Rappleyea Jr. was born on November 2, 1933, in
Norwich,
Chenango County, New York. He attended
Wagner College. He graduated
A.B. from
SUNY Albany in 1957, and
J.D. from
Cornell Law School in 1962. He was admitted to the bar in 1964, and practiced in Norwich. He also entered politics as a
Republican, and was City Attorney of Norwich from 1970 to 1973. He was a member of the
New York State Assembly (122nd D.) from 1973 to 1995, sitting in the
180th,
181st,
182nd,
183rd,
184th,
185th,
186th,
187th,
188th,
189th,
190th and
191st New York State Legislatures. He was Minority Leader from 1983 to June 1995, and resigned his seat in July 1995. He was Chairman of the
New York Power Authority from July 1995 to January 31, 2001. In January 2001, the administrative head-office of the Power Authority, in
White Plains,
Westchester County, was named in his honor as the "Clarence D. Rappleyea Building". Rappleyea died on September 4, 2016, at the age of 82. ==References==