Preceded by Otis G. Pike | Name William Carney Nationality American | |
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Born July 1, 1942 (age 81)
Brooklyn, NY ( 1942-07-01 ) Occupation Sales representative, private advocate Role Member of the United States House of Representatives Residence Washington, D.C., United States Political party Conservative Party of New York State, Republican Party | ||
Succeeded by George J. Hochbrueckner Education Florida State University | ||
William Carney (July 1, 1942 – May 22, 2017) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. Carney was a member of the Conservative Party of New York and later the Republican Party.
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Early life
Carney was born in Brooklyn. From 1960 until 1961 he attended Florida State University. He served in the United States Army Medical Corps from 1961 until 1964. He was a member of the Suffolk County legislature from 1976 until 1979. He was elected to Congress in 1978 and represented New York's 1st congressional district from January 3, 1979 until January 3, 1987.
Political career
Carney was a member of the Conservative Party of New York and was the first member of the party in the United States House of Representatives. Although he didn't change his party affiliation, Republican leaders allowed him to enter the Republican primary for the seat. Carney won the primary and then the general election, joining the Republican Party.
In 1986, he declined to run for reelection. He faced opposition from the Conservative Party after joining the GOP and was opposed by some members of the Republican Party over his position on the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant.
Carney did not strongly oppose the construction of Shoreham and had difficult primary- and general-election campaigns in 1984 against strongly anti-Shoreham candidates.
Carney died on May 22, 2017 from prostate cancer.