Henry J. Nowak

Political career Admitted to the New York bar in 1963, he commenced practice in Buffalo, and served as assistant district attorney of Erie County, New York in 1964. Erie County Comptroller from 1966 to 1974, he was also a delegate to the New York State Democratic convention in 1970, and to the Democratic National Convention in 1972 and 1988.

Congress Nowak was elected as a Democrat in 1974 – among a group of liberal Democrats elected that year known as the Watergate Babies — to represent New York's 37th congressional district in the 94th Congress, after 4 terms Nowak was redistricted into the 33rd district, which he represented for 5 terms. He served from January 3, 1975, to January 3, 1993, choosing not to try and return to the House after the 33rd district was abolished during redistricting. During his entire congressional career, he was a member of the U.S. House Committee on Public Works and Transportation. He was described in The Buffalo News as "Buffalo's billion-dollar man", a self-effacing lawmaker mainly known for securing grants for infrastructure projects in the Buffalo area, including the construction of Interstate 990. During the 103rd Congress, Nowak chose not to run for reelection in 1994. His son, Henry Joseph Nowak, was elected a justice of the New York Supreme Court's 8th judicial district in 2010 and served as a judge of the Buffalo Housing Court from 2003 to 2010.

Nowak died in Pompano Beach, Florida, on July 21, 2024, at the age of 89.