OSWEGO – After a long and distinguished career in government, politics, law, education, and writing, John T. Sullivan Jr. passed away on November 27, 2023. He was born in Oswego, son of John T. and Dorothy (Dashner) Sullivan and graduated from St. Mary’s School and Oswego Catholic High School, Class of 1964. He then went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree in political science from Oswego State and his doctor of jurisprudence from Syracuse University Law School.
Sullivan’s political career started early with him being active in student government. He was a disc jockey during his high school and college years for WOSC radio and WSGO, hosting a Saturday morning rock and roll program for teenagers, entitled “The Live 25 in Hi-Fi Jive.’
In 1967 he was chosen to be an intern in the office of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, after which, at age 21, he defeated a 21-year incumbent to become the youngest county legislator ever, a record to this day. Over this same period, he held a variety of positions which included teaching high school social studies in Savannah NY and Liverpool NY.
After attending the Democratic convention in Miami in 1972, as a delegate representing George McGovern, he became engaged to Charlotte McQueen and the couple married October 21, 1972. They had two daughters, Kathleen and Sierra (Julie), before he graduated law school and two more Danielle and Elizabeth a few years later. After graduation, John started his law career in the office of John O’Connor Conway. He continued to practice law in Oswego for nearly thirty years as a partner with P. Michael Shanley, and later, David J. Roman, Gay H. Williams, and James M. Metcalf. During this time, he was appointed as attorney for the Oswego School District and to the College Council of his alma mater, Oswego State, serving for 10 and 15 years respectively, during which he became chair of the Council.
In 1987, John successfully ran for Mayor of Oswego, running a campaign that stressed waterfront development, using a “Set Sail for Sullivan” slogan along with lawn signs the shape of a blue and white sail. In addition to many other city firsts and waterfront improvements, John and Charlotte started Harborfest in 1988, a family-oriented festival that after 35 years still draws tens of thousands of visitors to Oswego.
After leaving office as mayor, John continued with his full-time law practice. Not long after, in 1995, he became Co-Chair of the New York State Democratic Committee. During his tenure, John spoke at events both downstate and upstate, and met with state and national party leaders, which included 14 visits with Charlotte to the White House. He left the position in 1997 after she became ill.
He remained in Oswego for three years after Charlotte’s passing, when he became Assistant Attorney General in the Northern District of NYS. He relocated to Sackets Harbor and, after being involved in a number of very key lawsuits, transferred from Watertown to Albany, accepting an appointment as Deputy Medicaid Inspector General. While he was in Watertown and Albany, he taught state and local government at SUNY Oswego and Albany on a part-time basis.
Upon retiring in 2009, John moved to join a friend in Pittsburg, Kansas. After making the move, John wound up teaching government at Pittsburg State, Northeast Oklahoma, and Missouri Southern State Universities. He was also named as President of the southeast Kansas, Symphony Orchestra, and was active in many other civic activities.
Missing upstate New York, John, moved to Saratoga in 2013. In the next 7 years he “unretired” to become a labor law department judge and practice law privately. Weather led John to spend two years in Florida, after which he returned to his native Oswego, where he was once-again active in the community, serving on the boards of the Safe Haven Museum and the Oswego Opera Company, and, most recently, representing the indigent.
John, who wants to be remembered as “the forks of the road kid, who got the fountain running again in West Park,” did that and so much more for the City of Oswego and the many residents he helped, inspired and guided through his lifetime. Many of these are chronicled in his “Forks In the Road” columns on the lives of notable Oswegonians, and in his autobiography, “Pee Not Your Pants.” These have turned out to be only a “tip of the iceberg” as so many others have come forward in his last months to thank John for his positive impacts on their lives. Proud of his Irish heritage, John’s Irish Citizenship application is in process in Dublin, Ireland.
Throughout his lifetime, John loved to quote Thomas Jefferson: “The people who believe they can be both free and ignorant believe that which never has been, and never can be. A democracy presupposes an informed electorate.” Educating others was clearly one of the central purposes of his life, which he did well.
Predeceased by his wife Charlotte, John is survived by his four daughters and their spouses; Kathleen & Peter Esposito, Sierra Julie Sullivan & Ronald Smith, Danielle Sullivan and Haley Cox, and Elizabeth Sullivan. Plus his sisters Gail Denison and Maureen Sullivan, his sister-in-law Mary McQueen Gillispie, his companion Serif Uran, and a loving extended family.
John’s story is not merely one of a man who rekindled a fountain, but of one who ignited a flame of progress and hope that will burn brightly in Oswego for generations to come.
The Sullivan family invites you to honor John’s memory. Calling hours will be held at the Nelson Funeral Home in Oswego, on Sunday, December 3rd from 2-4pm with services at St. Mary of the Assumption Church on Monday, Dec 4th at 10am. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made, in his name, to the Harborfest organization by visiting https://tinyurl.com/JohnSullivanHarborfest or checks can be mailed to: Oswego Harborfest, 41 Lake Street, Oswego, NY, 13126.
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