Peter Fortunate Vallone Sr. (born December 13, 1934 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 ...

) is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Background

His father, Judge Charles J. Vallone (1901–1967) of the Queens County Civil Court, encouraged young Peter to broaden his horizons beyond the limited social interactions with other ethnic and religious groups that were discouraged in the pre-

Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and 1 ...

era. His mother, Leah Palmigiano Vallone, was a teacher and a Democratic State Committeewoman. With his wife, Tena, he has three children ( Peter Jr.,

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

, and Perry) and eight grandchildren.

Education

He attended

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

, where he received his BSS (1956) and his LLB (1959).

Political career

A former Democratic

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 ...

man who represented

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast ...

from 1974 to 2001, he was the second most powerful official in New York City's government after the mayor, when he became the city's first Speaker of the City Council in 1986. He held that position until Gifford Miller took over in 2002. Vallone drafted changes to the City Charter in 1989 that he claimed allowed the Council more say on the budget. He was an unsuccessful candidate for

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in 1998 (as the Democratic Party nominee), and for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

(placing third in the Democratic primary).

Later career

He currently teaches

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Baruch College Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates und ...

and his autobiography, ''Learning to Govern: My Life in New York Politics, From Hell Gate to City Hall'', described his years in government. He practices law in Astoria with his son,

Peter Vallone Jr. Peter Fortunate Vallone Jr. (born March 23, 1961) is an American judge and lawyer. Vallone was a member of the New York City Council representing the 22nd district, encompassing Astoria, Queens and the surrounding communities from 2002 to 201 ...

, who succeeded him in the City Council in 2002. After he retired from politics, Peter Vallone Sr. Founded a lobbying firm with a partner, Constantinople and Vallone In 2005, Vallone endorsed Republican

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...

for Mayor of New York City. In 2009, he endorsed a former rival in the mayoral race,

Mark J. Green Mark Joseph Green (born March 15, 1945) is an American author, former public official, public interest lawyer, and Democratic politician from New York City. Green was New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner from 1990 to 1993 and New York Ci ...

, who attempted to win back the job of Public Advocate.http://www.nydailynews.com/news/election_2009/2009/09/01/2009-09-01_alls_forgiven_as_greens_2001_foe_endorses_him.html

Electoral history

*1998 election for Governor **

George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. An attorney by profession, Pataki was elected mayor of his hometown of Peekskill, New York, and went on ...

(R) (inc.), 54% **Peter Vallone (D), 33% **

Tom Golisano Blase Thomas Golisano (born November 14, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of Paychex, which offers payroll and human resources services to businesses. Golisano owned Greenlight Networks, a fiber ...

(I), 8%

References

, - , - , - , - 1934 births American politicians of Italian descent Fordham University School of Law alumni Living people New York City Council members New York (state) Democrats People from Queens, New York Speakers of the New York City Council Vallone family Working Families Party politicians {{NewYork-politician-stub