Joseph Charles Borelli (born July 27, 1982) is an American politician and the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

member for the 51st district and Minority Leader of the

. He is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. The district encompasses much of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

's South Shore.

Early life, education, and career

Joseph was born on Staten Island and adopted at birth by the Borelli family. He attended Public School 4, Our Lady Star of the Sea Grammar School, and St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School, from which he graduated in 2000. While there he was a founder and President of the Holy Name Society, and a star on the football team. After graduating from

Marist College Marist College is a private university in Poughkeepsie, New York. Founded in 1905, Marist was formed by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic religious institute, to prepare brothers for their vocations as educators. In 2003, it became a secular in ...

, he worked on the campaign of first-time candidate

Vincent Ignizio Vincent M. Ignizio (born October 2, 1974) is an American politician and former member and Minority Leader of the New York City Council representing Staten Island's 51st district. Before being elected to the City Council, he was a member of the ...

, who was elected 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 ...

from the South Shore-based 62nd District. He became Chief-of-Staff to the then-Assemblyman, and continued in that role when Ignizio was elected to the

in February 2007. He is a former adjunct lecturer in political science at the

College of Staten Island The College of Staten Island (CSI) is a public university in Staten Island, New York. It is one of the 11 four-year senior colleges within the City University of New York system. Programs in the liberal arts and sciences and professional studi ...

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

, where he received a Master's degree.

Political career

Borelli was elected on November 6, 2012, to the State Assembly to succeed the retiring

Louis Tobacco Louis R. Tobacco (born May 16, 1972) is an American politician from New York. A Republican, he represented Staten Island's 62nd District as a Member of the New York State Assembly from 2007 through 2012. Early life, education, and career Born ...

. He was one of only two Republicans in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

's State Assembly delegation. In 2013, he earned the highest rating from the Conservative party for being the most conservative member of the legislature from New York City. He was also the only member of the legislature from the city to vote against the

NY SAFE Act The New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013, commonly known as the NY SAFE Act, is a gun regulation statute, law in the state of New York (state), New York. The law was passed by the New York State Legislature and was sig ...

.. He served as the ranking member of the committee on Cities for three years. On November 3, 2015, Borelli won election to replace fellow Republican

on the City Council. Ignizio left in July to work for a nonprofit. He was sworn into office on November 30, 2015, and was chosen to be the Council's Minority Whip. Borelli serves as the chair of the Council's Committee on Fire and Emergency Management. In 2016, Borelli frequently appeared on national cable TV news shows where he supported

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

as the

presidential nominee. Borelli also co-chaired Trump’s campaign during the 2016 New York Republican primary. Borelli was re-elected in the

New York City Council elections, 2017 Elections for members of the New York City Council were held on November 7, 2017. Primary elections were held on September 12 for all 51 districts of the city council. Incumbents not seeking re-election Term-limited incumbents #Rosie Méndez (D ...

, winning 80% of the vote. While retaining his Council seat, he lost a 2019 election for

New York City Public Advocate The office of New York City Public Advocate (President of the City Council) is a citywide elected position in New York City, which is first in line to succeed the mayor. The office serves as a direct link between the electorate and city government ...

, earning 20% of the citywide vote. In 2019, New York State Republican Chairman

Nick Langworthy Nicholas A. Langworthy (born February 27, 1981) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 23rd district since 2023. He also chairs the New York State Republican Committee. Langworthy was named chair of the commi ...

named Borelli as a spokesman to help spread the New York GOP's message during the 2020 election cycle. On November 17, 2021, Borelli was elected as Minority Leader of the City Council's Republican delegation, replacing outgoing Council Member Steven Matteo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borelli, Joseph 1982 births Living people American adoptees Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Marist College alumni 21st-century American politicians New York City Council members Politicians from Staten Island