Alfonse Marcello D'Amato was born on in Brooklyn, New York, on August 1,1937 and is a former United States Senator who represented the state of New York for 18 years from 1981 to 1999.
31 Facts About Al D'Amato
2.
Al D'Amato was re-elected in 1986 and 1992 before losing his fourth US Senate election campaign to nine-term New York Congressman Chuck Schumer in 1998.
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Al D'Amato agreed with President Bill Clinton both in 1993, for opening service in the armed forces to non-heterosexuals, and in 1996 for the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages.
4.
Al D'Amato, of Italian ancestry, was born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, in the small village of Island Park.
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Al D'Amato is the son of Antoinette and Armand D'Amato, an insurance broker.
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Al D'Amato is a graduate of Chaminade High School, Syracuse University, and Syracuse University College of Law.
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Al D'Amato was involved heavily in the Unity Party of Island Park, the local political party that ran village elections in the small village of Island Park.
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Al D'Amato was first appointed and then elected Receiver of Taxes of Hempstead, New York.
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Al D'Amato left this office to become a town supervisor in Hempstead and in 1977 he was elected presiding supervisor.
10.
Al D'Amato was vice chairman of the Nassau County Board of Supervisors from 1977 to 1980.
11.
Al D'Amato was re-elected in 1986 and 1992, but lost in 1998 to liberal Democratic congressman Chuck Schumer, a future Senate Majority Leader.
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Al D'Amato drew the nickname "Senator Pothole" for his delivery of "constituent services", helping citizens with their individual cases.
13.
Al D'Amato holds the record for the second and eighth longest filibusters ever recorded in the United States Senate.
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Al D'Amato is remembered for his unique and rather comical filibusters.
15.
In 1992, Al D'Amato filibustered a bill that would have caused the loss of 750 jobs in upstate New York by singing "South of the Border ".
16.
Al D'Amato is remembered for presenting a poster of a "Taxasaurus Rex", which he then stabbed with an oversized pencil.
17.
Al D'Amato voted in favor of the bill establishing Martin Luther King Jr.
18.
Al D'Amato voted in favor of the nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas to the US Supreme Court.
19.
Al D'Amato was a member of the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism, which was set up in September 1989 to review and report on aviation security policy in light of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
20.
Al D'Amato was influential in New York Republican politics and was considered the "boss" of the state party during his Senate years.
21.
Al D'Amato was known for being fairly conservative, a reflection of then-strongly conservative Nassau County and Long Island.
22.
Al D'Amato strongly supported the conservative positions of his party on "law and order" issues such as capital punishment and harsh penalties for drug offenses.
23.
On some issues, he agreed with the opposition: in 1993, Al D'Amato was one of only three Republicans to vote in favor of allowing gays to serve openly in the US military.
24.
Al D'Amato voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.
25.
Al D'Amato's loss was partially attributed to reports arising from D'Amato's use of the term "putzhead" to refer to Schumer.
26.
Shortly before leaving office, Al D'Amato published his book of recollections, Power, Pasta and Politics.
27.
Al D'Amato is chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, a nonprofit organization set up to help protect and fight for the rights of poker players in the United States.
28.
Al D'Amato appeared on Howard Stern's Sirius-XM radio show on July 20,2009, to promote the Poker Players Alliance.
29.
In explaining his endorsement of Thompson, former Senator Al D'Amato called Thompson "a real conservative", not a candidate who adopted conservative positions in preparation for an election.
30.
Al D'Amato had a brief cameo as himself in the movie The Devil's Advocate.
31.
Al D'Amato made a brief cameo appearance as himself in an episode of Spin City.