Joseph Griffo

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Joseph Griffo
Joseph Griffo
New York State Senator
In office
2007 – Incumbent
Preceded by Raymond A. Meier
Born Rome, New York
Spouse Lorainne Griffo
Residence Rome, New York
Occupation Politician

Hon. Joseph A. Griffo of Rome, New York is a New York State Senator representing the 47th district which includes Oneida, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.

Contents

[edit] Political career and background

Griffo received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with Magna Cum Laude distinction in 1978 from the State University of New York at Brockport. He then served as director of community relations for the City of Rome and as an administrative assistant to the mayor. Griffo first sought elective office in 1989, running for a seat on the Oneida County Legislature. In 1991, Griffo was elected as Mayor of Rome, New York, and reelected in both 1995 and 1999. He was elected Oneida County Executive in 2003, before running for State Senate in 2006 to replace Raymond Meier, who was running for Congress.

[edit] Role in investigation of Governor Spitzer

The Senate Committee on Investigations is considering investigating a controversial multimillion-dollar loan that New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer's father Bernard Spitzer gave him when he ran for attorney general in 1998, a loan Mr. Spitzer has acknowledged not being truthful about.[1][2] Committee Chairman George Winner told The New York Post that subpoenas should be used to find out about the loans.[3] Winner wrote to Griffo, who is the Chairman of the Senate Elections Committee, that an article profiling Spitzer in New York Magazine "outlined what may have been a willful effort by Eliot Spitzer and his father to circumvent campaign-contribution limits in New York state law and then conceal their actions."[2] In 1998, Spitzer claimed that he secured the $5 million loan by mortgaging apartments his developer had given him, but later revealed that his father was actually paying off the loans and, therefore, financing his campaign.[1][2]

[edit] Electoral History

47th Senate District of New York election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic John L. Murad 31,370 36.4
Republican Joseph Griffo 43,662 50.9
Independence Timothy J. Julian 5,033 5.8
Working Families Party Leon R. Koziol 5,938 6.9

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b New York Times, His Aura Faded Now, Spitzer Faces Bolder Enemies, by DANNY HAKIM, July 23, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c New York Post, GOP PUTS HEAT ON ELIOT'S $5M LOAN, by FREDRIC U. DICKER, July 23, 2007.
  3. ^ Associated Press, State Senate GOP Seek Spitzer Loan Records, July 23, 2007.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

 This article about a New York politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Political offices
Preceded by
Ralph J. Eannace Jr.		 Oneida County, New York Executive
2003 – 2006		 Succeeded by
Anthony J. Picente Jr.
Preceded by
Raymond A. Meier		 New York State Senate, 47th District
2007 – present		 Incumbent
Persondata
NAME Griffo, Joseph A.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION New York State Senator
DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH Rome, New York
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH