Malcolm Wilson (governor)

After graduating from Fordham Preparatory School in 1929 at only 15 years of age, Wilson earned a bachelor's degree from Fordham University in 1933 at age 19 and a law degree from Fordham University School of Law in 1936 at age 22. Wilson was admitted to the bar and joined the White Plains, New York firm that would eventually become known as Kent, Hazzard, Jaeger, Greer, Wilson, and Fay. Wilson practiced law at this firm for his entire career, and was made a partner in 1946.

In 1958, Wilson decided to support Rockefeller for Governor despite the fact that the latter was a political novice and had never run for office before. Wilson took pains to introduce Rockefeller to many politically powerful people in the state. They would frequently travel in Wilson's personal car in order to play down the candidate's wealth. Rockefeller was nominated for governor, and Wilson for lieutenant governor.

The Rockefeller-Wilson ticket defeated the incumbent Democrats W. Averell Harriman and George DeLuca. Wilson's served as lieutenant governor for nearly 15 years, the entirety of Rockefeller's governorship. The Rockefeller-Wilson ticket was reelected in 1962, 1966 and 1970. Throughout his tenure, he tended to agree with Rockefeller's liberal Republicanism, with the notable exception of abortion, the legalization of which Wilson opposed. Wilson defined himself as "an economic conservative and a human-rights liberal".

In December 1973, Rockefeller resigned as governor to run the Commission on Critical Choices for Americans, and Wilson assumed the governorship. he completed the remaining year of Rockefeller's term and ran for election to a full term in 1974. The period was a difficult one for the nation, both in terms of economic and foreign policy and for the Republican Party, which was weakened by the Watergate scandal. Democrats swept to power across the nation in the 1974 general election, with Wilson losing the governor's mansion to Hugh Carey, who won with 58% of the vote.

While governor, Wilson worked to improve passenger rail service the state and under his leadership, New York City-Albany-Montréal and New York City-Buffalo-Detroit service were revived. Concerned that city governments, especially New York City, were financing their budgets with financial sleight-of-hand, Wilson warned New York State's mayors that there would be a reckoning unless they got their fiscal houses in order. His warning turned out to be prescient when New York City was found to be nearly bankrupt, and had to resort to federal assistance to regain a sound footing. But Wilson's concern over government finances turned into a campaign issue for Carey in the 1974 election, when an agency under Wilson's purview, the state's Urban Development Corporation, was discovered to be near bankruptcy. After taking office, Carey accused Wilson of hiding the severity of the crisis, and complained that the Wilson administration had not been helpful or engaged during the transition between governors.