Thomas Suozzi
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| Thomas R. Suozzi | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Thomas Gulotta |
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Mayor of Glen Cove
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| In office 1992 – 2000 |
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| Preceded by | Donald DeRiggi |
| Succeeded by | Mary Ann Holzkamp |
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| Born | August 31, 1962 Glen Cove, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Helene Suozzi |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Thomas R. Suozzi (born August 31, 1962 in Glen Cove, New York) is the county executive of Nassau County, New York. He was first elected to the post of county executive in 2001, the first Democratic county executive since Eugene Nickerson left office in 1971. He ran unsuccessfully against Eliot Spitzer for the Democratic nomination for the race to be Governor of New York in 2006.
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[edit] Early life
The grandson of Italian immigrants, Tom Suozzi was born and raised in Glen Cove, New York, one of five siblings, and graduated from all Roman Catholic schools: Chaminade High School, Boston College, and Fordham University School of Law. His wife is Helene Suozzi and they have three children.
[edit] Political life
In 1992, Suozzi was elected as the youngest Mayor of Glen Cove, New York. He served in that capacity for four terms, ending in 2000. In 2001, Suozzi was elected Nassau County Executive, the youngest to ever hold that office and also the first Democratic county executive since Eugene Nickerson left office in 1971, and just the second in the post-World War II era. Suozzi was reelected as county executive in 2005, defeating his Republican rival Greg Peterson 59%-38% on November 8, 2005.
Suozzi first became County Executive at a time when the county was near bankruptcy, being elected by a 2-to-1 margin in a County with more registered Republicans than any county in New York State. He helped engineer the Democratic takeover of the Nassau County legislature from the once vaunted "Republican machine." His coattails helped the Democrats keep the Nassau County Legislature (by one vote) and helped Democrat Kathleen Rice dislodge the pro-life Denis Dillon, the Nassau County District Attorney of more than 30 years by about 8,000 votes.
Suozzi has been a controversial and maverick figure, he has platformed for a "Fix Albany" campaign, blaming many of Nassau County's problems on the state legislature (which meets in Albany). His criticisms included both Republicans and Democrats in the state legislature, even advocating for the defeat of incumbent legislators.
This might have caused him to be left out of the New York State Delegation at the 2004 Democratic National Convention which nominated Senator John Kerry for President, although the Democratic speaker of the New York State Assembly has denied that was the reason.[citation needed]. Despite this obstacle, Suozzi went to the Convention anyway gaining credentials directly from Kerry's Campaign.
In any event, "Fix Albany" did lead to the defeat of at least one incumbent Democrat State Assemblyman in the party primary, and provided a platform for David Valesky to unseat veteran Republican incumbent Nancy Larraine Hoffmann (a former Democrat) for a Syracuse-area based seat in the NY State Senate, notable because many Senate Republicans have regularly avoided falling victim to the coat-tails of popular Democrat presidential and US Senate candidates in a generally Democrat-leaning state.
He has had battles with the Nassau County police labor unions. A recent executive decision to withhold a union official's pay has been the subject of a high profile New York State court case. The union argues that Suozzi ignored competent legal advice, and so should be personally liable.[citation needed]
A moderate Democrat and a Roman Catholic, in 2005, he advocated curtailing abortions by speaking out in favor of alternate options for pregnant women considering abortion, including adoption and homes for single mothers. Many liberals accused Suozzi of paying lip service to the conservative and moderate pro-life voters in an attempt to neutralize any major Republican opposition.
In the November 2005 issue of Governing Magazine, Suozzi was named one of their "Public Officials of the Year."[1]
[edit] Gubernatorial campaign
He declared that he was running for Governor of New York in the Democratic primary against Eliot Spitzer on February 25, 2006. Republican Party officials are rumored to have approached him about switching parties to run, given his moderate image, but Suozzi insisted that he would not leave the Democratic Party.
The bid appeared from the start to be somewhat of a long shot given Spitzer's reputation as a "corporate crusader", though Suozzi often pointed out that so too was his bid for Nassau County Executive. Democratic Party bosses long favored Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli, but Suozzi prevailed in the primary. Few prominent Democrats outside of Nassau County Democratic Party Chaiman Jay Jacobs supported his bid; most of New York's Democrat legislators and mayors campaigned with Spitzer.
On June 13, 2006 Suozzi spoke before the New York State Conference of Mayors along with Eliot Spitzer and John Faso. Suozzi received a standing ovation by the crowd of Mayors.[2] On July 6, 2006, Suozzi announced to his followers that he had collected enough petitions to place himself on the ballot in the primary against Spitzer. It was reported in all NY media on July 17th that his campaign manager Kim Devlin had quite frankly stepped down and was replaced by Paul Rivera.
Suozzi claimed victory to the press in the debate on July 25, 2006 with New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer held at Pace University. He stated he had presidential aspirations during the course of this debate. As the first question in the yes/no lightning round, moderator Dominick Carter of NY1 first asked Spitzer if he had plans to run for president and Spitzer said "No" whereupon Suozzi jumped immediately and emphatically and clearly enunciated, "Yes." Spitzer then turned his head slightly toward Suozzi and said "good luck, Tom" in an arguably sarcastic tone.
On August 7, 2006, Suozzi announced after much speculation that he will not seek an independent line should he lose the primary to Spitzer.[3]
On the week of August 25 he along with Attorney General Eliot Spitzer were at Pace University again when cable TV NY1 held a town hall forum. However, they did not appear together. (Excerpts aired on Inside Albany week of September 1, 2006 on the New York Public TV stations hosted by Lise Bang-Jensen)
On September 12, 2006, Suozzi was defeated by Attorney General Eliot Spitzer losing the Democratic Party nomination for Governor of New York State.
[edit] Electoral history
- 2006 Race for Governor - Democratic Primary
- Eliot Spitzer (D), 81%
- Tom Suozzi (D), 19%
| Preceded by Thomas Gulotta |
County Executive of Nassau County, NY 2001 – present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Donald DeRiggi |
Mayor of Glen Cove, New York 1993—2000 |
Succeeded by Mary Ann Holzkamp |
[edit] References
- ^ Gurwitt, Rob. "THOMAS R. SUOZZI - High-Voltage Transformer", Governing Magazine, November 2005.
- ^ Hakim, Danny. "Suozzi Gets an Ovation From Conference of Mayors", New York Times, June 14, 2006.
- ^ "Suozzi Won't Seek Independent Line", National Public Radio, August 7, 2006.
