May W. Newburger (January 22, 1920 – August 30, 2012) was an American activist and politician who served as a member of 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 1979 to 1986.

Early life and education

She was born May Wallace on January 22, 1920, in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, the daughter of Augusta Wallace. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

, a Master of Arts from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and a post-Master's Certificate from

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...

Career

She became active in social and women's rights organizations, and entered politics as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. She was a delegate to the

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

and

2000 Democratic National Convention The 2000 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention for the Democratic Party. The convention nominated Vice President Al Gore for president and Senator Joe Lieberman from Connecticut for vice president. T ...

s. She was Legislative Director of the Assembly Committee on Higher Education in 1975 and 1976; and Associate Director of the Women's Center for Community Leadership at

in 1977. She was a member of the

from 1979 to 1986, sitting in the 183rd, 184th, 185th and

186th New York State Legislature The 186th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 9, 1985, to December 31, 1986, during the third and fourth years of Mario Cuomo's governorship, in Albany. Backgr ...

s representing the residents of the 16th Assembly District. She was chair of the NYS Assembly Task Force on Women's Issues and served as co-chair of the Legislative Commission on the Water Resource Needs of Long Island, which investigated the water resource needs of Long Island and championed efforts to require closure of landfills and implement groundwater protection measures. She retired from the Assembly in 1986. She was a member of the Town Council of North Hempstead in 1992 and 1993; and the first female supervisor of the Town of North Hempstead from 1994 to 2003. As town supervisor, she transformed a cumulative budget deficit of $7.0 million into a $7.7 million surplus and moved the town from the lowest to historically highest bond rating ever. This was achieved through her long-term strategic planning which included the Debt Management and Capital Plans, which was to reduce the town debt by approximately $107 million in 10 years. North Hempstead was named "Town of the Year 1999" by the Long Island Development Corporation and received the "Quality of Life Award" from the Long Island Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers. She spearheaded the reclamation and rehabilitation of the Morewood Property, leading to the creation of Harbor Links, one of the country’s most environmentally-friendly championship level golf courses which has earned the Environmental Stewardship Award and the Audubon Signature Designation. Newburger helped establish the $15 million Environmental Legacy Fund, used for open space acquisition, restoration and protection of environmentally sensitive areas and for improvement and enhancement of coastal areas and waterways. And she embarked on a most intensive federal lobbying effort to secure funding from the EPA to designate New Cassel as a Brownfields Pilot Community. A portion of Hempstead Harbor was officially named "May Newburger Cove".

Personal life

In 1948, she married Jack Newburger, and they had one son. She died on August 30, 2012, in

Great Neck, New York Great Neck is a region contained within Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, on Long Island, which covers a peninsula on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore and includes nine incorporated villages, among th ...

.''MAY WALLACE NEWBURGER''
in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' on September 14–15, 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newburger, May W. 1920 births 2012 deaths Politicians from Springfield, Massachusetts People from Great Neck, New York Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Women state legislators in New York (state) Hunter College alumni Columbia University alumni Adelphi University alumni Town supervisors in New York (state) 21st-century American women 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature 20th-century American women politicians