Anthony Joseph Brindisi (born November 22, 1978) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of New York. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Brindisi served as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from New York's 22nd congressional district from 2019 to 2021. He represented New York's 119th Assembly District from 2011 to 2018. Before his election to the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

, Brindisi served on the Utica School Board and practiced as an attorney. He was first elected to the New York State Assembly in a September 2011 special election. Brindisi narrowly defeated Republican U.S. Representative

Claudia Tenney Claudia L. Tenney (born February 4, 1961) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 22nd congressional district since 2021, having previously represented the district from 2017 to 2019. Her district ...

in the

2018 election The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2018. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. Africa *2018 Djiboutian parliamentary election 23 February 2018 *2018 Sierra Leonean general elect ...

in New York's 22nd congressional district. Tenney challenged Brindisi in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

. Initially, the 2020 election was too close to call, and its results were challenged in court. On February 5, 2021, a state trial court judge declared Tenney the winner.

Early life and education

Brindisi was born in 1978 in Utica, New York, to Louis and Jacqueline Brindisi. He has five siblings. His great grandparents were from

Mardin Mardin ( ku, Mêrdîn; ar, ماردين; syr, ܡܪܕܝܢ, Merdīn; hy, Մարդին) is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for the Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on ...

(present-day Turkey) and fled to

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, Syria during the Armenian genocide. His mother died of cancer when he was four years old. He graduated from Notre Dame Junior Senior High School and attended Mohawk Valley Community College before graduating from

Siena College Siena College is an American private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York. Siena was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937. The college was named after Bernardino of Siena, a 15th-century Italian Franciscan friar and preacher. St ...

in 2000. Brindisi has said that the

2000 United States presidential election The 2000 United States presidential election was the 54th quadrennial United States presidential election, presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 2000. Republican Party (United States), Republican candidate George W. Bush, the gover ...

inspired him to become a lawyer. He received his J.D. degree from Albany Law School of Union University, New York in 2004. He joined the law firm his father founded and later won a seat on the Utica School Board.

New York State Assembly

Following the appointment of Assemblywoman

RoAnn Destito Ro Ann Maggiolino Destito (born January 15, 1956) was appointed Commissioner of the New York State Office of General Services overseeing all state contracts, by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2011. She resigned from this position in October 2021 and ...

as Commissioner of the New York State Office of General Services, Brindisi won a special election to replace her to represent the 119th Assembly district, beating Republican Gregory Johnson in a September 13, 2011, special election. He was unopposed in the 2012 general election, running on the Democratic, Working Families Party, and

Independence Party of New York State The Independence Party is a political party in the U.S. state of New York. The party was founded in 1991 by Dr. Gordon Black, Tom Golisano, and Laureen Oliver from Rochester, New York, and acquired ballot status in 1994. They lost their ballot s ...

fusion ticket Electoral fusion is an arrangement where two or more political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, pooling the votes for that candidate. It is distinct from the process of electoral alliances in that the political parties remain separa ...

. He was also unchallenged in 2014 and 2016. Brindisi voted against the NY SAFE Act, a 2013 gun control law written in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. He was endorsed by the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

in 2016, and the NRA also gave him a 100% rating in 2017. The NRA downgraded his rating to an F during his 2018 campaign for Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

Brindisi ran for Congress in New York's 22nd congressional district, which was held by one-term Republican

of nearby New Hartford. Tenney had served alongside Brindisi in the State Assembly from 2011 to 2017. Brindisi ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He was endorsed by former Republican congressmen Richard Hanna and Sherwood Boehlert. The brand of Republicanism in central New York has traditionally been a moderate one, and Tenney was considered a staunch conservative and an outspoken supporter of President Trump. On November 19, 2018, Brindisi declared victory.Anthony Brindisi claims victory over Tenney with majority of absentee ballots counted
'' Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin''. Vaughn, Natasha. November 19, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018. By November 20, his lead grew to over 3,900 votes, and there were not enough remaining absentee ballots for Tenney to close the gap. Tenney conceded on November 28. The 22nd voted for Donald Trump by a 15% margin over Hillary Clinton in 2016, the largest margin in any House district to change hands from a Republican to a Democrat in 2018. Anthony Brindisi swearing in

Upon his swearing-in on January 3, 2019, Brindisi became only the second Democrat to represent the district in 68 years, and the third in 119 years. The last Democrat to represent this district was

Mike Arcuri Michael Angelo Arcuri (born June 11, 1959) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He lost re-election on November 2, 2010, to Republican Richard L. Hanna. Arcu ...

, who represented what was then the 24th district from 2007 to 2011. Arcuri won with 54% of the vote, becoming only the second Democrat to represent this district and its predecessors in 106 years, and the first since 1951.

2020

Brindisi sought reelection to Congress in 2020. In October 2019, Tenney announced that she would challenge him. The initial election results were too close to call, and a court challenge ensued. On December 8, a New York state judge ordered a district-wide recanvass of all ballots, including provisional ballots and disputed ballots not included in the original count. By January 29, 2021, Tenney had a 122-vote lead over Brindisi based on unofficial tallies. On February 5, 2021,

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

Judge Scott DelConte ruled in Tenney's favor, allowing her to be declared the winner of the election by 109 votes.

Tenure

On December 18, 2019, Brindisi voted to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Agriculture ** Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research ** Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture * Committee on Veterans' Affairs ** Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity **

Subcommittee on Health The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health is a subcommittee within the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Jurisdiction The House Subcommittee on Health has general jurisdiction over bills and resolutions relating to pub ...

* Armed Services Committee ** Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces ** Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces

Caucus memberships

* Blue Dog Coalition (Co-Chair for Whip) * New Democrat Coalition

2021 campaign for Supreme Court justice

In July 2021, Brindisi announced his candidacy for state Supreme Court. He lost the 2021 race for the 5th Supreme Court District to Republican Danielle Fogel.

New York State Court of Claims

In May 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Brindisi to the New York State Court of Claims.

Electoral history

Personal life

Brindisi lives with his wife, Erica, and their two children in Utica.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Brindisi, Anthony 1978 births 21st-century American politicians Albany Law School alumni Candidates in the 2021 United States elections Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Living people Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) lawyers Politicians from Utica, New York School board members in New York (state) Siena College alumni