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Bernadette Castro (b. 1944, Manhattan, New York) is a New York politician and businesswoman who served in the Cabinet of former Governor George Pataki. She was the heir and former President and Chief Executive Officer of Castro Convertibles, a sofa business in New Hyde Park, New York. Castro sold the company to Krause Furniture in 1993. As a child, she appeared in commercials for the company where she would pull out a sofa bed.

Ms. Castro attended the University of Florida earning a B.S. degree in Broadcast Journalism and a graduate degree in Secondary School Administration with Phi Kappa Phi honors. In 1985 she became the first woman to receive the University of Florida’s Distinguished Service Alumni Award.

Bernadette Castro is married to Dr. Peter M. Guida, professor of surgery at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, and presently resides in Lloyd Harbor, New York. She has four children Terri, David, Jonathan and Bernard and two granddaughters Grace Keogh and Piper Austin.

Contents 1 Political career 2 Betsy McCaughey Ross 3 Racing and Wagering Board Nomination 4 1994 NYS Republican Ticket 5 External links

In 1994 Castro was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan. She was viewed as a longshot candidate from the start, but ran a competitive race. In 1995, the newly elected Pataki appointed Castro as the state Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. As a part of her duties overseeing state parks, Castro also serves as the state's historic preservation officer. She served as Parks Commissioner for the entire 12 years of the Pataki Administration.

President George W. Bush named Castro to a federal advisory committee on historic preservation issues. In 2004 it was reported that she declined the chance to run for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Charles Schumer. In his final weeks in office, Pataki named Castro to a nine year term on the board that oversees state parks on Long Island.

During Pataki's first term, Castro was very public in her criticism of the performance of then Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey Ross, who was in a public feud with Pataki. Castro made many quotes to reporters attacking McCaughey Ross and once did a radio debate with her. It was reported that Castro was taking the lead in attacking McCaughey Ross in hopes she would be Pataki's 1998 running mate for lieutenant governor. While she was reportedly considered for the post by Pataki, the governor choose Judge Mary Donohue as his running mate.

In late 2005, Pataki nominated Castro to become a member of the state Racing and Wagering Board.

Castro, who had previously served on the Governor's Task Force on Casino Gambling (1996) and was presently a member of the ad hoc Committee on the Future of Racing (2005-2007), was intended to be designated as chair of the board. The Racing and Wagering Board seat, a full time position, carried a fixed term which would have allowed Castro to remain in state government after Pataki left office in January 2007. The board has three seats of six year duration. Only two seats may be occupied by a member of any single political party. At the time of her nomination, two of the seats were held by a Republican and Independent; the vacant seat, however, had a term of only two year remaining. Pataki had tried to get the sitting Republican member to step down to allow for Castro's appointment to a seat of greater term than the vacant seat. This did not occur and State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno declined to bring Castro's nomination to the floor. Ultimately, Castro's nomination was withdrawn.

• Governor: George Pataki
• Lieutenant Governor: Elizabeth McCaughey
• Comptroller: Herbert London
• Attorney General: Dennis Vacco
• U.S. Senate: Bernadette Castro

• New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation