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Joseph Griffo

Joseph Griffo
Member of the New York State Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2007
Preceded byRaymond A. Meier
Constituency47th District (2007–2022)
53rd District (2023–Present)
8th Oneida County Executive
In office
2003–2006
Preceded byRalph J. Eannace, Jr.
Succeeded byAnthony J. Picente, Jr.
39th Mayor of Rome, New York
In office
1992–2003
Preceded byCarl J. Eilenberg
Succeeded byJohn J. Mazzaferro
Personal details
Born (1956-01-16) January 16, 1956 (age 68)
Rome, New York, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseLorraine Griffo
ResidenceRome, New York
EducationThe College at Brockport, State University of New York (BA)

Joseph A. "Joe" Griffo (born January 16, 1956) is an American politician serving as a member of the New York Senate from the 53rd district since 2023, and the 47th district from 2007-2022.[1] The 53rd district includes parts of Chenango, Oneida, and Madison Counties.[2] Prior to his election to the Senate, Griffo served as mayor of Rome, New York and as Oneida County executive. A Republican,[3] Griffo serves as deputy minority leader of the State Senate.

Early life and education

Joseph Griffo was born to Joseph and Betty Griffo in Rome, New York. Griffo was educated in the Rome City School District and graduated from Rome Free Academy High School in 1974.[1] He then attended the College at Brockport, State University of New York, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1978.[1]

Career

Oneida County Legislature

Griffo served in the Oneida County Legislature from 1989 to 1991.[4]

Mayor of Rome, New York

Griffo was elected mayor of his hometown of Rome, New York in 1991,[5] and won two subsequent elections in 1995 and 1999.[6][7]

As mayor, Griffo eliminated Rome's special one-quarter percent sales tax.[8] Also, Griffo "was able to prevent a tax hike there in all but one of his years in office, despite the crippling loss of Griffiss Air Force Base in 1993 – perhaps the worst single economic blow the county has ever seen."[9] Griffo merged the parks and recreation departments and handed over the city's weights and measures and emergency management departments to the county, resulting in savings. To prevent closures and service cuts, he privatized Rome Hospital, the Erie Canal Village, and city trash collection services.[10]

Griffo brought Woodstock '99 to Rome; this effort earned him the nickname "The Rock N' Roll Mayor."[11][9] The concert was held at the decommissioned Griffiss Air Force Base. Woodstock '99 attracted over 200,000 people but was plagued by many problems, including inadequate staffing, widespread sexual assault, and profiteering by event organizers.[12][13]

Oneida County executive

Griffo was appointed Oneida County executive in June 2003 to serve out the term of his predecessor. Griffo was then elected to the post in November 2003.[14] After raising taxes 16% for 2003, his predecessor had announced that taxes for 2004 might need to be raised by as much as 26% due to skyrocketing Medicare costs and retirement benefits. However, after Griffo was appointed county executive, he was able to balance the 2004 budget while raising taxes by 2.9%.[15] In 2005, he implemented a prescription drug plan that cut drug costs for Oneida county residents by up to 38%.[16]

Griffo increased the county sales tax 1.5% in the 2005 budget to cover Medicaid costs. Normally, sales tax revenues are split amongst state, county and townships/cities. However, in order to cover mandated Medicaid costs, the 1.5% increase would all go to the county government. Utica Mayor Tim Julian began claiming a share of the revenues.[17] Griffo remained adamant in refusing to split the revenues. Griffo tried to disarm the situation by offering the city of Utica $800,000 in debt forgiveness, which Julian refused.[18] Griffo eventually won out and the county did not split the extra sales tax revenues with Utica.[citation needed]

Griffo helped stop the New York Regional Interconnect (NYRI) plan to run electricity from Canada through Oneida County. Concerned citizens feared the project would increase electricity costs in the area and pose health and safety risks to residents.[19] A grassroots effort formed opposing the plan, and Griffo supported that effort with $50,000 of county money.[20] [21]

New York State Senate

In 2006, Griffo ran for the New York State Senate. Utica Mayor Tim Julian ran against Griffo in the Republican primary for State Senator. While Julian lost the primary, he secured a spot on the Independence Party ticket and continued his campaign. A week before the election, Julian dropped out of the race.[22]

Griffo was elected in 2006 to represent the 47th district in the New York State Senate.[1] He replaced Raymond A. Meier,[23] who instead ran unsuccessfully for Congress that year.[24] Among Griffo's significant legislation was a law that created the website ResultsNY.gov, which allowed residents to monitor how state funds were being used.[25] Griffo voted against same-sex marriage legislation on December 2, 2009.[26] In 2011, Griffo voted against allowing same-sex marriage in New York during a Senate roll-call vote on the Marriage Equality Act, which the Senate passed in a close 33–29 vote.[27][28]

In December 2018, Griffo was appointed deputy minority leader of the State Senate.[29] In January 2019, he was appointed acting minority leader after Minority Leader John J. Flanagan sought treatment for alcoholism.[30]

Personal life

Griffo is married to Lorraine Griffo, an elementary school teacher.[1]

Griffo was arrested on August 1, 1988, after allegedly serving alcohol or permitting alcohol to be served to minors at a party he hosted. His case was discharged under contemplation of dismissal.[31][32][better source needed] After his arrest, Griffo accused the officer who arrested him of being 'disgruntled', despite the Rome Police having legitimate grounds for an arrest.[33][better source needed] Later the Rome Democratic Party hired attorney Robert Abrams to probe into Rome Judge James Kehoe's disposition of charges against Joseph Griffo.[33][dead link‍][better source needed]

Griffo was involved in a two-vehicle collision on East Oak Street in Rome. Police said the state senator caused the crash at the stop sign intersection at North James Street.[citation needed] The young female victim in the other car complained of shoulder pain, was later taken to Rome Memorial Hospital by a family member, police stated.[citation needed] The report said that Griffo "has a physical disability causing loss of vision in his right eye, which may have been a contributing factor" in the accident.[citation needed] Griffo "was determined to be at fault in regards to this collision," the report said, but he was not ticketed.[34][better source needed]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Mason, Greg. "Griffo seeking seventh term in state Senate". www.uticaod.com.
  2. ^ "Area voters face a full ballot in Tuesday's election". Rome Daily Sentinel. 2 November 2018.
  3. ^ "Senator Joe Griffo named Deputy Minority Leader of State Senate". WKTV News.
  4. ^ Mason, Greg. "Griffo seeking seventh term in state Senate". Uticaod. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  5. ^ "Griffo Wins Rome Race", The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York, p. 6A, 1991-11-06
  6. ^ "Griffo's Vision for Rome Receives Vote of Confidence", The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York, p. 8A, 1995-11-08
  7. ^ Video on YouTube
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2009-06-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) (accessed 6/20/09)
  9. ^ a b Cooper, Elizabeth (October 29, 2003), "Griffo seeks to restore county's vibrancy", The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York, p. 1A
  10. ^ Dudajek, Dave (September 8, 2005), "Small steps can pay off big", The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York, p. 13A
  11. ^ Zielbauer, Paul (1999-07-12). "The Way to Woodstock? Look for the B-52; Concert Organizers Try to Rekindle Spirit of '69 on a Closed Air Force Base". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  12. ^ Jeff Stark (1999-07-27). "What A Riot". Salon. Archived from the original on 2007-11-07. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
  13. ^ Steven Rochlin (1999). "Woodstock 99". enjoythemusic.com. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
  14. ^ Staff (November 6, 2003), "We're all the losers in dirty campaigns", The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York, p. 15A
  15. ^ Cooper, Elizabeth (November 5, 2003), "Griffo claims county victory", The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York, p. 1A
  16. ^ "Griffo Announces Drug Discount Program for Oneida County Residents". Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2009-06-22. (accessed 6/21/09)
  17. ^ Anderson, Shawn (October 29, 2004), "Utica wants portion of funds from sales-tax hike", The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York, p. 1A
  18. ^ Cooper, Elizabeth (February 5, 2005), "Griffo offers loan forgiveness", The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York, p. 3A
  19. ^ "STOP NYRI, Inc". Archived from the original on 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-22. (accessed 6/22/09)
  20. ^ Anderson, Shawn (September 8, 2005), "Candidates rally around electric line opposition", The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York, p. 1A
  21. ^ Cooper, Elizabeth (June 15, 2006), "County agrees to put $50,000 toward fight against power line", The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York, p. 1B
  22. ^ Gamela, Renee (October 28, 2006), "Julian drops state Senate bid", The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York, p. 3A
  23. ^ Warner, Greg. "Griffo, Julian face off for 47th Senate District". NCPR.
  24. ^ Donovan, Andrew (19 February 2016). "Former State Senator Ray Meier decides against 22nd congressional candidacy". LOCALSYR.
  25. ^ Staff (June 13, 2008), "Griffo bill passes in state Senate", The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York
  26. ^ "404". Archived from the original on 2015-02-11. Retrieved 2014-01-15. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  27. ^ "FINALLY: NY State Senate Passes Gay Marriage: Gothamist". Archived from the original on 2018-05-18. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  28. ^ "Assembly Bill A8354 | S2011-2012 Legislative Session | Marriage Equality Act and roll call". New York State Senate.
  29. ^ Harding, Robert. "Flanagan taps supporters to NY Senate GOP leadership posts, dumps Young". The Citizen (Auburn, New York).
  30. ^ "North Country Sen. Griffo named acting senate minority leader – NorthCountryNow". www.northcountrynow.com.
  31. ^ Observer-Dispatch. August 2, 1988. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  32. ^ Rome Daily Sentinel. August 1, 1988. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help) [dead link‍]
  33. ^ a b Rome Daily Sentinel. August 7, 1988. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help) [dead link‍]
  34. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2017-02-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Political offices
Preceded by
Carl J. Eilenberg
 Mayor of Rome, New York
January 1, 1992 – June, 2003 		Succeeded by
John J. Mazzaferro (interim)
Preceded by
Ralph J. Eannace, Jr.
 Oneida County, New York Executive
June, 2003 – December 31, 2006 		Succeeded by
Anthony J. Picente, Jr.
New York State Senate
Preceded by New York State Senate, 47th District
January 1, 2007 – present 		Incumbent
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