In 1970, he was elected a Democratic state committeeman. First elected to the New York Assembly in 1974, Farrell was a longtime Chairman of the powerful Assembly Ways and Means Committee, as well as a member of the Assembly Rules Committee and the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus. He previously served as Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Banks from 1979 to 1994. He was at one point a member of the
Democratic Socialists of America, but later broke from the organization. Farrell played a pivotal role in the passage of several significant pieces of legislation, including the Omnibus Consumer Protection and Banking Legislation Act, which established a toll-free number at the New York State Banking Department that dispenses information about
credit card interest rates, fees and grace periods, and a mandate for banks to furnish low-cost checking accounts to its customers. He also played an important role in the passage of the Neighborhood Preservation Companies Act, whereby New York State funds community organizations that "provide tenant advocacy." However, Farrell is most widely known for having been a prominent member of the state (and to a lesser extent, national)
Democratic Party. He was first elected as a Democratic State Committeeman in 1970, serving a two-year term. Subsequently, he was elected as the leader of the
New York County Democratic Party (1981–2009) and Vice-Chair of the New York State Democratic Party, in which capacity he served for a decade. He was Chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee from 2001 to 2006. He also served as a member of the
Democratic National Committee. Farrell resigned from the State Assembly in September 2017.
Campaign for Mayor Farrell entered the Democratic primary against
Ed Koch in the
1985 election for mayor. Although Farrell's entry into the race initially created some bad blood,
David Dinkins credited him for paving the way for Dinkins’ victory in
1989. He recovered from an attempt by Council President
Carol Bellamy to remove him from the ballot but still fared poorly taking 13% of the vote and finishing third behind Bellamy and Koch. Following the split, black leaders from around New York City met to settle past differences and focus on uniting for future elections. David Dinkins’ strength with black voters helped him defeat Koch in 1989 to become mayor. ==Later life==