26 Facts About Albio Sires

Albio B Sires is a Cuban-born American businessman and politician serving as the mayor of West New York, New Jersey, since 2023 and previously from 1995 to 2006.

Albio Sires then served as the US representative for from 2006 to 2023.

Albio Sires was born on January 26,1951, in Bejucal, Cuba.

Albio Sires attended Public School 4, where he and his brother were two of only three Latinos in the school.

Albio Sires learned English from a teacher who used flashcards and phonetics, and subsequently attended Memorial High School, where he was a star basketball player, whose skills on the court helped him obtain a basketball scholarship to Saint Peter's College.

Albio Sires worked at Memorial High School as a teacher and coach.

Albio Sires first ran for office as the Republican nominee for New Jersey's 14th congressional district in 1986.

Albio Sires was the first Hispanic mayor of West New York and in 2004 was elected mayor of the year by his fellow mayors.

Albio Sires served as the Speaker of the Assembly from 2002 to 2006 and was the first Hispanic person to serve as New Jersey's Assembly Speaker.

Albio Sires was considered a surprise pick for speaker, since he had only served one term in the Assembly before taking the position.

Albio Sires was an active Democrat in the 1970s and 1980s.

Albio Sires switched to the Republican Party in 1985 and ran for Congress in 1986 against Frank Guarini.

Albio Sires left the Republican Party in 1994 and became a registered independent.

Albio Sires was the first Hispanic person to serve as an acting governor of New Jersey.

Albio Sires is a former chair of the Legislative Services Commission.

Albio Sires stepped down from his seat in the Assembly, and was replaced by Silverio Vega, whom the Democratic district committee chose to replace Albio Sires.

Albio Sires was the mayor of West New York, New Jersey, from 1995 to 2006.

Albio Sires was a member of the Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus.

In March 2012, Albio Sires pushed for a two-year bill that would help by funding highways and mass transit.

Albio Sires pushed to extend the surface transportation bill so the House and Senate could reconcile the differences between the House bill and the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act.

Albio Sires has supported legislation focused on making housing more affordable.

On October 1,2020, Albio Sires co-signed a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that condemned Azerbaijan's offensive operations against the Armenian-occupied enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and denounced Turkey's role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Albio Sires ran that year as the Republican challenger to entrenched incumbent Guarini, but managed only 27 percent of the vote.

Albio Sires is part of a handful of Cuban lawmakers serving in the House, though, other than during the lone term served by Florida's Joe Garcia from 2013 to 2015, he has been the only Democrat.

The school, at 6300 Palisade Avenue, is the elementary school Albio Sires attended as a child.

Albio Sires ran for and won the 2023 election for mayor of West New York, an office he held before being elected to Congress.