Given the frequent rewriting of the New York Constitution, the term of governor has varied from two years to three years throughout the 19th Century. Only in 1938 did it become four years.
That of course makes it hard to say with absolute certainty whether LaGuardia (who was governor in 1941) followed Smith (whose term included 1936). Hence the vague comments in the succession box.
In case that was troubling anyone. TR 22:18, June 19, 2011 (UTC)
My favorite LaGuardia story rests on the rather eyebrow-raising fact that he served as a municipal judge at the same time he was mayor. During the Depression an elderly woman came into his courtroom one night on charges of stealing food to feed her grandchildren. LaGuardia found against her and fined her ten dollars, then summoned her to the bench and handed her a ten-dollar bill out of his own pocket. Next he found everyone in the room in contempt of court "for living in a city where a woman must steal food to provide for her grandchildren," collected a quarter from everyone, and sent the woman home with close to thirty dollars.
Actually, the second half of that story does lose some of its charm when I contemplate the fact that a good percentage of the courtroom population was likely in the same boat as that woman, and for many of them that quarter fine could have been a real hardship. Still, at least his heart was in the right place. Not likely to find many pols who would even want to do that today. Turtle Fan 05:37, June 20, 2011 (UTC)