Louis R. Tobacco
(born May 16, 1972)
is an American politician from
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. 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 ...
, he represented
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 62nd District as a Member of 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 2007 through 2012.
Early life, education, and career
Born in Staten Island, Tobacco attended Public School 35, St. Joseph Hill Academy Grammar School, and
Monsignor Farrell High School
Monsignor Farrell High School is an American Catholic high school for boys, located in the Oakwood section of Staten Island, New York.
Opened in 1961, the school is named in honor of Monsignor Joseph Farrell, a Catholic priest, as well as a re ...
,
from which he graduated in 1990. He became an
Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...
in 1987.
He graduated from the
Rockefeller College of Politics at
State University of New York at Albany
The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...
;
while a student, he was an intern for State Assemblyman
Robert Straniere
Robert Alan Straniere (born March 28, 1941) is a Republican politician from New York City. He represented a district in Staten Island in the New York State Assembly from 1981 until 2004, serving as the Assistant Minority Leader from 1995 unt ...
and Congressman
Guy Molinari
Gaetano Victor Molinari (November 23, 1928July 25, 2018) was an American lawyer and Republican politician from New York city. He represented Staten Island in the United States House of Representatives for four terms (1981–1989) and then ...
as well as a summer intern for Molinari when he later served as
Staten Island Borough president.
In 1994, he was appointed by the borough president to serve as assistant director of contract oversight. He also represented Staten Island on the Mayor's Health and Human Services Planning Council,
and was director of community relations from 1996 to 1997.
After leaving Borough Hall, he worked part-time until 2010 as a pharmaceutical sales representative, for
Novartis
Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-loc ...
and then for
Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...
.
[
After his retirement from the New York State Assembly in 2012, Tobacco worked for Staten Island University Hospital as director of surgical business development and later as associate executive director of community and government affairs.][ In 2019, he was appointed president and CEO of Monsignor Farrell High School.]
Political career
Tobacco's first run for political office was in 1996 for Staten Island's Mid-Island Assembly seat held by Assemblyman Eric Vitaliano. He was unsuccessful that year.
Tobacco was elected to represent the 62nd District in the New York State Assembly in a special election on March 27, 2007 to replace 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 resigned his seat to become a 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. He and fellow Staten Islander Nicole Malliotakis
Nicole Malliotakis (; born November 11, 1980) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 11th congressional district since 2021. Her constituency covers Staten Island and southern Brooklyn.
Malliotakis is the on ...
were the only 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.
Tobacco served as the Ranking Minority Member of the Health Committee.[ He also served on the Ways and Means, Transportation, Cities, Codes, and Corporations, Authorities and Commissions committees. He was tapped to serve as vice chair of the Assembly Minority Sex Offender Watch Task Force and was appointed to the MTA Capital Program Review Board. He was known for his "Tobacco against tobacco" anti-smoking campaign][ as well as for criticizing the rising ]toll
Toll may refer to:
Transportation
* Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway
** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use
** Road toll (historic), the historic practice of charging for road use
** Shadow toll, ...
on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge ( ) is a suspension bridge connecting the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. It spans the Narrows, a body of water linking the relatively enclosed New York Harbor with Lower New York Bay and t ...
and cuts to the mass transit budget for services to Staten Island residents; in winter 2009, he distributed thousands of "No Taxation Without Transportation" bumper stickers.
He retired from the Assembly in 2012 after serving three terms.[
]
Personal life
Lou Tobacco lives in the Tottenville section of Staten Island; he and his wife, Jennifer, have four children.
Election results
* March 2007 special election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...
, NYS Assembly, 62nd AD
:
* November 2008 general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, NYS Assembly, 62nd AD
:
* November 2010 general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, NYS Assembly, 62nd AD
:
References
External links
New York State Assembly: Louis Tobacco
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tobacco, Louis
1972 births
Living people
American politicians of Italian descent
Politicians from New York City
Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly
People from Tottenville, Staten Island
University at Albany, SUNY alumni
21st-century American politicians
Monsignor Farrell High School alumni