Flanagan first top state lawmaker from Suffolk since Duryea

John Flanagan's ascent to State Senate Majority Leader makes the first time in more than four decades a Suffolk official has had a leadership post in Albany.

The last Suffolk lawmaker to hold a leadership role was Republican Assembly Speaker Perry Duryea Jr. of Montauk who led the lower house 1969 to 1974.

It is also the first time, two Long Islanders, Flanagan and his predecessor Dean Skelos, have served successively in top Albany leadership positions.