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Maurice Hinchey
Maurice Dunlea Hinchey (October 27, 1938 – November 22, 2017) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New York and was a member of the Democratic Party. He retired at the end of his term in January 2013 after 20 years in Congress.
He was born in New York City, and later moved to the Hudson Valley where he attended high school and college, Hinchey had previously represented part of the area in the New York State Assembly since 1975. As chair of that body's Environmental Conservation Committee, he took the lead in bringing environmental issues to the fore, particularly when he held hearings on the problems created by toxic waste disposal in the Love Canal neighborhood of Niagara Falls. In his later years in Congress, he opposed hydraulic fracturing to exploit the natural gas resources of the Marcellus Shale. Throughout his career, he was considered a political progressive for his liberal stands on other issues.
Hinchey was born to a working-class family on the Lower West Side of Manhattan, the son of Rose (Bonack) and Maurice D. Hinchey. His mother was of Ukrainian descent and his father was the son of Irish immigrants. He grew up in Saugerties, New York.
After graduating from high school, Hinchey enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in the Pacific on the destroyer USS Marshall. After being honorably discharged, he spent two years working as a laborer in a cement plant. While in college, he earned his tuition working as a toll collector on the New York State Thruway. He graduated from the State University of New York at New Paltz with a B.A. in 1968 and an M.A. in 1970.
Hinchey first sought public office in 1972, with an unsuccessful race for the New York State Assembly. Ulster County was a Republican stronghold, but Hinchey ran successfully in 1974, becoming the first Democrat to represent Ulster County since 1912. Hinchey remained in the Assembly until 1992 and was a member of the 180th, 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th and 189th New York State Legislatures.[citation needed]
He was particularly noted for his work on protecting the natural environment. For 14 years, he chaired the Environmental Conservation Committee. Hinchey also served on the Ways and Means, Rules, Banks, Health, Higher Education, Labor, Energy and Agriculture committees.
During his chairmanship of the Committee on Environmental Conservation, the committee conducted a successful investigation into the causes of "Love Canal," the nation's first major toxic dump site. During his tenure, he aided in the passage of the country's first law concerning regulation of acid rain. His committee also gained public attention for its investigation of the infiltration of the waste removal industry by organized crime.[citation needed]
In 1992, 28th District Congressman Matthew F. McHugh retired after 18 years in the House. Hinchey won the Democratic nomination for the district, which had been renumbered the 26th after New York lost three districts as a result of the 1990 census. He defeated Republican Robert Moppert, a county legislator in Broome County (which includes Binghamton) in the November general election by a 50% – 47% margin. In 1994, Hinchey faced Moppert again; in that year's Republican Revolution wave election, Hinchey won by only 1,200 votes.[citation needed]
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Maurice Hinchey
Maurice Dunlea Hinchey (October 27, 1938 – November 22, 2017) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New York and was a member of the Democratic Party. He retired at the end of his term in January 2013 after 20 years in Congress.
He was born in New York City, and later moved to the Hudson Valley where he attended high school and college, Hinchey had previously represented part of the area in the New York State Assembly since 1975. As chair of that body's Environmental Conservation Committee, he took the lead in bringing environmental issues to the fore, particularly when he held hearings on the problems created by toxic waste disposal in the Love Canal neighborhood of Niagara Falls. In his later years in Congress, he opposed hydraulic fracturing to exploit the natural gas resources of the Marcellus Shale. Throughout his career, he was considered a political progressive for his liberal stands on other issues.
Hinchey was born to a working-class family on the Lower West Side of Manhattan, the son of Rose (Bonack) and Maurice D. Hinchey. His mother was of Ukrainian descent and his father was the son of Irish immigrants. He grew up in Saugerties, New York.
After graduating from high school, Hinchey enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in the Pacific on the destroyer USS Marshall. After being honorably discharged, he spent two years working as a laborer in a cement plant. While in college, he earned his tuition working as a toll collector on the New York State Thruway. He graduated from the State University of New York at New Paltz with a B.A. in 1968 and an M.A. in 1970.
Hinchey first sought public office in 1972, with an unsuccessful race for the New York State Assembly. Ulster County was a Republican stronghold, but Hinchey ran successfully in 1974, becoming the first Democrat to represent Ulster County since 1912. Hinchey remained in the Assembly until 1992 and was a member of the 180th, 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th and 189th New York State Legislatures.[citation needed]
He was particularly noted for his work on protecting the natural environment. For 14 years, he chaired the Environmental Conservation Committee. Hinchey also served on the Ways and Means, Rules, Banks, Health, Higher Education, Labor, Energy and Agriculture committees.
During his chairmanship of the Committee on Environmental Conservation, the committee conducted a successful investigation into the causes of "Love Canal," the nation's first major toxic dump site. During his tenure, he aided in the passage of the country's first law concerning regulation of acid rain. His committee also gained public attention for its investigation of the infiltration of the waste removal industry by organized crime.[citation needed]
In 1992, 28th District Congressman Matthew F. McHugh retired after 18 years in the House. Hinchey won the Democratic nomination for the district, which had been renumbered the 26th after New York lost three districts as a result of the 1990 census. He defeated Republican Robert Moppert, a county legislator in Broome County (which includes Binghamton) in the November general election by a 50% – 47% margin. In 1994, Hinchey faced Moppert again; in that year's Republican Revolution wave election, Hinchey won by only 1,200 votes.[citation needed]
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