Alfonse D’Amato
For 18 years, Alfonse D’Amato represented New York in the United States Senate. Now retired from politics, D’Amato has dipped into business, founding consultancy firm Park Strategies LLC.
Defeating Democrat Elizabeth Holtzman, he entered the US Senate in 1980. The Republican politician was reelected for a second and third term in 1986 and 1992, respectively.
During his incumbency, Alfonse D’Amato served as the chairperson of the senate committee investigating the Whitewater scandal. He also chaired the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and was part of the Senate Finance Committee.
Al D’Amato ran for a fourth term in 1998, but lost to Charles Schumer. He vacated the office on January 3, 1999, heralding a career in the private sector. That year, he established Park Strategies, offering a full range of consulting services in business and government relations, among others.
Born Alfonse Marcello D’Amato in Brooklyn, New York, the former senator got his undergraduate degree from Syracuse University in 1959. He earned his JD from the same university in 1961 and was admitted to the New York bar in 1962.
His first political foray was as public administrator of New York’s Nassau County. He served in this capacity from 1965 to 1968, after which he was elected tax assessor of Hempstead, New York. In 1971, he became Hempstead’s town supervisor. He sat on Nassau County’s Board of Supervisors as vice-president from 1977 to 1980, before his senate election.
Alfonse D’Amato has provided commentary to Bloomberg Radio, Fox News Channel, and NY1. D’Amato also authored a book, Power, Pasta and Politics. He donates to the Poker Players Alliance, a nonprofit group of which he is chair.
