Vincent J. Gentile

Vincent Joseph "Vinnie" Gentile (born January 3, 1959) is an American politician who served in the New York City Council from the 43rd district from 2003 to 2017. He is a Democrat. The district includes Bath Beach, Bay Ridge,[1] Bensonhurst, and Dyker Heights in Brooklyn.

Vincent Gentile
Member of the New York City Council
from the 43rd district
In office
March 18, 2003  December 31, 2017
Preceded byMartin Golden
Succeeded byJustin Brannan
Member of the New York State Senate
from the 23rd district
In office
January 1, 1997  December 31, 2002
Preceded byRobert DiCarlo
Succeeded bySeymour P. Lachman
Personal details
Born
Vincent Joseph Gentile

(1959-01-03) January 3, 1959
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceBay Ridge, Brooklyn
Alma materCornell University (BA)
Fordham University (JD)
ProfessionAttorney
Signature

Life and career

Gentile was born into an Italian-American family in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn. He attended Fort Hamilton High School, graduating in 1977 and, in 1983, became founding president of the school's alumni association. He went on to receive a B.A. in Government from Cornell University and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. He was first admitted to the New York state bar in 1986.

Prior to his involvement in electoral politics, Gentile was a prosecutor in the office of the Queens County District Attorney. There he served for 11 years as an Assistant District Attorney under Richard A. Brown.

Following losing an election for the New York Senate in 1994, Gentile first won public office in 1996, when he was able to capitalize upon internal divisions within the Republican Party and win a three-way race for the 23rd district in the New York State Senate. He served three terms before being defeated by then City Councilman Martin J. "Marty" Golden in 2002. Facing a tough campaign mostly due to redistricting, he lost 55% to 45%.

Gentile was the Democratic candidate for New York's 11th congressional district special election in 2015.[2] He lost to Republican Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. Green Party candidate, James Lane, came in third.

Gentile unsuccessfully sought the position of Kings County District Attorney in 2017. He lost the Democratic Party primary to Eric Gonzalez and then lost to Gonzalez again in the general election where Gentile ran under the Reform Party line.

New York City Council

Following his defeat for reelection to the Senate, Gentile entered into the special election to fill Golden's city council seat in 2003. In a field of five candidates, four of whom were Democrats, Gentile edged out a win against Republican Rosemarie O'Keefe by 31 votes.[3] Gentile served in the New York City Council for 14 years until his successor was inaugurated in January 2018 due to Gentile’s term limits. He chaired the Select Committee on Libraries in the Council, and served on the Aging, Cultural Affairs, Finance, and Public Safety committees. He was also the chair of the Council's Italian-American Caucus.

Election history
Location Year Election Results
NY Senate
District 23
1994 General Robert DiCarlo (R) 55.12%
Vincent Gentile (D) 40.93%
Arnaldo Ferraro (Right to Life) 3.95%
NY Senate
District 23
1996 General √ Vincent Gentile (D) 50.19%
John M. Gangemi (R) 31.57%
Robert DiCarlo (Conservative) 18.25%
NY Senate
District 23
1998 General √ Vincent Gentile (D) 54.02%
Christopher Mega (R) 45.01%
Thomas W. Hamilton (I) .61%
John P. Walker (Liberal) .36%
NY Senate
District 23
2000 General √ Vincent Gentile (D) 61.53%
Robert DiCarlo (R) 37.84%
John P. Walker (Liberal) .63%
NY Senate
District 22
2002 General Martin J. Golden (R) 54.65%
Vincent Gentile (D) 45.35%
NYC Council
District 43
2003 Special √ Vincent Gentile (D) 30.20%
Rosemarie O'Keefe (R) 29.91%
Joanne Seminara (D) 25.47%
Steve Harrison (D) 7.23%
Carlo Scissura (D) 6.40%
NYC Council
District 43
2003 General √ Vincent Gentile (D) 54.46%
Pat Russo (R) 45.54%
NYC Council
District 43
2005 General √ Vincent Gentile (D) 55.29%
Pat Russo (R) 44.71%
NYC Council
District 43
2009 General √ Vincent Gentile (D) 61.70%
Rick Capano (R) 38.30%
NYC Council
District 43
2013 General √ Vincent Gentile (D) 62.76%
John Quaglione (R) 35.50%
Patrick Dwyer (Green) 1.64%
New York's
11th District
2015 Special Daniel Donovan (R) 58.33%
Vincent Gentile 40.11%
James Lane (Green) 1.33%

References

  1. Nir, Sarah Maslin (2016-04-19). "Hotel Called a Blight on Brooklyn Is Being Auctioned Off". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  2. Burns, Alexander (2015-02-27). "For Grimm's House Seat, New York Democrats Settle on City Councilman". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  3. RAMIREZ), Nichole M. Christian (NYT COMPILED BY ANTHONY (2003-03-27). "Metro Briefing | New York: Brooklyn: Councilman Sworn In Weeks After Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.