Simeon Golar (1928–2013) was an American jurist who served as a justice of the

New York State Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

in Queens County.

Early life and education

Golar was born in 1928 in

Chester, South Carolina Chester is a small rural city in Chester County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 5,607 at the 2010 census, down from 6,476 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Chester County, South Carolina, Chester County. The community ...

, to teenage mother Lottie Jackson and was adopted soon afterwards by the Golar family. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

as a small child and attended the city's public schools. After earning a business degree from the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

, he attended the

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

, where one of his classmates was future mayor David Dinkins.

Career

Golar entered politics with the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and in 1966 ran, unsuccessfully but notably for the era, for

New York State attorney general The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has existed in various forms since 1626, originally established under the Dutch c ...

, polling nearly 285,000 votes. In 1967, Mayor

John V. Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, the mayor of New York City, and a candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regu ...

appointed him chairman of the New York City Commission on Human Rights, where he urged civic groups to file discrimination complaints to test the city's fair-housing laws. Three years later, Lindsay elevated him to NYCHA chair, making Golar the first head of the authority who had himself grown up in public housing. His tenure coincided with the contentious Forest Hills low-income housing plan, where he defended integration in the face of fierce community opposition.

Personal life

In 1956, Golar married Brooklyn

schoolteacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

Pauline Wellington and they had two daughters, Katherine and Charlotte Golar Richie, who served in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

and ran for

mayor of Boston The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a m ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golar, Simeon 1928 births 2013 deaths American jurists