Shirley Huntley

{{short description|American politician (born 1938)}} {{Use American English|date=January 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Shirley L. Huntley | image = SenatorShirleyHuntley.jpg  | state_senate = New York State | district = 10th | term_start = January 3, 2007 | term_end = January 1, 2013 | predecessor = Ada Smith | successor = James Sanders Jr.  | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1938|06|29}} | birth_place = | party = Democratic | spouse = Herbert Huntley | website = {{URL|http://www.nysenate.gov/senator/shirley-l-huntley www.nysenate.gov/senator/shirley-l-huntley|Official website}} }}

'''Shirley L. Huntley''' (born June 29, 1938) is an American politician who is formerly a New York State Senator, serving from 2007 to 2012. Huntley represented Senate District 10 in Queens County,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/4-associates-of-Queens-senator-accused-in-scam-2368710.php|title=4 associates of Queens senator accused in scam case|first1=James M.|last1=Odato|first2=Capitol|last2=bureau|date=December 7, 2011|website=Times Union}}</ref> which included Jamaica, South Jamaica, Springfield Gardens, Laurelton, South Ozone Park, Kew Gardens, Broad Channel, and Lindenwood. She pleaded guilty to mail fraud in 2013.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=Former State Senator Huntley Pleads Guilty To Fraud|url=http://www.ny1.com/content/politics/political_news/176227/former-state-senator-huntley-pleads-guilty-to-fraud|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216141331/http://www.ny1.com/content/politics/political_news/176227/former-state-senator-huntley-pleads-guilty-to-fraud|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 16, 2013|publisher=NY1|access-date=30 January 2013}}</ref>

==Political career==

Huntley was elected to Community School Board 28 in 1993 and served as its president until the dissolution of the School Board in 2004. She was appointed to the Community Education Council for District 28 in June 2004 and was elected as its president in July 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/shirley-l-huntley/bio|title=Senator Shirley L. Huntley|website=NY State Senate}}</ref>

A Democrat,<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/02/13/former-state-sen-shirley-huntley-pleads-guilty-to-second-felony-stemming-from-sham-charity/|title=Former State Sen. Shirley Huntley Pleads Guilty To Second Felony Stemming From Sham Charity|date=February 13, 2013}}</ref> Huntley defeated then-State Senator Ada Smith in a Democratic primary in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gaycitynews.nyc/stories/2006/19/key-gay-defeats-2006-09-20.html|title=Key Gay Defeats in Primary|first=Paul|last=Schindler|website=Gay City News|date=22 November 2023 }}</ref> She won the general election that year<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/28/nyregion/shirley-huntley-queens-state-senator-turns-herself-in.html|title=Shirley Huntley, Queens State Senator, Turns Herself In|first=Sarah Maslin|last=Nir|newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 27, 2012}}</ref> and took office in 2007.<ref name="auto1"/>

On December 2, 2009, Huntley was one of eight Democratic state senators to vote against same-sex marriage legislation, which failed to pass the Senate.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2009/12/gay-marriage-fails-24-38.html|location=New York|work=Daily News|title=Blogs|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807063624/http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2009/12/gay-marriage-fails-24-38.html|archive-date=2011-08-07}}</ref> In June 2011, Huntley came out in support of gay marriage and voted for the Marriage Equality Act.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/25/nyregion/gay-marriage-approved-by-new-york-senate.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp|title=New York Allows Same-Sex Marriage, Becoming Largest State to Pass Law|last1=Confessore|first1=Nicholas|last2=Barbaro|first2=Michael|newspaper=New York Times|date=2011-06-24|access-date=2011-06-25}}</ref>

===Prosecutions and guilty pleas===

In May 2011, the ''New York Post'' revealed that Huntley was being investigated by the office of the state New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for allegedly running a taxpayer-funded fraudulent charity.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/charity_pol_probed_zjrEHMqbZSxEyfVRYBfH3H#ixzz1GUxzNRrm|title = Charity pol probed|last1=Vincent|first1=Isabel|last2=Klein|first2=Melissa|newspaper=New York Post|date=March 13, 2011}}</ref>

Huntley called an emergency press conference at her home in Jamaica, Queens on August 25, 2012. She revealed that she expected to be arrested on Monday August 27 in the state’s continuing investigation into the use of pork-barrel grants by legislators. Huntley founded a nonprofit social service and education group that was investigated by the Attorney General Schneiderman, and she funded it in part with state grants.<ref>{{cite web|title=Queens Democrat Shirley Huntley Calls Press Conference, Expects To Be Arrested|date=25 August 2012 |url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/08/25/queens-democrat-shirley-huntley-calls-press-conference-expects-to-be-arrested/|publisher=CBS News New York|access-date=26 August 2012}}</ref> Huntley turned herself in to the Nassau County District Attorney's office in Mineola at 7:45 a.m. on August 27, 2012.<ref>{{cite news|last=Algar|first=Selim|title=Sen. Huntley turns self in|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/sen_huntley_turns_self_in_lIRhBvYYfgratlFlh7XGzN|access-date=27 August 2012|newspaper=The New York Post|date=August 27, 2012}}</ref>

On January 30, 2013, Huntley appeared in federal court in Brooklyn and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud for embezzling $87,000 in state grant funding from the Parent Information Network, a Queens non-profit organization.<ref name="auto"/> Huntley later pleaded guilty in state court to a charge of falsifying evidence.<ref>{{cite web|author=Mosi Secret |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/nyregion/ex-senator-shirley-huntley-pleads-guilty-in-2nd-fraud-case.html |title=Ex-Senator Shirley Huntley Pleads Guilty in 2nd Fraud Case - The New York Times |work=The New York Times |date=2013-02-14 |access-date=2020-01-14}}</ref> She was sentenced to a year and a day in prison on the federal charge.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ex-Queens State Sen. Shirley Huntley Sentenced To A Year In Prison For Looting Charity|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2013/05/ex-queens-state-sen-shirley-huntley-sentenced-to-a-year-in-prison-for-looting-|newspaper=Daily News|access-date=9 May 2013}}</ref>

In May 2013, ''The New York Times'' reported that Huntley's "secret recordings of some of New York’s most prominent politicians heightened concerns about widespread corruption in Albany".<ref>{{cite news|author=Mosi Secret |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/10/nyregion/huntley-is-sentenced-to-a-year-in-prison.html |title=Huntley Is Sentenced to a Year in Prison - The New York Times |work=The New York Times |date= 9 May 2013|access-date=2020-01-14}}</ref>

==References== <references />

==External links== * [http://www.nysenate.gov/senator/shirley-l-huntley New York State Senate: Shirley L. Huntley], official website * [http://www.the504democraticclub.org/questionnaire_2008_statesenate_assembly_huntley.html Huntley's response to the 2008 Candidate Questionnaire for State Senate from the 504 Democratic Club of New York City]

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-ny-sen}} {{succession box|title=New York State Senate, 10th District|before=Ada Smith|years=2007–2013|after=James Sanders, Jr. }} {{s-off}} {{succession box|title=Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities|before=Thomas Morahan|years=January 2009–December 31, 2009|after=Thomas Morahan }} {{succession box|title=Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Cities|before=Daniel Squadron|years=January 2010–December 2010|after=Andrew Lanza}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntley, Shirley L.}} Category:1938 births Category:Living people Category:Politicians from Queens, New York Category:21st-century African-American women politicians Category:Women state legislators in New York (state) Category:Democratic Party New York (state) state senators Category:American politicians convicted of fraud Category:Politicians convicted of embezzlement Category:New York (state) politicians convicted of corruption Category:New York (state) politicians convicted of crimes Category:African-American state legislators in New York (state) Category:21st-century American women politicians Category:21st-century American criminals Category:21st-century African-American politicians Category:20th-century African-American politicians Category:20th-century African-American women politicians Category:20th-century American women politicians Category:21st-century members of the New York State Legislature