Michael R. Long () was an American politician from the

state of New York New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

. He served as chairman of the

Conservative Party of New York State The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to the U.S ...

from December 1988 to January 2019. Previously, Long represented the Borough of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

at-large on the New York City Council from 1981 to 1983.

Early life

The son of Myra and Michael Long, Long was born in

and raised in southern

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. He attended Richmond Hill High School, dropping out of the 12th grade in 1959 to join the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through ...

. Long served in the Marine Corps until being honorably discharged in 1961.

Career in politics

Long represented the Borough of

at-large on the New York City Council from 1981 to 1983. Long unsuccessfully challenged sitting New York City Councilman

Sal Albanese Sal F. Albanese (born August 29, 1949) is a politician from New York City. He served as a New York City Council member, and ran unsuccessfully for several other public offices including New York State Assembly, United States Congress, and Mayor ...

in 1985 in the 31st District (Bay Ridge); the seat was previously held by Republican

Angelo J. Arculeo Angelo J. Arculeo (18 February 1924 – 9 March 2013) was an Italian American accountant, lawyer, and Republican Party politician from New York City who represented parts of southern Brooklyn in the New York City Council from 1962 to 1982. He se ...

. Long became Chairman of the Conservative Party of New York State in 1988. Long was mentioned in the book '' Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx Is Burning'', which documents the

1977 New York City mayoral election The New York City mayoral election of 1977 occurred on Tuesday, November 8, 1977. Incumbent mayor Abraham Beame, a Democrat, was challenged by five other Democrats, including Representative Ed Koch, New York Secretary of State Mario Cuomo, and ...

; the first edition of the book accused then-mayoral candidate (and future Governor of New York)

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, Cuomo previously served as ...

of "cold-cocking" Long; Long stated that the incident was embellished, and later editions of the book corrected the record. In 1999, Long stated that if he compromised on the issue of late-term abortion (which the Party wishes to ban), he would not be able "'to go to sleep at night or look in the mirror.'" A vocal and active opponent of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

in New York State, Long declared in May 2011 that no candidate who supported gay marriage would be allowed to run on the Conservative Party's line during elections. Long announced his retirement from the chairmanship of the Conservative Party on January 28, 2019. In February 2019, Long inaccurately claimed that under New York's newly passed Reproductive Health Act, "If the baby was born alive, they would just let the baby expire."

Personal life

In 1963, Long married the former Eileen Dougherty, and they had nine children. Long was a Roman Catholic. Long's house in

Breezy Point, Queens Breezy Point is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, located on the western end of the Rockaway peninsula, between Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south. The community is run by t ...

, burned down during

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds span ...

in October 2012. Long was the former owner of Long's Wines and Liquors in Brooklyn. His brother, Thomas Long, has served as chairman of the Queens County chapter of the Conservative Party. Long died from

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

at his home in Queens on July 24, 2022, aged 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Michael R. 1940 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians Candidates in the 1966 United States elections Candidates in the 1970 United States elections Candidates in the 1985 United States elections Catholics from New York (state) Conservative Party of New York State politicians Deaths from kidney failure Military personnel from New York City New York City Council members Politicians from Brooklyn Politicians from Queens, New York United States Marines