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Matthew John Driscoll (born February 7, 1958) is an American
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 ...
politician, who served as the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation from 2015 until 2017. He served as the 52nd Mayor of Syracuse, New York from July 10, 2001, until December 31, 2009. Currently he serves as the Executive Director of the New York State Thruway.


Biography

Driscoll graduated in 1976 from
West Genesee High School West Genesee Senior High School (colloquially referred to as West Genny or WG) is a 9-12 public high school in Camillus, New York, United States. It is part of the West Genesee Central School District. Recognized academic programs In addition to ...
in Camillus, a suburb of Syracuse. He formerly owned "Rosie O'Grady's", a popular Irish pub in Syracuse. He became Syracuse's mayor on July 10, 2001, when former Republican Mayor
Roy Bernardi Romolo Albert "Roy" Bernardi (born October 14, 1942Mayors of the City of Syracuse
. City ...
was appointed as deputy secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development in President Bush's administration. As President of the City of Syracuse Common Council, Driscoll automatically succeeded Bernardi and served the remainder of Bernardi's mayoral term. That fall, Driscoll defeated several other Democrats in a primary, including Kate O'Connell. He went on to be elected after defeating former common councilor Bernie Mahoney by a thirty-two percent margin. In 2005 he defeated Mahoney's daughter,
Joanie Mahoney Joanne M. "Joanie" Mahoney (born 1965) is the fifth president of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), in Syracuse, New York. Prior to this, she served as the County Executive of Onondaga County, ...
, by a 3% margin. Driscoll won in part by claiming that Mahoney's race was funded by developer Robert Congel, a Bush-Cheney fundraiser who was overseeing the proposed expansion of the
Destiny USA Destiny USA (stylized as destiny usa and also known by its former name Carousel Center) is a six-story, automobile-oriented super-regional shopping, dining, and entertainment complex on the shore of Onondaga Lake in the city of Syracuse, New York ...
shopping mall. Driscoll campaigned alongside Eliot Spitzer, who had already begun his campaign to win New York's governorship in 2006; Spitzer's then-widespread popularity among New York Democrats likely helped Driscoll cement support from the majority-Democrat city. He won re-election, again by a slim 3% margin (49% to 46%) Previously, he served as President of the Syracuse Common Council from 1998 to 2001, as Third District Councilor in 1995, and as Second District Councilor from 1987 to 1989. On April 26, 2007, Driscoll announced that he would not seek the office of the Onondaga County Executive, open due to the retirement of longtime Republican incumbent Nicholas J. Pirro. Driscoll said he would serve his mayoral term out through December 2009; he also ruled out a run for Congress against
James T. Walsh James Thomas Walsh (born June 19, 1947)Walsh, James T.
''Biographical Directory of ...
in 2008. Driscoll was mentioned as a possible candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York as a possible running-mate to incumbent Governor
David Paterson David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. ...
in 2010. On April 8, 2015, Syracuse.com posted a news headline that he has been picked by NYS Governor Cuomo to be the next Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation.


Affiliations

Driscoll was a member of the
Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition Everytown for Gun Safety is an American nonprofit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was created in 2013 when Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America joined forc ...
, a bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets". The Coalition was co-chaired by Mayors
Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three ...
and Michael Bloomberg.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Driscoll, Matthew 1958 births Living people Mayors of Syracuse, New York State cabinet secretaries of New York (state) New York State Thruway Authority New York (state) Democrats People from Camillus, New York