Anthony Brindisi

Early life and education

Brindisi was born on November 22, 1978, in New Hartford, New York, to Louis and Jacqueline Brindisi. He has five siblings. His great grandparents were from Mardin (present-day Turkey) and fled to Aleppo, Syria during the Armenian genocide. His mother died of cancer when he was four years old, on the same day that a murder took place at Louis's law firm. Louis gave up the practice of criminal defense law after the murder.

Brindisi graduated from Notre Dame Junior Senior High School in Utica, New York, and attended Herkimer County Community College and Mohawk Valley Community College before graduating from Siena College in 2000. He has said that the 2000 United States presidential election inspired him to become a lawyer. He attended Thomas M. Cooley Law School for a year, then attended Albany Law School of Union University, New York like his father. He joined the law firm his father founded and later won a seat on the Utica School Board.

New York State Assembly

Following the appointment of Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito as Commissioner of the New York State Office of General Services, Brindisi won a special election to replace her to represent the 119th Assembly district, beating Republican Gregory Johnson in a September 13, 2011, special election. He was unopposed in the 2012 general election, running on the Democratic, Working Families Party, and Independence Party of New York State fusion ticket. He was also unchallenged in 2014 and 2016.

Brindisi voted against the NY SAFE Act, a 2013 gun control law written in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. He was endorsed by the National Rifle Association of America in 2016, and the NRA also gave him a 100% rating in 2017. The NRA downgraded his rating to an F during his 2018 campaign for Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

Brindisi ran for Congress in New York's 22nd congressional district, which was held by first-term Republican Claudia Tenney of nearby New Hartford. Tenney had served alongside Brindisi in the State Assembly from 2011 to 2017. Brindisi ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He was endorsed by former Republican congressmen Richard Hanna and Sherwood Boehlert. The brand of Republicanism in central New York has traditionally been a moderate one, and Tenney was considered a staunch conservative and an outspoken supporter of President Trump.

On November 19, 2018, Brindisi declared victory. By November 20, his lead grew to over 3,900 votes, and there were not enough remaining absentee ballots for Tenney to close the gap. Tenney conceded on November 28. The 22nd voted for Donald Trump by a 15% margin over Hillary Clinton in 2016, the largest margin in any House district to change hands from a Republican to a Democrat in 2018.

Upon his swearing-in on January 3, 2019, Brindisi became only the second Democrat to represent the district in 68 years, and the third in 119 years. The last Democrat to represent this district was Mike Arcuri, who represented what was then the 24th district from 2007 to 2011. Arcuri won with 54% of the vote, becoming only the second Democrat to represent this district and its predecessors in 106 years, and the first since 1951.

2020

Brindisi sought reelection to Congress in 2020. In October 2019, Tenney announced that she would challenge him. The initial election results were too close to call, and a court challenge ensued. On December 8, a New York state judge ordered a district-wide recanvass of all ballots, including provisional ballots and disputed ballots not included in the original count. By January 29, 2021, Tenney had a 122-vote lead over Brindisi based on unofficial tallies. On February 5, 2021, New York Supreme Court Judge Scott DelConte ruled in Tenney's favor, allowing her to be declared the winner of the election by 109 votes.

Tenure

On December 18, 2019, Brindisi voted to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research
  • Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
  • Subcommittee on Health
• Armed Services Committee
  • Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
  • Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces

Caucus memberships

• Blue Dog Coalition (Co-Chair for Whip)
• New Democrat Coalition

Judicial service

2021 campaign for Supreme Court justice

In July 2021, Brindisi announced his candidacy for state Supreme Court. He lost the 2021 race for the 5th Supreme Court District to Republican Danielle Fogel.

New York State Court of Claims

In May 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Brindisi to the New York State Court of Claims.

Federal judicial service

On July 31, 2024, President Joe Biden nominated Brindisi to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. President Biden nominated Brindisi to a seat being vacated by Judge David N. Hurd, who announced his intent to assume senior status upon confirmation of a successor. On September 25, 2024, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. During his confirmation hearing, he was questioned by Senator John Kennedy on the constitutional limits of the government speech doctrine. Brindisi could not say whether the government has free speech rights. He was also questioned by Senator Marsha Blackburn over his support for the New York Dream Act and by Senator Lindsey Graham over his past congressional co-sponsorship of the Equality Act. On November 21, 2024, his nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–10 party-line vote. On December 4, 2024, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 50–48 vote. Later that day, his nomination was confirmed by a 50–49 vote. He received his judicial commission on December 9, 2024.

Electoral history

Personal life

Brindisi lives with his wife, Erica, and their two children in Utica.

References

References

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2. {{congbio
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8. Pellis, Randy. (October 31, 2020). "Democrat incumbent Brindisi takes on Republican Tenney in 22nd Congressional District rematch".
9. (September 13, 2011). "UPDATED: Primary election results for Oneida, Herkimer counties". [[Observer-Dispatch]].
10. (September 13, 2011). "6 of 6 Dems capture NY Assembly special elections". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
11. (December 16, 2016). "New York District 119 State Assembly Results: Anthony Brindisi Wins". [[The New York Times]].
12. (March 28, 2018). "Giffords-endorsed Anthony Brindisi has a 100 percent rating from the NRA". City & State New York.
13. (March 9, 2018). "NY-22 Minute: Brindisi Questioned on Gun Policy".
14. (October 9, 2018). "Anthony Brindisi, once top rated by NRA, blames gun lobby for inaction in Congress". Syracuse.com.
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16. (November 2, 2018). "Former GOP Rep. Sherwood Boehlert endorses Brindisi".
17. (April 27, 2018). "Tenney's red-meat rhetoric alarms House Republicans".
18. [https://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/11/19/ny-22-congressional-district-anthony-brindisi-claims-victory-claudia-tenney/2053029002/ Anthony Brindisi claims victory over Tenney with majority of absentee ballots counted], ''[[Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin]]''. Vaughn, Natasha. November 19, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
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34. (July 31, 2024). "President Biden Names Fifty-Third Round of Judicial Nominees". The White House.
35. (July 31, 2024). "Nominations Sent to the Senate". The White House.
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