A&e biography episodes

American politician (born )

Albio Sires
Sires during the th Congress
Incumbent
Assumed office May 16,
Preceded by	Gabe Rodriguez
In office May 16, &#;– November 13,
Preceded by	Anthony M. DeFino
Succeeded by	Silverio Vega
In office November 13, &#;– January 3,
Preceded by	Bob Menendez
Succeeded by	Rob Menendez
Constituency	13th district (–) 8th district (–)
In office January 8, &#;– January 10,
Preceded by	Jack Collins
Succeeded by	Joseph J. Roberts
In office January 11, &#;– November 13,
Preceded by	Louis Romano
Succeeded by	Silverio Vega
Born	() January 26, (age&#;73) Bejucal, Cuba
Political party	Democratic (before , –present)
Other political affiliations	Republican (–) Independent (–)
Spouse	Adrienne Kole &#; (m.&#;)&#;
Children	1
Education	Saint Peter's University (BA) Middlebury College (MA)

Albio B.

Sires (AL-bee-oh SIRR-iss;^[1] born January 26, ) is a Cuban-born American businessman and politician serving as the mayor of West New York, New Jersey, since and previously from to He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Sires represented district 33 in the New Jersey General Assembly from to , serving as Speaker of the New Jersey House from to ^[2] He then served as the U.S.

representative for New Jersey's 8th congressional district from to The district, numbered as the 13th district from to , included most of northern and eastern Jersey City, as well as most of Newark's Latino neighborhoods. He did not seek reelection in ^[3][4][5][6]

Early life

Sires was born on January 26, , in Bejucal, Cuba.

He immigrated to the United States with his family at age 11 with the help of relatives in the U.S.^[7] He eventually settled in West New York, New Jersey; he still lives there, in a town that was % Hispanic according to the census. He attended Public School 4, where he and his brother were two of only three Latinos in the school.

Al bio sires biography channel Condict E. This bill has yet to be reintroduced in the th Congress and I look forward to cosponsoring it again. I have long supported our military veterans and often meet with organizations representing former servicemembers from New Jersey. Political offices Preceded by Jack Collins.

Sires learned English from a teacher who used flashcards and phonetics,^[8] and subsequently attended Memorial High School, where he was a star basketball player, whose skills on the court helped him obtain a basketball scholarship to Saint Peter's College. He received a B.A. in in Spanish and marketing.

He received an M.A. in Spanish from Middlebury College in ^[2][8]

Early career

Teaching and business

Sires worked at Memorial High School as a teacher and coach. He is the owner of A.M. Title Agency Inc.^[9][10]

New Jersey government

Sires first ran for office as the Republican nominee for New Jersey's 14th congressional district in ^[11]

Sires was the first Hispanic mayor of West New York and in was elected mayor of the year by his fellow mayors.^[8]

Sires served as the Speaker of the Assembly from to and was the first Hispanic person to serve as New Jersey's Assembly Speaker.

He was considered a surprise pick for speaker, since he had only served one term in the Assembly before taking the position. It has been reported that he was elected as speaker after Governor-elect Jim McGreevey decided he did not want then Assembly Minority Leader Joseph Doria, a former speaker, to serve as speaker during his governorship.^[12]

Sires was an active Democrat in the s and s.

He switched to the Republican Party in and ran for Congress in against Frank Guarini. Sires lost that election, 71% to 26%. Sires left the Republican Party in and became a registered independent. Sires rejoined the Democratic Party in Three years later, he became speaker.^[9]

During his tenure as speaker, Sires served as acting governor of New Jersey on several occasions, when McGreevey and Richard Codey left the state.

He was the first Hispanic person to serve as an acting governor of New Jersey. As acting governor, Sires signed several bills into law and performed routine duties of the office.

For the –08 legislative session, Sires was given the largely honorary title of Speaker Emeritus. He is a former chair of the Legislative Services Commission.

Sires stepped down from his seat in the Assembly, and was replaced by Silverio Vega, whom the Democratic district committee chose to replace Sires. Vega was sworn into office on December 11, ^[13]

Sires was the mayor of West New York, New Jersey, from to He was succeeded by Vega, who will retain his mayoral seat while he simultaneously serves in the Assembly, joining three fellow Hudson County mayors—Brian Stack of Union City in the Assembly and Nicholas Sacco of North Bergen and Joseph Doria of Bayonne in the New Jersey Senate—who serve as both mayors and in the New Jersey Legislature.

For many years, it was common for New Jersey mayors to serve in the legislature; this practice of "double dipping" was abolished in , but who had been in both positions before the February 1, , cutoff date were grandfathered in and could retain both jobs.^[14] During the time that Sires served in the Assembly, he was paid $49, for his state legislative position and $15, annually as mayor.^[15]

U.S.

House of Representatives

Tenure

Sires had voted with the Democratic Party 93% of the time since joining Congress.^[16]

Sires was a member of the Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus.^[17]

Mass transit

Sires is seen as a "champion of mass transit". He supports federal funding for public transportation projects, believing they will help his constituents.^[18] He was an advocate for a $9 billion "federal, state and locally-funded public transit tunnel from New Jersey to New York that broke ground in June " The project was expected to employ thousands of people.^[18]

In March , Sires pushed for a two-year bill that would help by funding highways and mass transit.^[19][20] He also pushed to extend the surface transportation bill so the House and Senate could reconcile the differences between the House bill and the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP).^[20]

Housing

Sires has made affordable housing one of his priorities.

Residents of his district pay more for housing—including rent and home prices—than most places in the country. He has supported legislation focused on making housing more affordable.^[18]

Iran deal

Sires opposed the nuclear deal with Iran, saying, "I do not feel the agreement will prevent them from acquiring a nuclear weapon."^{[citation needed]}

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

On October 1, , Sires co-signed a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that condemned Azerbaijan’s offensive operations against the Armenian-occupied enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and denounced Turkey’s role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.^[21]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Political campaigns

Main article: New Jersey's 13th congressional district election

In , year incumbent Democrat Bob Menendez moved to the United States Senate to fill the seat vacated by Governor of New JerseyJon Corzine.

Sires then entered the race to succeed him. He ran in two Democratic primary elections on June 6, —a special primary for the last two months of Menendez's seventh term, and a regular primary for a full two-year term.

In the special primary to fill the remaining two months, Sires won about 90% of the vote, defeating James Geron.

Al bio sires biography channel 7 Jack Collins. National Climate Policy As a Member of Congress, I have been working to address climate change through legislative efforts and the yearly government appropriations process. A majority of these patients are uninsured, publicly-insured, or low income. Taylor Crowell Hill Curtis A.

This all but assured Sires of being the next congressman from this heavily Democratic, Latino-majority district. Sires beat Assemblyman and Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas in a bitter primary with 68% of the vote, winning in Union, Hudson and Essex Counties, while Vas won Middlesex County. No Republican even filed, assuring Sires of a full term.

The 13th was so heavily Democratic that any Republican candidate would have faced nearly impossible odds.

Sires faced Republican John Guarini—a salesman and second cousin of former Congressman Frank J. Guarini—who was unopposed for the GOP nomination.

Al bio sires biography channel 6 STEM Education In order to maintain our role as leaders in scientific progress and innovation, we must provide adequate resources to foster the next generation of scientists, educators, and engineers. Early career [ edit ]. More information Political offices, U. In , independent candidate Robert Thorne received votes.

Vas did not seek the unexpired term seat. After winning the election with 78% of the vote, Sires was sworn into the House on November 13, , to fill the remainder of Menendez's term.^[24]

CQPolitics wrote, "Sires’ likely November victories would cap off his ambitions for a House seat, which he first expressed exactly 20 years ago under very different circumstances.

He ran that year as the Republican challenger to entrenched incumbent Guarini, but managed only 27 percent of the vote."^[25]

Sires is part of a handful of Cuban lawmakers serving in the House, though, other than during the lone term served by Florida's Joe Garcia from to , he has been the only Democrat.

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey §&#;District 13

The New York Times rated the 13th district "solid Democratic" in ^[26] Sires was challenged by Republican nominee Henrietta Dwyer; he defeated her with 74% of the vote.^[27]

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey §&#;District 8

After New Jersey lost a district in the census, Sires ran for reelection in the 8th district, essentially a reconfigured version of the old 13th.

In the primary election, he faced year-old candidate Michael J. Shurin, whose campaign largely focused on the legalization of marijuana.^[28]

Electoral history

Year	Democratic	Votes	Pct	Republican	Votes	Pct	3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct	3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
	Albio Sires	77,	%	John Guarini	19,	%	Brian Williams	Socialist Workers	1,	%	Herbert H. Shaw	Politicians Are Crooks		%	*
		,	%	Joseph Turula	34,	%	Julio A. Fernandez	Independent	3,	%	Louis Vernotico	Eliminate the Primary		%
		62,	%	Henrietta Dwyer	19,	%	Anthony Zanowic	American Independent	1,	%	Maximo Nacer	Independent		%
		,	%	Maria Karczewski	31,	%	Herbert Shaw	Independent	1,	%	Stephen Deluca	Independent	1,	%
		61,	%	Jude Anthony Tiscornia	15,	%	Herbert Shaw	Independent	1,	%	Pablo Olivera	Independent	1,	%	*
		,	%	Agha Khan	32,	%	Pablo Olivera	Independent	4,	%	Dan Delaney	Libertarian	3,	%
		,	%	John R. Muniz	28,	%	Mahmoud Mahmoud	Independent	3,	%	Dan Delaney	Libertarian	1,	%
		,	%	Jason Mushnick	58,	%	Dan Delaney	Libertarian	3,	%

Write-in and minor candidate notes: In , Dick Hester (Pro-life Conservative) and Esmat Zaklama (American Party) received and votes respectively.

In , independent candidate Robert Thorne received votes.

Awards and honors

On October 4, , Sires's hometown of West New York, New Jersey, honored him by renaming its Public School No. 4 the Albio Sires Elementary School. The school, at Palisade Avenue, is the elementary school Sires attended as a child.

In attendance at the ceremony were West New York Mayor Felix Roque and U.S. Senator Robert Menendez.^[8]

Return to local politics

Sires ran for and won the election for mayor of West New York, an office he held before being elected to Congress.^[4][5][6]

Personal life

Sires and his wife, Adrienne, live in West New York, New Jersey.^[29]

See also

References

External links