Arthur Eve facts for kids

Arthur Owen Eve (born March 23, 1933) is a retired American politician. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1967 to 2002. He also served as the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly from 1979 to 2002. He represented areas in Buffalo, New York.

Arthur Eve was the first person of Dominican-American heritage to be elected to public office in the United States. He was also the first African American to win a Democratic primary election for mayor in Buffalo. However, he did not win the main mayoral election.

He served in the New York State Assembly longer than any other member at the time of his retirement. As Deputy Speaker, he was the highest-ranking African American in the New York State Legislature. He was a founder of the New York State Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus. He also helped during the 1971 Attica Prison riot as an observer and negotiator. He was the first official to enter the prison to hear the prisoners' requests.

Arthur Eve supported many causes, including economic growth, education, job training, social services, and crime prevention. He also worked to make Harriet Tubman Day a New York State holiday. His daughter, Leecia Eve, is an attorney and politician.

Early Life and Family

Arthur Eve was born in New York City. His father was an immigrant from the Dominican Republic. Arthur grew up in Florida. In 1953, he moved to Buffalo, New York, after studying at West Virginia State College. He had very little money at the time.

He served in the United States Army from 1953 to 1955 and became a corporal. He earned an associate's degree from Erie Community College and a bachelor's degree from West Virginia. He was a talented basketball player, even playing in Europe during his Army service. He also ran a program for orphans while in the Army.

After his Army service, he returned to Buffalo in 1955. His first job was at a Chevrolet factory. He noticed that young people in the community needed more guidance. He left his job to work in parks and recreation. He learned that these jobs were often given to people who supported a political party. So, he joined the Democratic Party and got one of these jobs.

By 1958, he became an independent activist within the party. He worked for minority rights. He was the only ward leader who was not part of the traditional political system. This led to his election to the New York State Assembly in 1966.

Arthur Eve married Constance Bowles in June 1956. They had five children: Leecia Roberta Eve, Arthur O. Eve Jr., Eric Vincent Eve, Martin King Eve, and Malcolm X. Eve. His daughter Leecia is a lawyer and politician. His sons Eric and Malcolm worked for the Clinton administration. Eric also managed Al Gore's presidential primary campaign in New York in 2000.

Arthur Eve has always been a religious man. He was a deacon in his church in the 1970s. After he retired from politics, he became an evangelist.

Political Career

Assemblyman: 1967–1978

Arthur Eve was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1966. He had been an independent ward leader in Buffalo for several years. He won against the two-term incumbent, Arthur Hardwick, Jr., in the Democratic primary. He stayed in the Assembly until 2002.

Arthur Eve helped ensure minority groups could get construction job training at the SUNY-Buffalo North Campus.

He became well-known in the mid-1960s during Buffalo's civil rights protests. He also gained attention during the Attica Prison riots. During the Buffalo riot of 1967, he tried to set up meetings to prevent violence.

Arthur Eve fought against union rules that made it hard for minority groups to join job training programs for high-paying construction jobs. He even threatened to block construction at state sites. In 1968, he delayed building the State University of New York at Buffalo's Amherst Campus. He did this to get an agreement that New York State and unions would help minority groups get into the construction industry. His supporters' protests led Governor Nelson Rockefeller to pause construction for eleven months.

Arthur Eve helped with talks for the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building.

In 1969, building the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building in Harlem became a difficult political situation. The Harlem community protested, stopping construction. Arthur Eve helped lead talks between Governor Rockefeller and State Senator Basil Paterson, who represented the community.

During his first term as assemblyman, he helped get $500,000 to start the State University of New York system's SEEK/Educational Opportunity Program. Since the 1970s, New York colleges have used the Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program. This program helps students who might not be able to attend college because of their education or financial situation.

Attica Correctional Facility

In the late 1960s, Arthur Eve visited Attica State Prison. He saw the prison's conditions and began to propose new laws for prison reform. Most lawmakers avoided prison reform issues. So, Arthur Eve became the main person prisoners could contact with their complaints. Prisoners recognized his care for them. For example, after a prison takeover in 1970, Arthur Eve was the only lawmaker named by prisoners to receive their complaints.

He served as an observer and negotiator during the 1971 Attica Prison riot. He believed that people who were trusted by both prisoners and outsiders were needed. He joined others in entering the prison to hear the prisoners' demands. He criticized Governor Rockefeller for not coming to the prison himself. In a 1992 court case about Attica, Arthur Eve spoke in support of the prisoners. In 2001, Governor George Pataki appointed Arthur Eve to a task force. This group met with families of prison employees who were affected by the 1971 uprising and helped arrange payments to them.

In 1971, Arthur Eve sponsored two bills. One bill asked for a small part of construction funds to be used for on-the-job training for construction workers. The other bill wanted Buffalo Public Schools to be divided into smaller, more local parts, like New York City Public Schools had been.

1977 Mayoral Campaign

On March 3, 1977, Buffalo's mayor, Stanley Makowski, said he would not run for re-election. On the same day, Arthur Eve announced he would run for mayor. He was known as a strong civil rights leader.

Arthur Eve's campaign was seen as a fight against Joseph Crangle, the New York State Democratic Chairman. Arthur Eve announced his plans early to encourage voter registration. He based his campaign on Carl Stokes' 1967 election for Mayor of Cleveland, using local election areas. He aimed to get 90 percent of the Black vote and 10 percent of other votes. About 30% of Buffalo's 425,000 residents were Black at the time. Arthur Eve's campaign grew stronger during four televised Democratic debates. He and his supporters reportedly registered 10,000 new Black voters.

Arthur Eve became the first African American to win the Democratic Party's primary election for Mayor of Buffalo. He won the primary by a close margin. After his victory, he and his family faced racist actions, including threatening phone calls.

The voter turnout in the Black community for the 1977 Buffalo Mayoral primary was very high, between 77% and 80%. This was the highest ever for an African American community in the Northeast United States. However, James D. Griffin went on to win the main election, beating Arthur Eve and the Republican candidate.

Deputy Speaker Era: 1979–2003

By 1978, Arthur Eve was the Deputy Majority Leader. In 1979, he was appointed Deputy Speaker of the New York State Assembly. He had also been the chairperson of the Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus in 1975 and 1976. As Deputy Speaker, he was the highest-ranking Black lawmaker in New York State.

In 1980, Arthur Eve again became the chairman of the Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus. The next year, he was chosen to be on a committee to study state election law. He had pointed out that no Black members were on the committee.

Arthur Eve and fellow Democrat James Griffin remained political rivals. In 1982, when Griffin was thinking of running for Governor, Arthur Eve strongly supported Mario Cuomo instead. In 1984, Arthur Eve joined with James F. Notaro to create the "Coalition for a Better Buffalo." Their goal was to find a candidate who could defeat Griffin.

After Cuomo became Governor in 1982, Arthur Eve criticized Cuomo's budget approach. Arthur Eve was seen as a voice for public housing and other important interests. He also advised Jesse Jackson during his 1984 presidential campaign. In 1984, Arthur Eve was named as an alternate delegate to the Democratic Party platform committee. Even after Governor Cuomo was replaced by Governor Pataki, Arthur Eve continued to speak out against balancing the state's budget by cutting taxes. In 1985, he sponsored a law to provide scholarships for students in need and to fund programs that prepare students for college.

In 1986, Arthur Eve was considered to become the Speaker of the New York State Assembly. However, the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus was not united in supporting one candidate. In 1988, he spoke out against all three current members of the New York State Board of Regents. In June 1988, he led a group of 12 Black state committee members who protested. They voted for another candidate because there was no Black candidate on the state ticket.

In 1993, he supported H. Carl McCall for New York State Comptroller. In both 1989 and 1993, Arthur Eve thought about running for mayor of Buffalo. His wife did not want him to run in 1989. In 1993, he decided not to run so he could support Anthony Masiello, hoping to have a good working relationship with the new mayor.

In 2000, Arthur Eve faced a tough election challenge from Crystal Peoples-Stokes. She was a member of the Grassroots organization and the majority leader of the Erie County Legislature. This was Arthur Eve's 18th and final New York State Assembly election campaign. Peoples-Stokes said he was part of the old way of doing things. Arthur Eve responded by bringing in political allies like New York State Comptroller H. Carl McCall and United States Representative Charles B. Rangel. Peoples-Stokes's challenge was almost successful. It helped encourage minority voters to elect Byron Brown as a New York State Senator.

In 2000, Arthur Eve suggested that Governor Pataki declare March 10 as Harriet Tubman Day. This would honor the African-American abolitionist who helped many enslaved people escape. In 2001, Arthur Eve began efforts to make the day a state holiday. The law did not pass until 2003, after he had retired.

Political Themes

Arthur Eve is known as "a leader on just about every issue that's important to families," according to Al Gore. He is also recognized for his work with the New York State Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus. He helped resolve the conflict at the Attica State Prison.

Arthur Eve focused on helping those who were struggling the most in society. He believed that a country should be judged by how well it takes care of its poorest citizens, including the homeless and the working poor.

He pushed for more available health care services. He worked to pass laws against hate crimes. He also spoke out against expanding legal gambling to casinos, because he felt it would harm people with less money. He noted that most lottery tickets were bought by people with lower incomes. He also wanted more people from lower income groups to be included in New York State jury pools. He also urged caution with banking deregulation.

Retirement

New York State Senator George D. Maziarz said that Arthur Eve's retirement was a big loss. A few months after retiring from politics, Arthur Eve started a foundation. Its first goal was to fight for money meant for tutoring students from struggling schools, which was being used for other things. By 2004, New York State approved his foundation to provide after-school tutoring.

He continued to serve on the Pataki task force. This group was created in 2001 to pay family members of the 11 state workers who died in the 1971 Attica prison riots. He also stayed involved in discussions about how the state sales tax money should be used. In 2008, a conference hall at the Brighter Choice Charter School for Boys in Albany was named in his honor.

In 2005, Arthur Eve's daughter Leecia announced she would run for Lieutenant Governor of New York in 2006. In 2023, Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Leecia Eve as Chair of the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Board of Directors.

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See Also

• Leecia Eve