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'''Alfonse Marcello "Al" D'Amato''' (born August 1, 1937) is an American lawyer and former [[New York]] [[politician]]. A [[United States Republican Party|Republican]], he served as [[United States Senator]] from New York from 1981 to 1999.
'''Alfonse Marcello "Al" D'Amato''' (born August 1, 1937) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and former [[New York]] [[politician]]. A [[United States Republican Party|Republican]], he served as [[United States Senator]] from New York from 1981 to 1999.


==Early life and family==
==Early life and family==

Revision as of 18:06, 6 September 2013

Alfonse M. D'Amato
United States Senator
from New York
In office
January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1999
Preceded byJacob K. Javits
Succeeded byCharles Schumer
Personal details
Born (1937-08-01) August 1, 1937 (age 87)
Brooklyn, New York
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
SpouseKaturia Elizabeth Smith D'Amato
Alma materSyracuse University

Alfonse Marcello "Al" D'Amato (born August 1, 1937) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and former New York politician. A Republican, he served as United States Senator from New York from 1981 to 1999.

Early life and family

D'Amato, of Italian heritage, was born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island in the small hamlet of Island Park.[1] He is a graduate of Chaminade High School, Syracuse University, and Syracuse University College of Law.

D'Amato married his first wife, Penelope, with whom he has four children, in 1960. Al and Penelope D'Amato separated in 1982 after 22 years of marriage. After a 13 year separation, their divorce became final in 1995. He has dated several well-known personalities, including entertainment television reporter Claudia Cohen. On July 18, 2004, he married Katuria Elizabeth Smith. They have one son, Alfonso Marcello D'Amato, born on February 5, 2008, and a daughter, Luciana Cioffari D'Amato, born on October 16, 2009.[2]

Early political career

His political career started with the Nassau County Republican Party, and he held the appointive position of Public Administrator of Nassau County, where he was responsible for managing the assets of county residents who died without wills. He was first appointed and then elected Receiver of Taxes of Hempstead, New York. He left this office to become a town supervisor in Hempstead and in 1977 he was elected presiding supervisor. He was also vice chairman of the Nassau County Board of Supervisors from 1977 to 1980.[3]

Despite being a rather obscure candidate, he defeated incumbent Sen. Jacob Javits by 56% to 44% in the 1980 Republican primary election, after Javits' 1979 diagnosis of generally fatal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Javits nevertheless pursued the seat on the Liberal Party ticket, splitting the left-wing vote in ordinarily liberal New York with Democratic Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman and leading to D'Amato's 45% plurality victory.

United States Senate

D'Amato drew the nickname Senator Pothole for his delivery of "constituent services," helping citizens with their individual cases. While some New Yorkers meant the nickname as a pejorative, many others saw it as a positive affirmation of his attention to getting things done.

Senator D'Amato also holds the record for the second and seventh longest filibusters ever recorded in the United States Senate. He is remembered for his unique and rather comical filibusters. In 1986, a filibuster he conducted against a military bill lasted 23 hours, 30 minutes and he was known for reading the District of Columbia phone book during a filibuster. In 1992, D'Amato filibustered a bill that would have caused the loss of 750 jobs in upstate New York by singing "South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)".[4]

Senator D'Amato is also remembered for presenting a poster of a "Taxasaurus Rex," which he then stabbed with an oversized pencil.

He was a member of the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism (PCAST), which was set up in September 1989 to review and report on aviation security policy in light of the sabotage of Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988.

While he was in office, he was chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and was a member of the Senate Finance Committee. As a member of the former, he became a leading critic of the Clinton administration regarding the Whitewater scandal, and during 1995 and 1996 chaired the hearings-heavy Senate Special Whitewater Committee. As a member of the latter, he championed the cause of Holocaust survivors trying to recover relatives' funds from accounts in Swiss banks.

D'Amato was very influential in New York Republican politics, and widely considered the "boss" of the state GOP during his Senate years. For example, he played a leading role in recruiting George Pataki and securing him the Republican nomination in the gubernatorial race of 1994.[5]

D'Amato was known for being fairly conservative, a reflection of strongly conservative Nassau County and Long Island but remains very popular among some of New York's liberal voters. He strongly supported the conservative positions of his party on "law and order" issues such as capital punishment and harsh penalties for drug offenses. On some issues, he agreed with the opposition: in 1993, D'Amato was one of only three Republicans to vote in favor of allowing gays to serve openly in the U.S. military. In 1996, he was among the minority of Republicans to vote to extend federal protections against employment discrimination to gays and lesbians.

In the 1998 election, D'Amato was endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign over socially liberal Democratic Congressman Charles Schumer. On labor issues too, he frequently sided with Democrats. His 55% to 45% 1998 loss was attributed to a lack of support among moderate voters in New York City, site of opponent Charles Schumer's US Congressional district. His loss was also partially attributed to reports arising from D'Amato's use of the term "putzhead" (a Yiddish vulgarity) to refer to Schumer.

Controversies and friends

In April of 1995, during a radio interview, D'Amato used a mock Asian accent to criticize Judge Lance Ito, who was at the time presiding over the O.J. Simpson murder trial. The Senator was widely criticized for the comments.[6][7]

In October 1998, D'Amato was criticized for insulting Congressman Jerry Nadler. According to USA Today, D'Amato "referred to the heavyset Nadler as 'Congressman Waddler.' He also did a physical imitation of Nadler (D-NY) waddling like a duck."[8] D'Amato subsequently apologized, saying, "It was a poor attempt at humor, and I was wrong, and I apologized to him."

Zoning

D'Amato has been the subject of much controversy over local zoning laws in Lido Beach, New York (governed by the Town of Hempstead). His wife, who sat on the Town's zoning board, was forced to recuse herself after accusations arose over 'unfair' and 'unethical' treatment as D'Amato made what would have been illegal additions to his Lido Beach home.[9] [dead link]

Later political involvements

2008 presidential race

On June 12, 2007, the former three-term Senator from New York endorsed one-time Senate colleague from Tennessee Fred Thompson for the Republican nomination for president in 2008.[10][11] In explaining his endorsement of Thompson, former Senator D'Amato called Thompson "a real conservative," not a candidate who adopted conservative positions in preparation for an election. D'Amato added, "Fred Thompson is the kind of candidate our party can unify behind and support wholeheartedly."[12][13] On January 22, 2008 after poor showings from Fred Thompson, D'Amato threw his support to John McCain for the 2008 Presidential Election, saying "If you want to win in November, John McCain is the man."

Poker Players Alliance (PPA)

D'Amato is chairman of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), a nonprofit organization set up to help protect and fight for the rights of poker players in the United States. Part of the PPA's mission is to protect the right of poker players to play online.[14]

He appeared on Howard Stern's Sirius-XM radio show on July 20, 2009, to promote the PPA.

Electoral history

Acting career

D'Amato had a brief cameo as himself in the 1997 movie The Devil's Advocate. D'Amato also made a brief cameo appearance as himself in an episode of Spin City.

References

  1. ^ "Alfonse M. D'Amato". New York Times. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  2. ^ D'Amato and wife welcome baby daughter Newsday October 16, 2009
  3. ^ Senator Alfonse D'Amato's entry in The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, retrieved January 26, 2011
  4. ^ Alfonse D’Amato, 1992 "U.S. Senate Filibusters: A History of Talk" The Daily Beast. April 20, 2010. Accessed January 25, 2013
  5. ^ Perez-Pena, Richard (November 5, 1998). "THE 1998 ELECTIONS: NEW YORK STATE -- THE PARTIES; New Order for New York's G.O.P. and Democrats". The New York Times.
  6. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/06/nyregion/d-amato-mocks-ito-and-sets-off-furor.html
  7. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/07/nyregion/d-amato-gives-a-new-apology-on-ito-remarks.html
  8. ^ USA Today. March 5, 1999 http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/ny/ny026.htm. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ Newsday.com
  10. ^ Raymond J. Keating, "D'Amato could be right on Thompson," "Newsday," June 18, 2007, Newsay.com
  11. ^ Al D'Amato Likes Fred Thompson-Giuliani Ticket
  12. ^ "D'Amato explains his '08 pick," "New York Daily News": "The Daily Politics" June 13, 2007 NYdailynews.com
  13. ^ Fouhy, Beth (June 13, 2007). "Clinton Gets Endorsement From Spielberg - The Huffington Post". Huffington Post.
  14. ^ D'Amato, Alfonse (October 2007). "Report from the Chairman" (Press release). Poker Players Alliance.
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 3) from New York
1981–1999
Served alongside: Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Chairman of National Republican Senatorial Committee
1995–1997
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Chairman of Senate Banking Committee
1995–1999
Succeeded by

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