Carey, Hugh Leo, 1919–2011, American politician, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. St. John's Univ. (1942), St. John's Univ. School of Law (1951). A liberal Democrat, Carey was elected to Congress in 1960 and served seven terms. Elected (1974) governor of New York, he faced immediate financial crises in the state, which was saddled with debt, and New York City, which was in worse shape. Carey moved to ameliorate the state's fiscal problems and, through deft political and financial maneuvers such as creating the Municipal Assistance Corp. and the Emergency Financial Control Board, he saved the city from bankruptcy. He also initiated an era of relatively corruption-free government. Carey won a second term as governor in 1978 but did not run in 1982; he later practiced law and was a corporate executive.
See studies by D. C. Kramer (1996) and S. Lachman (2010).
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