Joseph Francis Periconi (July 14, 1910 – February 16, 1994) was an American politician from

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 ...

. He was a New York State Senator; and Borough President of the Bronx, to date the last Republican in this office.

Life

He was born on July 14, 1910 in Manhattan, New York City. Periconi was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(27th D.) in 1953 and 1954. In November 1954, after legislative re-apportionment, he ran in the 29th District for re-election, but was defeated by Democrat

Francis J. McCaffrey Francis J. McCaffrey (September 16, 1917 – November 29, 1989) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life He was born on September 16, 1917, in the Bronx, New York City. He attended Holy Spirit Parochial School and Fordham Prepa ...

, the incumbent of the 28th District. In November 1956, Periconi defeated McCaffrey for re-election. Periconi was again a member of the State Senate (29th D.) from 1957 to 1960, sitting in the 171st and

172nd New York State Legislature The 172nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7, 1959, to April 1, 1960, during the first and second years of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany. Backg ...

s. In 1957, he ran for Borough President of the Bronx, but was defeated by the incumbent Democrat

James J. Lyons James J. Lyons (February 12, 1890 – January 7, 1966) was an American Democratic Party politician, who served as Borough President of the Bronx from 1934–1962. Early life James Lyons was born in Manhattan's old Ninth Ward. His father was in ...

. On April 14, 1960, Periconi was appointed as a member of the Board of the

New York City Transit Authority The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City. P ...

. Periconi was Borough President of the Bronx from 1962 to 1965, elected on the

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

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

tickets in 1961. During his time in office, he fought countlessly for the preservation of

Bronx Borough Hall The Bronx Municipal Building, later known as Bronx Borough Hall and eventually as Old Bronx Borough Hall (1897–1969), was the original administrative headquarters of the Bronx Borough President and other local civic leaders. It was located ...

as a landmark. In 1965, he was narrowly defeated by

Herman Badillo Herman Badillo (pronounced ''bah-DEE-yoh''; August 21, 1929 – December 3, 2014) was an American politician who served as borough president of The Bronx and United States Representative, and ran for Mayor of New York City. He was the first Pu ...

, who was then a Democrat. During Badillo's tenure, the landmark building was demolished. Periconi was the

New York City Department of Sanitation The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for garbage collection, recycling collection, street cleaning, and snow removal. The DSNY motto "New York's Strongest" was coined ...

Commissioner from January 1, 1966 to November 23, 1966. He lost a 1970 election to the US House of Representatives to

Mario Biaggi Mario Biaggi (October 26, 1917 – June 24, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, and police officer. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York from 1969 to 1988. Prior to his political career, Biagg ...

, getting 25% of the vote to Biaggi's 70%.https://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1970election.pdf Periconi died on February 16, 1994 at the Morris Park Nursing Home in the Bronx.

References

1910 births 1994 deaths Bronx borough presidents Republican Party New York (state) state senators 20th-century American politicians Politicians from the Bronx {{NewYork-NYSenate-stub

Life

See also

References