Thomas W. Wallace

Last updated September 24, 2022

Thomas W. Wallace (January 24, 1900 – July 17, 1943) was an American lawyer and Republican politician. Running on the ticket with Governor Thomas E. Dewey, he was elected Lieutenant Governor of New York in November 1942, but died less than seven months into his only term.

He was corporation counsel of Schenectady, New York, and District Attorney of Schenectady County. At the New York state election, 1942, he defeated the incumbent Democrat, Lieutenant Governor Charles Poletti.

Wallace took office on January 1, 1943, as Lieutenant Governor of New York. In early July 1943, however, he contracted chicken pox from his two children. Two days later he began to suffer from pneumonia, and was placed in an oxygen tent at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady.^[1] His condition rapidly deteriorated, and he died on July 17, 1943.^[1] He was buried at the Holy Redeemer Cemetery in Niskayuna, New York.^[2]

Political aftermath

His death raised the question if the revised State Constitution, adopted in 1938, required a special election to fill the vacancy.^[3] The New York Court of Appeals decided in the affirmative, meeting with harsh criticism from Governor Dewey.^[3] An amendment to the State Constitution in 1937 had increased the New York State Assemblymen's term to two years and the State Senators had already been elected to two-year terms in even-numbered years since 1898, so that now in odd-numbered years there were usually only local offices to be filled at the general election in November. Despite Dewey's objections, a statewide special election was held in November 1943.^[3] On recommendation of Governor Dewey, the Legislature passed, and the voters approved, a constitutional amendment which prohibited any elections for lieutenant governor in any event except at the time of the election of a governor.

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References

1 2 Lt. Gov. Wallace, 43, Dies Of Pneumonia, New York Times, 1943-07-18 at 1.
↑ Political Graveyard (Wallace), accessed 2009-09-07.
1 2 3 Peter J. Galie, Ordered Liberty: A Constitutional History of New York, p. 271 (Fordham University Press, 1995), ISBN 0-8232-1652-7, ISBN 978-0-8232-1652-9.

Political offices
Preceded by Joe R. Hanley Acting	Lieutenant Governor of New York 1943	Succeeded by Joe R. Hanley Acting

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[nyt-1] 1 2 Lt. Gov. Wallace, 43, Dies Of Pneumonia, New York Times, 1943-07-18 at 1.

[2] Political Graveyard (Wallace), accessed 2009-09-07.

[galle-3] 1 2 3 Peter J. Galie, Ordered Liberty: A Constitutional History of New York, p. 271 (Fordham University Press, 1995), ISBN 0-8232-1652-7, ISBN 978-0-8232-1652-9.

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v t e Governors and lieutenant governors of New York
Governors	G. Clinton Jay G. Clinton Lewis Tompkins Tayler D. Clinton Yates D. Clinton Pitcher Van Buren Throop Marcy Seward Bouck Wright Young Fish Hunt Seymour Clark King Morgan Seymour Fenton Hoffman J. Adams Dix Tilden Robinson Cornell Cleveland Hill Flower Morton Black T. Roosevelt Odell Higgins Hughes White J. Alden Dix Sulzer Glynn Whitman Smith Miller Smith F. Roosevelt Lehman Poletti Dewey Harriman Rockefeller Wilson Carey M. Cuomo Pataki Spitzer Paterson A. Cuomo Hochul
Lieutenant governors	Van Cortlandt S. Van Rensselaer J. Van Rensselaer Broome Tayler Clinton Tayler Swift Tayler Root Tallmadge Pitcher P. Livingston Dayan Throop Stebbins Oliver E. Livingston Tracy Bradish Dickinson Gardiner Lester Fish Patterson Church Raymond Selden Campbell Floyd-Jones Alvord Woodford Beach Robinson Dorsheimer Hoskins Hill McCarthy Jones Sheehan Saxton Woodruff Higgins Bruce Raines Chanler White Cobb Conway Glynn Wagner Schoeneck Walker Wood Lusk Lunn Lowman Corning Lehman Bray Poletti Hanley Wallace Hanley Moore Wicks Mahoney DeLuca Wilson Anderson Krupsak M. Cuomo DelBello Anderson Lundine McCaughey Donohue Paterson Bruno Skelos Smith Espada Ravitch Duffy Hochul Stewart-Cousins Benjamin Stewart-Cousins Delgado
Italics indicate acting officeholders

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