53 Facts About Arthur Eve

Arthur Eve was a founding member of the New York State Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus.

At the national level, Arthur Eve was once one of three alternates to the 15-person 1984 Democratic Party Platform Committee.

Arthur Eve was an observer and negotiator during the 1971 Attica Prison riot and the first official to enter the facility to hear the demands of the inmates.

An advocate for liberal causes such as economic development, education, job training and development, social services, crime prevention and parole reform, day care and housing, Arthur Eve was a leader in the movement to legislate Harriet Tubman Day as a New York State holiday.

Arthur Eve is the father of attorney and former candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York Leecia Eve.

Arthur Eve was born in New York City, to an immigrant father from the Dominican Republic.

Arthur Eve holds an Associate's degree from Erie Community College and a Bachelor of Science from West Virginia.

Arthur Eve had been an All-High basketball player in Florida and became an All-Europe player during his Army tour of duty in Germany, where he ran a program for orphans.

Arthur Eve surrendered his job to pursue a post in parks recreation, but learned that such jobs were doled out by political patronage to party loyalists.

Arthur Eve joined the Democratic Party and got one of the patronage parks jobs.

Arthur Eve, who was an Episcopalian, has a history of being a religious man.

Arthur Eve was a deacon in his church in the 1970s.

Arthur Eve was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1966 following several years of service as an independent ward leader in Buffalo.

Arthur Eve's election came via defeating two-term incumbent Arthur Hardwick, Jr.

Arthur Eve remained in the Assembly until 2002, sitting in the 177th, 178th, 179th, 180th, 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 193rd and 194th New York State Legislatures.

Arthur Eve rose to prominence in the mid-1960s during Buffalo's civil disturbances and rights.

Arthur Eve expanded his notability during the Attica Prison riots.

Arthur Eve fought against union policies which disallowed minority participation in apprentice programs that led to high paying union jobs on state construction sites.

Arthur Eve threatened New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller that he would lie down in front of bulldozers at one of these sites.

The protests by supporters of Arthur Eve's effort caused Rockefeller to call for an eleven-month construction moratorium starting in March 1969.

Arthur Eve brokered discussions between Rockefeller and State Senator Basil Paterson, who represented the disgruntled Harlem community.

Since most legislators were fearful of political backlash and avoided prison reform issues, Arthur Eve became the primary channel through which prisoners could forward their complaints and requests.

For example, in the months following the eight-hour November 4,1970, seizure of the Auburn Correctional Facility, Arthur Eve was the only legislator named as a recipient of prisoner complaints.

Arthur Eve served as an observer and negotiator in the wake of the 1971 Attica Prison riot.

Arthur Eve was the first mediator to arrive at the scene of the rebellion.

Farrakhan refused to attend to the situation in person which Arthur Eve felt was a turning point in the negotiations.

Arthur Eve has expressed the belief that Governor Rockefeller was responsible for the massacre that subsequently occurred in the prison, and that Rockefeller made a deliberate decision to escalate the conflict knowing that there would likely be some loss of life.

On March 3,1977, Buffalo's incumbent mayor Stanley Makowski announced he would not seek reelection in May; on the same day, Arthur Eve announced his candidacy for the post.

Arthur Eve declared his intentions early to add incentive to a voter registration drive, and he modeled his campaign after Carl Stokes' 1967 Mayor of Cleveland election, which used decentralized election districts.

Arthur Eve spurned Chairman Crangle's endorsement because the endorsement would have caused him to be associated with the Crangle machine.

Arthur Eve subsequently distanced himself from Crangle by announcing that he was not supporting the chairman's bid for re-election in 1978.

Arthur Eve, who had been chairperson of the Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus in 1975 and 1976, was appointed Deputy Speaker of the New York State Assembly during the 1979 legislative session.

In 1980, Arthur Eve resumed his chairmanship of the Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus.

Arthur Eve adamantly opposed the ticket, speaking in support of Mario Cuomo.

In 1983, Deputy Speaker Arthur Eve was no longer Caucus Chairman.

In 1984, Eve joined with James F Notaro, the Liberal Party of New York chairman to create the "Coalition for a Better Buffalo", with the sole intention of identifying a candidate for the Democratic and Liberal party lines who could unseat Griffin.

Arthur Eve served as an adviser to Jesse Jackson during his 1984 presidential campaign, and after Jackson named his two delegates to the 1984 Democratic Party platform committee, he named Arthur Eve as his first alternate.

In 1984, Arthur Eve was among those involved in a controversy over the use of a state plane to attend a dinner for Paterson.

In 1985, Arthur Eve sponsored legislation to provide scholarships for the underprivileged and to fund precollege enrichment programs that was described by President of the Associated Medical Schools of New York Dr Robert Friedlander as landmark.

In 1986, Arthur Eve was a contender to replace Stanley Fink as Speaker of the New York State Assembly, but the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus was not unified in its efforts to endorse a candidate.

Arthur Eve was outspoken in his opposition to the status quo; in 1988, he opposed all three incumbents for the New York State Board of Regents.

In June 1988, Arthur Eve spearheaded a group of 12 black state ticket committee members who protested the absence of a black candidate on the state ticket of Cuomo, Stan Lundine and Herman Badillo, by voting for another candidate, but he was not joined in protest by Manhattan leaders David Dinkins and Herman Farrell.

In both 1989 and 1993, Arthur Eve considered running for mayor.

In 2000, Arthur Eve was challenged by Crystal Peoples-Stokes, a member of Grassroots and the majority leader of the Erie County Legislature.

In 2000, Arthur Eve proposed that Pataki declare March 10 as Harriet Tubman day, in honor of the African-American abolitionist who helped bring about the emancipation of many slaves.

In 2001 Arthur Eve began efforts to have the day declared a state holiday, but the legislation failed passage in the New York State Senate.

Arthur Eve continued his efforts in 2002, but the legislation did not pass until 2003, after his retirement.

Arthur Eve is recognized as "a leader on just about every issue that's important to families", according to Al Gore, and for his services to the New York State Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus, as well as to the committee of public officials who attempted to resolve the conflict at the Attica State Prison.

Arthur Eve campaigned for the increased availability of health care services.

Arthur Eve legislated against hate crimes and advocated against the expansion of legalized gambling to casinos that would effectively tax the economically disadvantaged, although the gambling legislation was nevertheless approved.

Arthur Eve noted that the vast majority of lottery tickets were bought by those in the lower income bracket, and advocated for greater representation in the New York State jury pools by the economically disadvantaged.

Arthur Eve continued to serve on the Pataki task force that had been created in March 2001 to compensate family members of the 11 state workers killed in the 1971 Attica prison riots, and he remained active in discussions regarding the allocation of the state sales tax.

When Eliot Spitzer announced he had selected David Paterson to be his running mate for the 2006 New York State Elections, there was some controversy because Arthur Eve had been joined by Dinkins, Rangel, Percy Sutton and Basil Paterson in endorsing his daughter.