenant governor in 1982. He ran for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor as the running mate of then

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989. Koch was a lifelong Democrat who ...

. Koch endorsed him as a running mate believing he would help Koch with suburban voters. DelBello faced Ambassador Carl McCall, the running mate of then Lt. Gov.

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo ( , ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

, in the Democratic primary. DelBello won his primary and Cuomo defeated Koch for the governor's nomination. The Cuomo/DelBello ticket then won the 1982 general election. Del Bello had little interaction with Cuomo during his time in office. He focused on his role as President of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

during his time as lieutenant governor, along with projects of his initiation and Cuomo's assignment. These projects included emergency management, local government and economic development. On March 27, 1984, DelBello served as guest announcer for ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the first installment of the '' Late Night''. Hosted by David Letterman, it aired from February1, 1982 to June 25, 1993, and was replaced by ...

.'' In December 1984, DelBello surprised political observers by announcing his resignation from the lieutenant governorship, effective February 1, 1985. DelBello explained that he was bored and that Cuomo did not give him enough to do. He went into private business after leaving the state government. In 1994, he unsuccessfully sought a State Senate seat from Westchester. In December 2006, DelBello was appointed by the Westchester County Association, a business advocacy group, as head of a Property Tax Reform Commission, in an effort to retain economic vitality in Westchester County. DelBello died on May 15, 2015, at the age of 80.Former County Executive Alfred Del Bello Dies
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:DelBello, Alfred 1934 births 2015 deaths Lieutenant governors of New York (state) Westchester County, New York executives Mayors of Yonkers, New York New York (state) city council members New York (state) lawyers New York (state) Democrats Manhattan College alumni Fordham University School of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers