Paul M. Whitaker

1947 - 2021

Whitaker, Paul M. ALBANY Paul M. Whitaker, 73 of Albany, passed away on January 25, 2021, following a long illness. Paul was the son of the late Raymond J. and the late Helena U. Whitaker of Loudonville. Paul practiced for three decades as an attorney specializing in civil litigation, election law, vehicle and traffic and family law. Born in Albany in March of 1947, he graduated at the top of his class at Albany Academy in 1965 and then from Harvard University, cum Laude, with a B.A. in government in 1969. He graduated from Yale Law School in 1974 and was admitted to the N.Y.S. Bar in 1975. In 1972, still a sophomore at Yale, Whitaker ran for Congress in a Democratic primary contest versus incumbent Rep. Sam Stratton, seeking to shift federal spending from the military to economic development, pollution control and consumer protection. He traveled and studied in several southern African nations while in college, from 1969 to 1974. From 1975 through 1980, he worked for the N.Y.S. Assembly on matters of election law. He was president of the New York Civil Liberties Union in 1974 and from 1972 to 1974 helped to manage the campaigns of U.S. Rep. Matthew McHugh and Presidential candidate George McGovern. Later, Whitaker was a frequent college guest lecturer regionally on a variety of legal topics including elections, ballot access, environmental law and municipal planning. In 1996, Whitaker helped to gain voter approval for the Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act by suing opponents of the measure for lying about it in television commercials. The bond act passed by half a million votes and provided $1.75 billion for pollution prevention, park land and farmland protection and safe drinking water. Paul is survived by his cousin, Duane K. Whitaker, of Walden, N.Y. Due to COVID-19, there will be no funeral service at this time. A private service at the convenience of the family will be held at a later date. Those who wish to remember Paul in a special way may contribute in his name to Orange Street Cats, P.O. Box 10733, Albany, NY, 12201.