Anthony Joseph Brindisi (born November 22, 1978) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of New York. A Democrat, Brindisi served as the U.S. representative from

New York's 22nd congressional district The 22nd congressional district of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives. Significant cities in the district include Utica, Rome, Cortland, and Binghamton. It is home to several colleges and unive ...

from 2019 to 2021. He represented New York's 119th Assembly District from 2011 to 2018. Before his election to the New York State Assembly, Brindisi served on the Utica

School Board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

and practiced as an attorney. He was first elected to the New York State Assembly in a September 2011 special election. Brindisi narrowly defeated

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 ...

U.S. Representative Claudia Tenney in the 2018 election in New York's 22nd congressional district. Tenney challenged Brindisi in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

. Initially, the 2020 election was too close to call, and its results were challenged in court. On February 5, 2021, a state trial court judge declared Tenney the winner.

Early life and education

Brindisi was born in 1978 in

Utica, New York Utica () is a city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 U.S. Census. Located on the Mohawk River at the ...

, to Louis and Jacqueline Brindisi. He has five siblings. His great grandparents were from Mardin (present-day Turkey) and fled to Aleppo, Syria during the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

. His mother died of cancer when he was four years old. He graduated from Notre Dame Junior Senior High School and attended Mohawk Valley Community College before graduating from Siena College in 2000. Brindisi has said that the 2000 United States presidential election inspired him to become a lawyer. He received his J.D. degree from

Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and has an affiliation agreement with University at Al ...

of Union University, New York in 2004. He joined the law firm his father founded and later won a seat on the Utica School Board.

New York State Assembly

Following the appointment of Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito as Commissioner of the New York State Office of General Services, Brindisi won a

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, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

to replace her to represent the 119th Assembly district, beating Republican Gregory Johnson in a September 13, 2011, special election. He was unopposed in the 2012 general election, running on the Democratic,

Working Families Party The Working Families Party (WFP) is a minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Ne ...

, and Independence Party of New York State fusion ticket. He was also unchallenged in 2014 and 2016. Brindisi voted against the

NY SAFE Act The New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013, commonly known as the NY SAFE Act, is a gun regulation law in the state of New York. The law was passed by the New York State Legislature and was signed into law by Governor of ...

, a 2013 gun control law written in response to the

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and t ...

. He was endorsed by the National Rifle Association in 2016, and the NRA also gave him a 100% rating in 2017. The NRA downgraded his rating to an F during his 2018 campaign for Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

Brindisi ran for Congress in

, which was held by one-term Republican Claudia Tenney of nearby New Hartford. Tenney had served alongside Brindisi in the State Assembly from 2011 to 2017. Brindisi ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He was endorsed by former Republican congressmen Richard Hanna and Sherwood Boehlert. The brand of Republicanism in central New York has traditionally been a moderate one, and Tenney was considered a staunch conservative and an outspoken supporter of President Trump. On November 19, 2018, Brindisi declared victory.Anthony Brindisi claims victory over Tenney with majority of absentee ballots counted
'' Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin''. Vaughn, Natasha. November 19, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018. By November 20, his lead grew to over 3,900 votes, and there were not enough remaining absentee ballots for Tenney to close the gap. Tenney conceded on November 28. The 22nd voted for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

by a 15% margin over

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

in 2016, the largest margin in any House district to change hands from a Republican to a Democrat in 2018. Anthony Brindisi swearing in

Upon his swearing-in on January 3, 2019, Brindisi became only the second Democrat to represent the district in 68 years, and the third in 119 years. The last Democrat to represent this district was Mike Arcuri, who represented what was then the 24th district from 2007 to 2011. Arcuri won with 54% of the vote, becoming only the second Democrat to represent this district and its predecessors in 106 years, and the first since 1951.

2020

Brindisi sought reelection to Congress in 2020. In October 2019, Tenney announced that she would challenge him. The initial election results were too close to call, and a court challenge ensued. On December 8, a New York state judge ordered a district-wide recanvass of all ballots, including provisional ballots and disputed ballots not included in the original count. By January 29, 2021, Tenney had a 122-vote lead over Brindisi based on unofficial tallies. On February 5, 2021, New York Supreme Court Judge Scott DelConte ruled in Tenney's favor, allowing her to be declared the winner of the election by 109 votes.

Tenure

On December 18, 2019, Brindisi voted to impeach President

for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Agriculture ** Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research ** Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture * Committee on Veterans' Affairs ** Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity **

Subcommittee on Health The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health is a subcommittee within the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Jurisdiction The House Subcommittee on Health has general jurisdiction over bills and resolutions relating to pub ...

* Armed Services Committee ** Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces ** Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces

Caucus memberships

Blue Dog Coalition The Blue Dog Coalition (commonly known as the Blue Dogs or Blue Dog Democrats) is a caucus in the United States House of Representatives comprising centrist members from the Democratic Party. The caucus was founded as a group of conservative De ...

(Co-Chair for Whip) *

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a moderate-to-conservative approach to fiscal matters. As of ...

2021 campaign for Supreme Court justice

In July 2021, Brindisi announced his candidacy for

state Supreme Court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in b ...

. He lost the 2021 race for the 5th Supreme Court District to Republican Danielle Fogel.

New York State Court of Claims

In May 2022, Governor

Kathy Hochul Kathleen Hochul ( ; née Courtney; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician serving as the 57th governor of New York since August 24, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor, as well as the first ...

appointed Brindisi to the New York State Court of Claims.

Electoral history

Personal life

Brindisi lives with his wife, Erica, and their two children in Utica.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Brindisi, Anthony 1978 births 21st-century American politicians Albany Law School alumni Candidates in the 2021 United States elections Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Living people Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) lawyers Politicians from Utica, New York School board members in New York (state) Siena College alumni