Corning, Erastus, 1909-1983

Erastus Corning II (1909-1983) was an American politician from New York State. A great-grandson of Erastus Corning I, who had been elected mayor of Albany, NY four times; grandson of Erastus Corning, Jr., who had been an Alderman of the city; and son of Edwin Corning, who had been one of the founders of the Albany Democratic party, he was elected mayor eleven times, holding the position for 41 years.

Erastus Corning II was born on October 7, 1909 into one of the most socially and politically prominent families of Albany. He graduated from Yale (where he was a Phi Beta Kappa) in 1932 with a dual major in English and History, and shortly after married Elizabeth N. Platt. They had two children, Erastus III and Elizabeth. Corning and some friends founded Albany Associates, an insurance company, in 1932. However, he was asked to run for the New York State Assembly in 1936, and won. He later served in the New York State Senate (1937-1941) and was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1972, and 1976. Besides serving as mayor of Albany from 1942-1983, he was a Director of the National Commercial Bank and the Union River Lumber Co. He served in the U. S. Army from 1944-1945 and was a member of the American Legion and VFW.

In 1966 he was elected Delegate to the 1967 New York State Constitutional Convention. He was a member of both the Committee on Intergovernmental Relations and the Committee on Local Government and Home Rule. Based on the volume of constituent correspondence dealing with it, the most controversial issue at the Convention was whether the Blaine Amendment (Art. IX, Sec. 3), which forbade state aid to private and parochial schools, should be repealed. Other issues before the Convention that year were the "Forever Wild" status of the Adirondacks, reapportionment, local powers, state finances, and lowering the voting age to 18. The delegates themselves were hoping to correct the increasing inflexibility of the constitution and decreased responsibility of the legislature. The Convention convened on April 4, 1967 at the State Capitol and continued for six months, but preparatory work was done by committees one or two years in advance. One hundred eighty-six delegates were elected on November 8, 1966 and the President, Anthony J. Travia, appointed committee members. The Committees proposed amendments to articles which were debated and either adopted or rejected. The amendments which were adopted were submitted to the voters for approval in November, 1967. The cost of the Convention was six million dollars.

The death of Mayor Corning on May 28, 1983 meant the end of a political dynasty lasting four generations. During his 41 years as mayor, Corning never desired a higher office. He once said "I early came to the conclusion that what's important to the people is important to me." [January, 1981, CBS Sunday Morning television program]