Joe Morelle
Ranking Member of the House Administration Committee
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byRodney Davis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 25th district
Assumed office
November 13, 2018
Preceded byLouise Slaughter
Majority Leader of the New York State Assembly
In office
January 1, 2013 – November 13, 2018
Preceded byRonald Canestrari
Succeeded byCrystal Peoples-Stokes
Speaker of the New York State Assembly
Acting
In office
February 2, 2015 – February 3, 2015
Preceded bySheldon Silver
Succeeded byCarl Heastie
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 136th district
In office
January 1, 1991 – November 13, 2018
Preceded byPinny Cooke
Succeeded byJamie Romeo
Personal details
Born (1957-04-29) April 29, 1957
Utica, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Mary Beth Bauer
​
(m. 1984)​
Children3
Residence(s)Irondequoit, New York, U.S.
EducationState University of New York, Geneseo (BA)
WebsiteHouse website

Joseph D. Morelle (/məˈrɛli/ mə-RELL-ee; born April 29, 1957)[1] is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 25th congressional district since 2018. A Democrat, he was formerly a member of the New York State Assembly representing the 136th Assembly district, which includes eastern portions of the City of Rochester and the Monroe County suburbs of Irondequoit and Brighton. Speaker Sheldon Silver appointed him as majority leader of the New York State Assembly in January 2013 and Morelle served as acting speaker in the Speaker's absence.[2] He was elected to the United States House of Representatives for New York's 25th congressional district in November 2018 following the death of longtime Representative Louise Slaughter.

Early life and education

Morelle was born in Utica, New York, to Gilbert and Juliette Morelle. Gil was a Korean War veteran, a heating and cooling technician and a lifelong Plumbers and Pipefitters Union member. Joe and his three siblings grew up Catholic, on Vayo Street in Irondequoit, where he attended Eastridge High School.[3] He received a bachelor's degree in political science from SUNY Geneseo[3] in 1986.[1]

In his early years, Morelle was a sales manager for a drycleaning and laundry business.[4] He got his political start working for State Senator John D. Perry as a constituent services representative in Rochester and legislative aide in Albany.[5]

Political career

County legislature

Morelle, a Democrat, made his first foray into elective politics at age 24 when he ran for a seat in the Monroe County legislature.[6] He failed to unseat the incumbent on the first try, but prevailed in the 1983 election.[7] He was reelected once before running for the New York State legislature.[8]

State legislature

In 2009 with Garth Fagan, James Alesi, and Nazareth College president Daan Braveman
Marching on Independence Day in 2011
In 2014 with Kathy Hochul

Morelle was first elected to the State Assembly in 1990.[3] He ran uncontested in the November 2008 general election[9][10] and won the November 2010 general election with 61% of the vote.[11][12]

During his tenure in the state legislature, Morelle authored more than 200 laws, including major reforms to the workers compensation system, laws to require carbon monoxide detectors in one- and two-family homes, toughen regulations governing charitable organizations, protect the elderly and infirm who live in nursing homes or receive home based health care, and raise senior citizens' real property tax exemption. He sponsored bills to exempt veterans from certain state licensing fees, protect their grave sites, and assist them with the civil service application process.

In January 2001, Morelle was appointed chair of the Assembly Standing Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Sports Development. He worked with area leaders to develop Rochester as a center for tourism and the arts in Western New York.

In addition to the Tourism Committee, Morelle's standing committee assignments included Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce and Industry; Higher Education; Local Governments; and Libraries and Education Technology. At his request, the Speaker created the Subcommittee on Manufacturing in order to give New York's manufacturing sector a greater voice in state government.

In 2005, Morelle issued a report, "Creating a State of Innovation: Unleashing The Power of New York's Entrepreneurial Economy", detailing New York's economic decline, particularly upstate, and offering numerous policy recommendations to reverse this years-long trend.

In 2005, Morelle was elected chair of the Monroe County Democratic Committee,[13] and held this position until 2014.

Campaign violations

In 1990, an acting state Supreme Court justice ruled that Morelle fraudulently obtained several signatures on nominating petitions to qualify him for an independent line on the 1990 ballot (New York permits cross-filing in some circumstances) during his run for the State Assembly.[5] Morelle remained on the ballot and won the election.[14] He later admitted that he allowed family members to sign the petitions for the individuals whose names appeared on them and did not personally witness the signatures, both of which are illegal.[14] In 1991 he was charged with seven misdemeanor counts of violating state election law.[14] Morelle denied intentionally violating the law, but accepted a plea bargain in which he was found guilty of two counts of disorderly conduct.[14] He was sentenced to 32 hours of community service and a $25 fine.[14] Because disorderly conduct is a violation of the law, rather than a misdemeanor or felony, Morelle's plea enabled him to avoid having a permanent criminal record as a result of the incident.[14]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

After the death of Representative Louise Slaughter, Morelle announced his candidacy for New York's 25th congressional district; he won the Democratic Party's nomination on June 26, 2018.[15] On November 6, he ran in two elections: a special election for the last two months of Slaughter's 16th term, and a regular election for a full two-year term. He won both, defeating Republican nominee Jim Maxwell.[16]

2020

Morelle ran for reelection to a second full term, winning the Democratic primary against challenger and Brighton town councilwoman Robin Wilt.[17] He defeated the Republican nominee, businessman George Mitris,[18] in the general election.[19][20]

Tenure

Morelle was sworn in on November 13, 2018.

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Political positions

He voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.[22]

Electoral history

Democratic primary results[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph Morelle 16,245 45.63%
Democratic Rachel A. Barnhart 7,003 19.67%
Democratic Robin Wilt 6,158 17.30%
Democratic Adam McFadden 6,103 17.14%

[24]

New York's 25th congressional district special election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joseph Morelle 141,290 58.29% +2.10%
Republican Jim Maxwell 101,085 41.71% -2.10%
Total votes 242,375 100.0 N/A
Democratic hold
New York's 25th congressional district, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph Morelle 147,979 54.8
Independence Joseph Morelle 4,585 1.7
Working Families Joseph Morelle 4,575 1.7
Women's Equality Joseph Morelle 2,105 0.8
Total Joseph Morelle 159,244 59.0
Republican Jim Maxwell 91,342 33.8
Conservative Jim Maxwell 17,781 6.6
Reform Jim Maxwell 1,613 0.6
Total Jim Maxwell 110,736 41.0
Total votes 269,980 100.0
Democratic hold
New York's 25th congressional district, 2020[19][20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph Morelle 187,503 53.9
Working Families Joseph Morelle 14,584 4.2
Independence Joseph Morelle 4,309 1.2
Total Joseph Morelle (incumbent) 206,396 59.3
Republican George Mitris 115,940 33.4
Conservative George Mitris 20,258 5.8
Total George Mitris 136,198 39.2
Libertarian Kevin Wilson 5,325 1.5
Total votes 347,919 100.0
Democratic hold
New York's 25th congressional district, 2022[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph Morelle 136,788 48.88%
Working Families Joseph Morelle 11,893 4.25%
Total Joseph Morelle (incumbent) 148,681 53.13%
Republican La'Ron Singletary 106,573 38.08%
Silly Party Chuck Baldo 1 0.001%
Conservative La'Ron Singletary 21,929 7.84%
Total votes 279,841 100%

Personal life

Morelle lives in Irondequoit with his wife, Mary Beth.[3] They have three children.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Assembly Member Joseph D. Morelle (NY)". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  2. ↑ McKinley, Jesse; Kaplan, Thomas; Craig, Susanne (January 27, 2015). "Sheldon Silver to Be Replaced as Speaker of New York State Assembly". New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Assembly District 132, Joseph D. Morelle: Biography". New York State Assembly. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Morelle Narrowly Wins Over Ogden", Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, pp. 8A, November 11, 1990
  5. 1 2 Hand, Jon (January 28, 2015). "Timeline on Joseph Morelle's career". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, NY.
  6. ↑ "GOP Keeps Control of County Legislature", Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, pp. 2A, November 4, 1981
  7. ↑ "Democrats Gain 2 Seats in Legislature", Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, pp. 3A, November 9, 1983
  8. ↑ "Morelle Defeats His Challenger", Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, pp. 3A, November 4, 1987
  9. ↑ "Election Results 2008: New York State Legislature". The New York Times. 2008. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Assembly Election Returns: November 4, 2008" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 23, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Election Results 2010: New York State Legislature". The New York Times. 2010. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Assembly Election Returns: November 2, 2010" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 18, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Morelle Officially Seeks Chair", Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, pp. 2A, May 27, 2005
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Venere, Emil (January 23, 1992). "Morelle Pleads Guilty in Election-Law Violations". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, NY. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Assemblyman Joseph Morelle to run for Louise Slaughter's congressional seat". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Joe Morelle defeats Jim Maxwell for Louise Slaughter's seat". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Robin Wilt for Congress: Campaign Announcement". Retrieved November 16, 2019 – via Facebook.
  18. ↑ Coltin, Jeff; Lyskawa, Madeline; Stark-Miller, Ethan; Bolton, Emma (November 8, 2019). "Who's threatening House members in 2020". City & State New York. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  19. 1 2 "November 3, 2020 General Election Certification" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. September 17, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  20. 1 2 "2020 Election Results". New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  22. ↑ Bycoffe, Aaron; Wiederkehr, Anna (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Monroe County Board of Elections Canvassing Book 2018" (PDF). Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  24. ↑ "New York Election Results: 25th House District". The New York Times. January 28, 2019.
  25. ↑ "2022 General Election Results — Certified December 15, 2022". New York State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
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