| Rick Lazio | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 2nd district |
|
| In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2001 |
|
| Preceded by | Thomas Downey |
| Succeeded by | Steve Israel |
| Member of the Suffolk County Legislature | |
| In office 1990–1993 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | March 13, 1958 Amityville, New York |
| Political party | Republican Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Patricia Moriarty Lazio |
| Children | Molly Ann, 18, Kelsey, 17 |
| Alma mater | Vassar College American University - Washington College of Law |
| Profession | Politician, Lawyer |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Enrico Anthony "Rick" Lazio (pronounced /ˈlæzi.oʊ/; born March 13, 1958) is a former U.S. Representative from the state of New York. Lazio became well known nationally when he ran against Hillary Rodham Clinton for the U.S. Senate in New York's 2000 Senate election. Lazio also ran for the 2010 New York Republican gubernatorial nomination, but lost to Carl Paladino.[1]
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Lazio was born into an Italian-American family in Amityville, New York in Suffolk County on Long Island. He graduated from West Islip High School in 1976. He received his A.B. from Vassar College in 1980 and received his Juris Doctor from the Washington College of Law at American University.
Prior to being elected to Congress, Lazio was the executive assistant district attorney for Suffolk County and served in the Suffolk County Legislature from 1990 to 1993. He currently resides in Bay Shore on Long Island, and in New York City.
Lazio represented the New York 2nd Congressional District as a Republican. He was first elected in 1992, defeating the incumbent, Thomas Downey, who had served for eighteen years. Lazio served four terms from 1993 to 2001, winning re-election by the largest margin in the history of the district.
In Congress, Lazio served as Deputy Majority Whip, Assistant Majority Leader, and Chairman of the House Banking Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.
In 2000, Lazio ran for the Senate but was defeated by Hillary Clinton in the race to succeed Daniel Patrick Moynihan. His comparatively late entry into the race (five months before Election Day) followed New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's decision to withdraw from the Senate race.
Lazio was dogged during the senatorial campaign with questioning by the SEC into his stock option transactions (e.g., Quick & Reilly, Monsanto, U.S. Filter). After Lazio responded to the inquiry, the SEC took no further action.[2]
A decisive moment that was detrimental to his campaign came during a September 13, 2000 debate when he left his podium, walked over to Clinton with a piece of paper that he called the "New York Freedom From Soft Money Pledge" and demanded she sign it. Clinton refused.[3] Some debate viewers were turned off by Lazio's demeanor towards Clinton[4] – and as a result, Clinton's support among women voters solidified.[3]
Lazio has since expressed regret for his conduct, widely regarded as "bullying and chauvinistic",[5] during the debate:
At the time, I was making a point about a campaign finance pledge that Mrs. Clinton had made and I didn't feel that it was being honored. I thought that was the opportunity to make the point. On substance, it was right - and on style and perception, it was a mistake, which I regret.[5]
Lazio gave up his House seat to run for Senate. Following his defeat, which set a record for the most money spent in a losing Senate effort,[6] he took positions in the corporate world and avoided electoral politics for a decade.[7] Notably he has worked for several years as a highly-paid lobbyist for J.P. Morgan.
In January 2009, Lazio was said to be seriously considering a run in the New York gubernatorial election, 2010.[8] In May 2009, he filed paperwork with the state board of elections to form a campaign committee.[9] Mr. Lazio declared his candidacy for governor in New York City on September 21, 2009, with a formal announcement in Albany, NY on September 22.[10]
On May 28, 2010 Lazio officially received the backing of the New York State Conservative Party. Lazio had already been endorsed by Mike Long, the Conservative Party leader.[11]
On June 2, 2010 Lazio received the New York State Republican Party's designation for Governor, overwhelmingly defeating Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy. Lazio received 59%, Levy 28%, Paladino 8% and Mermel 4%.[12] Lazio's Republican primary opponent, Carl Paladino, has been supported heavily by the Tea Party movement.[13]
Lazio was defeated in the Republican primary by Carl Paladino on September 14, 2010 after Paladino petitioned his way onto the ballot.[14] He did win the Conservative Party primary over dummy candidate Ralph Lorigo on the same day. Lazio won most of downstate New York, but lost in all but two counties in upstate New York. On September 27, Lazio announced he was no longer going to run on the Conservative Party line, and would instead become a dummy candidate for a judgeship in the Bronx, allowing the line to be cleared for another candidate.[14] Lazio indicated he had no desire to actually be a judge and would resign immediately in the event he was actually elected to the post (the Bronx has heavy Democratic Party voter enrollment, making such an event highly improbable).[15] He and defeated lieutenant governor candidate Thomas Ognibene were placed in the same Bronx court election against Democrat Edgar G. Walker (with Lazio as the Republican nominee and Ognibene as the Conservative nominee); Walker defeated both candidates.
On April 9, 2011, Newsday reported that Lazio was "testing the waters" [16] for a possible run for Suffolk County Executive, to replace Steve Levy. Lazio's personal website had begun to display on Google as "Rick for US Senate," [17] indicating that he may run against Democratic incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand. Rick Lazio assured in June 2011 that he was "Running for nothing" and instead wanted to focus on getting young people involved in politics.
| 2000 United States Senate election, New York | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Hillary Rodham Clinton | 3,747,310 | 55.27 | +0.02 | |
| Republican | Rick Lazio | 2,915,730 | 43.01 | -1.5 | |
| Independence | Jeffrey Graham | 43,181 | 0.64 | -0.08 | |
| Green | Mark Dunau | 40,991 | 0.60 | ||
| Right to Life | John Adefope | 21,439 | 0.32 | -1.68 | |
| Libertarian | John Clifton | 4,734 | 0.07 | -0.31 | |
| Constitution | Louis Wein | 3,414 | 0.05 | ||
| Socialist Workers | Jacob Perasso | 3,040 | 0.04 | -0.27 | |
| Majority | 831,580 | 12.27% | |||
| Turnout | 6,779,839 | ||||
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Downey (D) |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 2nd congressional district 1993–2001 |
Succeeded by Steve Israel (D) |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by John Faso |
Conservative Nominee for Governor of New York 2010 (withdrew) |
Succeeded by Carl Paladino (nominated upon Lazio's withdrawal) |
| Preceded by Bernadette Castro |
Republican Nominee for United States Senator from New York (Class 1) 2000 |
Succeeded by John Spencer |