Felix J. Grucci Jr. (born November 25, 1951) is an American politician from New York who served in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
from
New York's 1st congressional district
The 1st congressional district of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in eastern Long Island. It includes the eastern two-thirds of Suffolk County, including most of Smithtown, as well as the ent ...
Felix J. Grucci Jr. was born on November 25, 1951, in Brookhaven, New York, to Felix J. Grucci Sr. and Concetta DiDio. In 1970, he graduated from
Bellport High School
Bellport High School is the public high school for the South Country Central School District, which is located in Suffolk County, Long Island in the United States. It serves students in grades 9-12 in Bellport
Bellport is a village in the Tow ...
. After graduating from high school he started working for his family's business,
Fireworks by Grucci
Fireworks by Grucci is an American fireworks company headquartered in Bellport on New York's Long Island. It has been a family-run business since 1850. The company's main fireworks office and operations are in Bellport, New York, with a manufact ...
.
Career
Politics
From 1988 to 1991, Grucci served on the Suffolk County planning commission.
In 1990, he received the Republican nomination to run in a special election for a seat in the
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Assem ...
to replace John Powell, who had resigned after winning election to the Brookhaven Town Board. In the election he was defeated by former Assemblyman William Bianchi.
From 1991 to 1993, Grucci served as the chairman of Brookhaven's Zoning Board of Appeals. On January 5, 1993, he was appointed to the Brookhaven Town Board to fill the vacancy created by John Powell after he accepted a position on the Suffolk County Board of Elections. In 1995, he defeated Democratic nominee Thomas Oberle to win election as Brookhaven Town Supervisor.
U.S. House of Representatives
2000
On March 20, 2000, Grucci announced that he would run for the Republican nomination in
New York's 1st congressional district
The 1st congressional district of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in eastern Long Island. It includes the eastern two-thirds of Suffolk County, including most of Smithtown, as well as the ent ...
. Incumbent Representative
Michael Forbes
Michael Patrick Forbes (born July 16, 1952) is an American former politician from the state of New York. Forbes represented a Long Island district in the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2001, first as a Republican (until 1 ...
, who had switched his political affiliation from
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 ...
to Democratic, was defeated in the Democratic primary by Regina Seltzer. In the general election Grucci defeated Seltzer with 133,020 votes to her 97,299.
During the election Grucci was endorsed by Arizona Senator
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
, Suffolk County Republican Chairman Tony Apollaro, Suffolk County Clerk Ed Romaine, Assembly-member Pat Accampora, Brookhaven Town Counciler John LaValle, Southold Town Counciler Bill Moore, and Southampton Village trustee Bill Manger.
2002
During the 2002 congressional
elections
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...
Grucci released a radio advertisement which stated that
Tim Bishop
Timothy Howard Bishop (born June 1, 1950) is an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative for from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
The district includes most of Central and Eastern Suffolk County, includin ...
had "turned his back" on rape victims at
Southampton College
Stony Brook Southampton is a campus location of Stony Brook University, located in Southampton (town), New York, Southampton, New York between the Shinnecock Indian Reservation and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on the eastern end of Long Island.
H ...
. Grucci was criticized for the advertisement and Bishop filed a lawsuit to prevent the advertisement from being played.
Amy Walter
Amy Elizabeth Walter (born October 19, 1969)"Profile: Amy Walter"
stated that the advertisement was "a big turning point in this contest" as it was initially predicted that Grucci would easily win reelection.
In the general election Bishop narrowly defeated Grucci with 84,276 votes to 81,524.
Later life
In 2013, Grucci and his sister, Donna Grucci Butler, stepped down as presidents of Fireworks by Grucci and were succeeded by their nephew, Felix Grucci III.