Richard A. "Dick" Moccia (born August 9, 1943) is an American politician who is the former

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 ...

Norwalk, Connecticut , image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg , mapsize = 230px , map_caption = Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County and ...

. 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 ...

, and was elected in 2005 and served four terms prior to his 2013 Mayoral Election loss to Harry Rilling.About the Mayor
/ref> Moccia defeated incumbent mayor

Alex Knopp Alex A. Knopp (born September 23, 1947) is an American professor and former politician who served three terms as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 139th District, which encompassed Norwalk, from 1987 to 1993. He serv ...

by fewer than 200 votes in 2005. In 2019, Moccia ran for First Selectman of Ridgefield, but was not elected. He currently serves on the Ridgefield Board of Finance.

Early life and education

Moccia was born in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

to Bonifacio "Benny" Moccia (1900-1993) and Helen (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Morse; 1906-) Moccia. His father was born in San Mango sul Calore in Campania, Italy and immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1922. His father, a machine operator, became a naturalized

US citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

in 1934. His mother was born in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

to Italian parents, the original spelling of her birth name being ''Elena Morsa'', but it was later

anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

to ''Helen Morse''. He had two elder brothers and a sister. He graduated from Stamford High School and then studied at

Norwalk Community College Norwalk Community College (NCC), formerly Norwalk State Technical College and Norwalk Community-Technical College, is a Public college, public community college in Norwalk, Connecticut. It is the third-largest of the twelve colleges in the Connec ...

where he completed an associate degree in

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

and a second one from

Sacred Heart University Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholic un ...

Paralegal Studies Legal management or paralegal studies is an academic, vocational, and professional discipline that is a hybrid between the study of law and management (i.e., business administration, public administration, etc.). Often, alumni of legal managemen ...

. He also holds a degree in Business Administration from Marywood College.

Political career

Moccia has served as a member of the Norwalk Common Council, the Fire Commission, the Fair Rent Commission, and the Redistricting Committee. He is a former Constable, City Sheriff and Connecticut State Marshal.

Mayoral Administration

Mayor Moccia is a member of the

Mayors Against Illegal Guns 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 force ...

Coalition, an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by

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 ...

mayor

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 ...

and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

mayor

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 ...

Personal life

On October 3, 1981, Moccia married Barbara A. Vieux (b. 1938), in

. Since 2014, he has been a resident of

Ridgefield, Connecticut Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York ...

. They have four children.

References

American people of Italian descent Connecticut city council members Connecticut Republicans Living people Marywood University alumni Mayors of Norwalk, Connecticut Politicians from Stamford, Connecticut Sacred Heart University alumni 1943 births {{Connecticut-mayor-stub