Tom Suozzi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tom Suozzi
Official portrait, 2017
Member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 3rd district
Assuming office February 2024
Succeeding	George Santos
In office January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Steve Israel
Succeeded by	George Santos
7th County Executive of Nassau County
In office January 1, 2002 – December 30, 2009
Preceded by	Thomas Gulotta
Succeeded by	Ed Mangano
Mayor of Glen Cove
In office January 1, 1994 – December 31, 2001
Preceded by	Donald DeRiggi
Succeeded by	Mary Ann Holzkamp
Personal details
Born	Thomas Richard Suozzi (1962-08-31) August 31, 1962 (age 61) Glen Cove, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Helene Wrotniak ​ (m. 1993)​
Children	3
Parent	Joseph A. Suozzi (father)
Education	Boston College (BA) Fordham University (JD)
Signature

Thomas Richard "Tom" Suozzi ( SWOZ-zee; born August 31, 1962) is an American politician, attorney, and accountant who is the representative-elect for New York’s 3rd congressional district. He served as the U.S. representative for the same seat from 2017 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the county executive of Nassau County on Long Island from 2002 to 2009, when he was unseated by Ed Mangano, a Republican. He had previously served eight years as the mayor of Glen Cove in Nassau County.

In 2006, Suozzi ran unsuccessfully against Eliot Spitzer for the Democratic nomination for Governor of New York. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016 and reelected in 2018 and 2020. He retired from Congress to run again for the Democratic nomination for governor of New York in 2022, losing to incumbent governor Kathy Hochul.

In October 2023, Suozzi announced that he would run for his old congressional seat in 2024. After Congress expelled George Santos in December 2023, a special election was scheduled for February 13, 2024. Suozzi was selected as the Democratic nominee on December 7, 2023. He won the election and will serve the remainder of Santos's term.

Early life and education

The youngest of five siblings, Suozzi was born on August 31, 1962, in Glen Cove, New York. His father, Joseph A. Suozzi, who was born in Ruvo del Monte, Italy, was an attorney and served as Glen Cove mayor from 1956 to 1960. His mother, Marguerite (née Holmes), of Irish and English descent, was an operating room nurse at Glen Cove Hospital.

Suozzi graduated from Chaminade High School in 1980. He attended Boston College, graduating in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in accounting. He became a certified public accountant two years later. He then earned a Juris Doctor degree from Fordham University School of Law in 1989.

Private sector career

Before entering politics, Suozzi worked as an accountant at Arthur Andersen from 1984 to 1986, a law clerk to Thomas Collier Platt Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York from 1989 to 1990, and a commercial litigator at Shearman & Sterling from 1990 to 1993.

Suozzi returned to the private sector from 2010 to 2016, working as an attorney of counsel at Harris Beach, and as a consultant for Cablevision and Lazard. After leaving Congress, he became co-chair of Actum LLC, a global consulting firm.

Early political career

Mayor of Glen Cove

In 1993, Suozzi was elected mayor of Glen Cove, New York. He served as mayor for four terms. His father and his uncle, Vincent Suozzi, were mayors of Glen Cove before him.

As mayor, Suozzi focused on environmental cleanup of commercial and industrial sites, and redeveloping brownfield and superfund sites. In 1994, the Glen Cove incinerator was permanently closed and dismantled. In 1998, the city demolished and redeveloped the defunct Li Tungsten Refinery grounds, a federal superfund site.

Nassau County Executive

Suozzi at the 2005 New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade

Suozzi was elected Nassau County Executive in 2001, becoming the first Democrat elected to the position in traditionally Republican Nassau in 30 years. He assumed office amid a fiscal crisis. By 1999, Nassau was on the brink of financial collapse: the county faced a $300 million annual deficit, was billions of dollars in debt, and its credit rating had sunk to one level above junk status. According to The New York Times, he "earned high marks from independent institutions for his signature achievement, the resuscitation of Nassau's finances."

While in office, Suozzi cut spending and reduced borrowing and debt. He also oversaw 11 county bond upgrades over two years, eliminated deficits in Nassau, and accumulated surpluses. In 2005, Governing Magazine named him one of its Public Officials of the Year, calling him "the man who spearheaded Nassau County, New York's, remarkable turnaround from the brink of fiscal disaster." According to The New York Times, he garnered praise for social services like his "no wrong door" program, which centralized access to social services.

Suozzi narrowly lost the 2009 county executive election to Ed Mangano. After working in the private sector as an attorney, he announced that he would seek a rematch against Mangano in 2013. He attacked Mangano for "presiding over a decline in the county" while also emphasizing eight years of balanced budgets and reduced crime while he was county executive. In November 2013, Mangano defeated Suozzi by a much wider margin of 59% to 41%.

Gubernatorial campaigns

2006

Suozzi declared his candidacy for governor of New York in the Democratic primary against Eliot Spitzer on February 25, 2006. Few prominent Democrats apart from Nassau County Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs supported his bid; most of New York's Democratic legislators and mayors campaigned for Spitzer. One of Suozzi's biggest supporters was Victor Rodriguez, founder of the now disbanded Voter Rights Party. Rodriguez eventually became the lead field organizer for his Albany campaign office. The campaign was funded in part by Home Depot co-founder Kenneth Langone, former NYSE CEO Richard Grasso, vice chairman of the MTA David Mack, and many people on Wall Street whom Spitzer had investigated and prosecuted.

On June 13, 2006, Suozzi spoke before the New York State Conference of Mayors along with Spitzer and John Faso. He received a standing ovation from the crowd of mayors. On July 6, he announced to his followers that he had collected enough petitions to place himself on the primary ballot. During a debate, he said he had presidential aspirations. On August 7, after much speculation, he announced that he would not seek an independent line were he to lose the primary.

Spitzer defeated Suozzi in the Democratic primary with 81% of the vote to Suozzi's 19%.

2022

On November 29, 2021, Suozzi announced his candidacy for governor of New York in the 2022 election. He strongly opposed a proposal by Governor Kathy Hochul to permit homeowners to add an accessory dwelling unit (such as an extra apartment and backyard cottage) on lots zoned for single-family housing. The proposal was intended to alleviate New York's housing shortage and make housing more affordable. He said that he supported efforts to tackle housing problems, but that he was against "ending single-family housing".

Suozzi placed third in the Democratic primary with 12% of the vote, behind Hochul and Jumaane Williams.

U.S. House of Representatives

Suozzi with Joe Biden and Adriano Espaillat in 2021

Suozzi was vice-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, which comprises 22 Democrats and 22 Republicans. He also co-chaired the Long Island Sound Caucus, co-chaired the Quiet Skies Caucus, and chaired the United States Merchant Marine Academy's Board of Visitors. Suozzi was a member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, the United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus and the Climate Solutions Caucus.

Suozzi voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis. This results in a Biden Plus/Minus score of +10.3, indicating more support for Biden's priorities than would be expected given the makeup of his district.

In Congress, Suozzi authored legislation to restore the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, which was capped at $10,000 in 2017. He orchestrated a call from the New York congressional delegation for the repeal of the SALT cap. The effort was not successful, and the SALT cap remained at $10,000.

Stock trading reports

In 2021, the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center filed a formal ethics complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics alleging that Suozzi had failed to file the reports required by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012 on approximately 300 different stock transactions with a value of $3.2 million to $11 million. The STOCK Act requires members of Congress to report each of their trades valued over $1,000 to the House Ethics Committee within 45 days. As a result, when Business Insider published its 2021 "Conflicted Congress" investigation of lawmakers' stock trades and financial holdings, Suozzi was one of only 13 lawmakers given a "Danger" rating.

In 2022, it was reported that Suozzi failed to properly disclose another 31 stock transactions, worth as much as $885,000. Two months later, it was reported for a third time that he had failed to properly disclose stock transactions he had made, this time 10 stock trades that in aggregate were between $171,000 and $515,000.

When Suozzi came before congressional investigators to explain in a deposition why he had not disclosed hundreds of stock trades in a timely manner, he told investigators: "Quite frankly, we have a lot going on in Congress. I have a lot of other stuff going on. And it's just not—ethics is a big priority for me. But…the…some of the formalities are not necessarily something I make a priority of."

In July 2022, the U.S. House Ethics Committee said it had decided not to charge Suozzi for failing to file required reports on stock transactions on time because it was not a "knowing or willful" act. The committee said its five Democratic and five Republican members unanimously voted to dismiss the referral from the independent federal Office of Congressional Ethics.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Ways and Means

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
• United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus
• Climate Solutions Caucus
• Problem Solvers Caucus (vice chair)
• United States Merchant Marine Academy's Board of Visitors (chair)
• New Democrat Coalition

Personal life

Suozzi and his wife Helene (née Wrotniak) married in 1993 and are Roman Catholic. They live in Glen Cove and have three children.

Electoral history

Governor

U.S. House

See also

• List of United States representatives from New York
• United States congressional delegations from New York