Florence M. Sullivan (January 20, 1930 – June 21, 2020) was an American lawyer and politician from New York who served in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

from the 50th district from 1979 to 1983.

Life

She was born Florence Grady on January 20, 1930, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. She married, and raised three children in

Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, Dyker Heights to the east, the Nar ...

. Then she went back to school, earned a college degree, and taught high school. She graduated from

St. John's University School of Law St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University. The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers Juris Doctor degrees and degrees for Mast ...

in 1974, was admitted to the bar in 1975, and worked as an Assistant D.A. of Kings County. She also entered politics as a Republican. She was a member of the

from 1979 to 1982, sitting in the 183rd and

184th New York State Legislature The 184th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7, 1981, to December 31, 1982, during the seventh and eighth years of Hugh Carey's governorship, in Albany. Back ...

s. In 1982, she ran in the Republican primary for

U.S. Senator from New York Below is a list of U.S. senators who have represented the State of New York in the United States Senate since 1789. The date of the start of the tenure is either the first day of the legislative term (senators who were elected regularly before th ...

, and defeated

Whitney North Seymour, Jr. Whitney North Seymour Jr. (July 7, 1923 – June 29, 2019), known to friends as Mike Seymour, was an American politician and attorney from New York City. Born to a prominent family, Seymour graduated from Princeton University and Yale Law Scho ...

and

Muriel Siebert Muriel Faye Siebert (September 12, 1928 – August 24, 2013) was an American businesswoman who was the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the first woman to head one of the NYSE's member firms. She joined the 1, ...

. Sullivan was also nominated on the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and the

Right to Life The right to life is the belief that a human (or other animal) has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another entity. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues including: capital punishment, with some ...

tickets to oppose the incumbent Democrat

Daniel Patrick Moynihan Daniel Patrick Moynihan (; March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was an American politician, diplomat and social scientist. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he represented New York (state), New York in the ...

at the United States Senate election in New York, 1982, but Moynihan scored a decisive victory over Sullivan, polling almost the double number of votes. She was a partner in the New York City law firm of Connors & Sullivan. Sullivan died in Brooklyn on June 21, 2020, aged 90.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Florence M. 1930 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers Candidates in the 1982 United States elections Lawyers from Brooklyn Politicians from Brooklyn Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly St. John's University School of Law alumni Women state legislators in New York (state) 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature 20th-century American women politicians