John W. Lavelle (January 26, 1949January 24, 2007) represented the 61st Assembly District 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 ...

, which comprised much of the North Shore of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

. Lavelle, a former executive with

Met Life MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, w ...

, served as a member of the New York State Charter Commission for

in 1993, and became

Democratic Party Chairman in 1999. He was first elected to the New York State Assembly in 2000, filling the seat formerly occupied by Assemblywoman Beth Connelly. He served on a number of committees, including Government Employees, Social Services, Veterans Affairs and Mental Health, among others. Assemblyman Lavelle was known for sponsoring bills calling for the same benefits of those who died in the 1993

World Trade Center bombing The 1993 World Trade Center bombing was a terrorist attack carried out by Ramzi Yousef and associates against the United States on February 26, 1993, when a van bomb detonated below the 1 World Trade Center (1971–2001), North Tower of the Worl ...

as those who died in the 2001 attack and for being an advocate for stronger gun control laws. In addition, Lavelle spent over 20 years working for quality health care by serving on the Community Advisory Board for the Sisters of Charity Health Care System at St. Vincent's Medical Center. He started a monthly recreation program for patients at

Sea View Hospital Seaview Hospital is a historic hospital complex in Willowbrook on Staten Island, New York. The original complex was planned and built between 1905 and 1938 and was the largest and most costly municipal facility for the treatment of tuberculosis ...

Rehabilitation Center and Home and served as Chairman of the Center's Advisory Board. He has also helped substance abusers get their lives back on track by serving as vice chair of the Camelot Counseling Center's Board of Directors. Lavelle suffered a stroke on January 19, 2007, and died in a coma on January 24, just two days short of his 58th birthday. Lavelle is survived by his three sons and four grandchildren. To honor his death and to allow members of the New York State Assembly to attend his funeral, Speaker of the New York State Assembly

Sheldon Silver Sheldon Silver (February 13, 1944 – January 24, 2022) was an American Democratic Party politician, attorney, and convicted felon from New York City who served as Speaker of the New York State Assembly from 1994 to 2015. A native of Manhattan' ...

canceled the session of the Assembly for January 28, 2007. The funeral service was attended by over 1,000 people and included the Governor of the State of New York

Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008 after a prostitution scandal. A member of the Democratic Party, he was also ...

, New York State Attorney General

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...

, candidates for New York State Comptroller, over 50 Assemblymembers, and all of the elected officials from Staten Island from both political parties. His seat was filled by special election, with fellow Democrat Matthew Titone elected to succeed him in the Assembly.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavelle, John W. 1949 births 2007 deaths Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from Staten Island 20th-century New York (state) politicians 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature