Mary Anne Krupsak, New York’s First Female Lieutenant Governor, Passes Away at 92

GENEVA, N.Y.—Mary Ann Krupsak, the pioneering figure who made history as the first woman elected to a statewide office in New York by becoming lieutenant governor in 1974, has passed away at the age of 92.

Krupsak’s death occurred Saturday at her residence near Seneca Lake, as reported by an obituary that appeared online on Thursday.

A dedicated Democrat, she served a single term alongside Gov. Hugh Carey before deciding to run against him for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1978, a bid that ended in a primary defeat.

Born in Schenectady, Krupsak obtained her bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester, followed by a master’s degree from Boston University and a law degree from the University of Chicago. She entered politics in 1968 when she was elected to the New York State Assembly, later serving in both the Assembly and Senate before her campaign for lieutenant governor.

Among her campaign volunteers was Kathy Hochul, the current governor of New York, who expressed her condolences via X.

“I worked on her campaign while in high school in 1974, and I was proud to follow in her footsteps forty years later,” said the Democrat.

During her tenure, Krupsak played a crucial role in preventing the demolition of New York City’s iconic Radio City Music Hall, successfully helping to obtain its designation as a National Historic Landmark.

Following her time in office, she became a senior partner at the law firm Krupsak & Mahoney and later co-founded Krupsak, Wass deCzege & Associates.

Her husband, Edwin Margolis, a former state judge, passed away in 1993 after 23 years of marriage.

Funeral services are set to take place on Monday.