Joseph C. Lorigo (born November 18, 1981) is an American politician and jurist. A Conservative, he served as a member of the Erie County, New York Legislature, representing Legislative District 10, which comprises rural towns in southeastern Erie County and the first-ring Buffalo suburb of

West Seneca West Seneca is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 44,711 at the 2010 census. West Seneca is a centrally located interior town of the county, and a suburb of Buffalo. West Seneca, Orchard Park and Hamburg form the ...

. He currently serves as a justice on the New York State Supreme Court.

Early life and career

Lorigo was born in Buffalo, New York to Ralph C. Lorigo and Debbie (née Caruana) Lorigo. He earned a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

from

Canisius College Canisius College is a private Jesuit college in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 master's ...

in 2003, and then earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from the University at Buffalo Law School and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree from the

University at Buffalo School of Management The University at Buffalo School of Management is a business school located at the State University of New York at Buffalo. It is AACSB accredited in both business and accounting. UB School of Management is the highest ranking public business sch ...

in 2007. After graduation, he worked as a lawyer at The Law Office of Ralph C. Lorigo. Lorigo unsuccessfully ran for West Seneca town justice in 2010.

Erie County Legislature

Lorigo won election to the Erie County, New York legislature in 2011, defeating incumbent Christina Wleklinski Bove. He won re-election in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021. He caucused with the Republican legislators during his time in the legislature. After his first term, the legislature's Republican caucus elected Lorigo as the majority leader of the Erie County Legislature in 2014 until the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

took over control of the legislature in 2017. After the Democratic Party takeover of the legislature, Lorigo was elected as the minority leader. Throughout his tenure, Lorigo worked for transparency and accountability in County government. He fought for lower taxes and improved investment in infrastructure.

New York State Supreme Court

In 2022, Lorigo announced he was a candidate for a justice position on the New York State Supreme Court. That year, there were 5 positions open for election, however 4 of the 5 positions received cross-endorsements from both the Democratic and Republican parties, an often controversial practice allowed for in states that allow electoral fusion. These cross endorsements guarantee victory for those 4 candidates. Lorigo was not one of the candidates who received a cross endorsement. Instead, he entered the race with only the backing of the Republican and Conservative parties. Lorigo defeated Buffalo City Court Judge Shannon Heneghan on Election Day. His victory was considered the only Erie County "GOP gain" on Election Day 2022.

Personal life

Prior to being elected to the State Supreme Court, Lorigo worked at the Law Offices of Ralph C. Lorigo, since 2007. Joseph is married to former staffer Lindsay Bratek-Lorigo, who is currently a candidate to succeed him in the legislature. They reside in West Seneca, New York, with their son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorigo, Joseph Living people 1981 births Conservative Party of New York State politicians University at Buffalo Law School alumni Canisius University alumni 21st-century American politicians People from Erie County, New York