Introduction
Catherine M. Abate (December 8, 1947 – May 17, 2014) was a New York State Senator.
Abate was of Italian ancestry. She received her bachelor's degree from Vassar College in 1969 and her law degree from Boston University School of Law in 1972. In 1988 she was appointed to head the state's Crime Victim's Board. She was an attorney with the Legal Aid Society in New York City and was director of training in the criminal defense division. The New Jersey-born Democrat served two terms (1995–1999), representing a district in Manhattan. In 1998, she gave up her seat to run for New York State Attorney General. Abate lost the Democratic primary to Eliot Spitzer. In 1992, then-New York City Mayor David Dinkins appointed Abate as City Commissioner for the Department of Corrections.
After leaving politics, she spent fifteen years working as President/CEO of the Community Healthcare Network.
Death
Abate died on May 17, 2014, aged 66, in Bellevue Hospital from uterine cancer.