Patricia Adduci, who had numerous firsts in political career, dies at age 86

Patricia Adduci knew the power of the vote: In 1973 she lost a bid for the Monroe County Legislature by four of them.

The narrow loss didn't sour her appetite for public service and politics. Instead, she went onto a career that included a number of "firsts."

"It's very easy to say about Patty that she was the first woman to be this, to be this, to be this," said Adduci's close friend, Constance "Connie" Wilder.

Adduci, who died at the age of 86 on Nov. 29, was the first female city clerk in Rochester, the first female Monroe County Clerk and the first woman to be chosen commissioner of the state Department of Motor Vehicles. In 1985, Gov. Mario Cuomo appointed her to the latter job as head of the state's DMV.

"If you didn't vote, you'd get in really big trouble," said Adduci's daughter Sara. She and her sister, Nancy, worked at the polls as teenagers at the insistence of her mother.

Adduci typically took her daughters, when they were young, to Monroe County Democratic headquarters to watch election results.

Her mother instilled that a vote "really does make a difference," Sara Adduci said.

Bringing women into politics

A Rochester native, Adduci graduated from the University of Rochester in 1958 with a bachelor's in English and later with a master's in elementary education from what is now the State University of New York Brockport.

Adduci was among a group of local Democratic women who would become a significant force within the party for years to come. They helped increase the number of women active in politics, bringing new voices and perspectives long absent from policy-making.

She was chosen as city clerk in 1974 and elected county clerk in 1981. Although her opponent was favored by many in the business community, Adduci was elected and later recognized for technological improvements within the clerk's office. In her county clerk election she was also supported by the Conservative Party, backing which helped her win.

"She paved the way for many women," Wilder said.

Chosen by Cuomo as DMV commissioner, Adduci would go on to also improve the efficiency of the agency, helping create more centrally-located offices in communities.

'A Renaissance woman'

After leaving public service, Adduci and her husband, Jerry, settled on Cape Cod where both were able to spend far more time with their hobbies, among them gardening and flowers.

Adducci was long recognized for her creativity, but had not always had the time to display it during her years in local and state government.

"I think about her a lot, and of course I have in the past month," Wilder said. "I refer to her as a Renaissance woman. She was just a scholar. She always wanted to be in a position to acquire more than superficial knowledge.

"She was a brilliant manager and she was a fabulous artist."

Adduci was an accomplished pianist and also known for her elaborate embroidery and knitting. Even as her health declined in her final months, she knitted more than a hundred sweaters and hats for an organization that donated the winter wear to needy children.

Both Adduci and her husband "instilled this sense of beauty and creativity with making things," daughter Sara said.

Many of the women who were allies in the Democratic Party circles beginning in the 1970s created lifelong friendships. Wilder said that when her husband, former state Democratic Party Chairman Laurence Kirwan, died in 2002, Adduci was a stalwart and needed friend throughout Kirwan's final hours.

"She literally never left my side when Larry's health was failing," Wilder said.

"I guess the legacy we all have is that the friendships never died. They got richer.

"I think about how all of us believed in politics. We started out as friends in politics because we believed that good government came from good politics."

Adduci is survived by her husband of 65 years, Jerry Adduci; her daughters, Nancy (Mark) Sanders, and Sara; and her grandchildren, Amelia and Sam. There are plans for a celebration of her life in the spring.

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— Gary Craig is a veteran reporter with the Democrat and Chronicle, covering courts and crime and more. You can reach Craig at gcraig@rocheste.gannett.com. He is the author of two books, including "Seven Million: A Cop, a Priest, a Soldier for the IRA, and the Still-Unsolved Rochester Brink's Heist."

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Patricia Adduci, who had numerous firsts in political career, dies at 86