William D. "Bill" Magee (June 21, 1939 – December 24, 2020) was an American 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 ...

, who represented the 121st Assembly District from 1991 until 2018 as a Democrat. Magee was a lifetime resident of the

Town of Nelson Nelson is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the House of Representatives of New Zealand. From 1853 to 1860, the electorate was called Town of Nelson. From 1860 to 1881, it was City of Nelson. The ele ...

. After graduating from high school, Magee earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in agricultural economics from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1961. He then became an

auctioneer An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ...

and businessman in

Madison County, New York Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 68,016. Its county seat is Wampsville. The county is named after James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, and was ...

. In 1972, Magee was elected to the Madison County Board of Supervisors, serving for 19 years until his election to the State Assembly. He also worked at the

New York State Fair The New York State Fair, also known as the Great New York State Fair, is a 13-day showcase of agriculture, entertainment, education, and technology. With Midway (fair), midway rides, concessionaires, exhibits, and concerts, it has become New Yo ...

from 1985 to 1990. Magee was first elected to the State Assembly in 1990. He ran uncontested in the 2008

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

and won the 2010 general election with 54 percent of the vote. In 2014 he was re-elected with 52.4 percent of the vote and in 2016 re-elected with 52.37 percent of the vote. He lost re-election in 2018 to John Salka.

References

1939 births 2020 deaths Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni County legislators in New York (state) Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly People from Madison County, New York People from Oneida, New York 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature {{NewYork-NYAssembly-stub