Former New York governor was patron of government reform institute at Wagner College. According to Wagner's Seymour Lachman, Carey was 'The Man Who Saved New York' in 1975.
Hugh Leo Carey (April 11, 1919–August 7, 2011) was an American attorney, the 51st governor of New York from 1975 to 1982, and a seven-term United States Representative (1961–1974).
Governor Carey was also the recipient of an honorary doctorate from Wagner College, given in 2007; the patron of Wagner College's Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform, directed by Seymour P. Lachman; and the subject of Professor Lachman's most recent book, The Man Who Saved New York: Hugh Carey and the Fiscal Crisis of 1975 (SUNY Press, 2010). When Governor Carey passed away, Lachman was called upon to remind New Yorkers of what had made this man one of the Empire State's truly great statesmen.
In an op-ed column for the Syracuse Post-Standard, Lachman wrote, “Hugh Carey … was one of New York's greatest governors. Not only did he save New York City from bankruptcy, but the way in which he did it provided a powerful example for today's government leaders. He brought together Republicans and Democrats, labor leaders and bankers, working people and business people to address a crisis facing all of them. He asked everyone to give up something, for the common good — but no one was asked to give more than their fair share.”
VIDEO: Watch Dr. Carey's Wagner commencement speech from 2007.
READ MORE: An excerpt from Seymour Lachman's The Man Who Saved New York.
