November in the United States means two things: turkey and elections. In 1978, Perry Duryea Jr. (1921-2004) was running the biggest race of his life: the race for governor of New York.
In this image from The East Hampton Star's photo archive, captured by Eileen Bock, we see a helicopter grounded below the Montauk Manor on the Montauk Playhouse lawn, as someone from ABC News hoped to catch Duryea at the polls in his native hamlet.
Duryea came from a tradition of Republican political involvement — his father, Perry Duryea Sr., served in several government positions over the course of his life, including as an East Hampton Town supervisor, state senator, and state commissioner of conservation. Perry Sr. was a lobster and fish wholesaler, and the iconic Duryea's Dock, where the family once sold seafood to the public, is now a luxurious waterside restaurant.
Soon after returning from serving as a World War II naval aviator, Perry Jr. followed his father into both politics and the seafood wholesale business.
Perry Jr.'s first elected position was as a member of the Montauk School Board. In 1960, he was elected to the State Assembly, where he became speaker from 1969 to 1974. He was also head of the Long Island State Park Commission for a time, working to expand many state parks, including those in Montauk.
In 1978, he decided to leave the Assembly to pursue the governorship. He ran against Hugh Carey, the incumbent Democrat, but despite supreme confidence from his campaign team, he lost.
In his later life, Perry Duryea Jr. founded Long Island Commercial Bank and was a partner in the East Hampton Airport.
Julia Tyson is a librarian and archivist in the East Hampton Library's Long Island Collection.
