Born in
Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, Travia received a
Bachelor of Laws from
St. John's University School of Law in 1932. He was in private practice of law in
New York from 1933 to 1968. He was a Member of the
New York State Assembly from 1943 to 1946 and from 1948 to 1968.
State assembly and other political service On November 2, 1943, he was elected as a
Democrat to the
New York State Assembly (Kings Co., 22nd D.), to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
James A. Corcoran. He was re-elected in 1944, and remained in the Assembly until 1946, sitting in the
164th and
165th New York State Legislatures. Travia was again a member of the State Assembly from 1949 to 1968, sitting in the
167th,
168th,
169th,
170th,
171st,
172nd,
173rd,
174th,
175th,
176th and
177th New York State Legislatures; and was Minority Leader from 1959 to 1964, and
Speaker of the New York State Assembly from 1965 to 1968. Travia faced a divisive 1965 leadership contest with fellow Brooklyn Democrat
Stanley Steingut, where he depended on the support of the
Rockefeller Republicans along with the smaller
Tammany Hall faction of Democrats. His reliance on Republican votes ended, and a rematch with Steingut was avoided, once the emergent
New York State Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus made a deal to support him in 1966. He was President of the
New York State Constitutional Convention of 1967.
Notable legislation Travia is the author of Travia Leave, Law 3107 of the NYS Education Law, which specifies that public employees who are members of a retirement system "…shall upon application be granted a retirement leave with full pay consisting of one half of their accumulated unused sick leave up to a maximum of one semester." ==Federal judicial service==