Al Stirpe has been knocking on a lot of doors in the past few months. He hopes the grassroots support will get him a second shot in the State Assembly. Stirpe is the Democratic candidate for the 121st District Assembly seat.
Stirpe was first elected to the Assembly in 2006. His challenger now is Republican David Knapp. Stirpe, 54, left a long career in business for politics. He says the change of scenery has been good for him.
“I decided I wanted to end up doing something more locally or community-based. As soon as this opportunity became available, I decided it was the best thing for me right now. It’s something I can give my full attention to and something to get me excited to get up every morning.” (Al Stirpe).
The 121st District includes the towns of Cicero, Clay, LaFayette, Manlius, and Pompey. In the 121st, Stirpe is at a disadvantage with voter registration. The 121st District has 28,000 registered Democrats versus 33,000 Republicans.
Diane Dwire, chairperson of the Onondaga County Democratic Committee, says party affiliation will not affect the outcome of this election. Although Stirpe only has two years under his belt, Dwire expresses confidence that his constituents will elect him for another term.
“As in his previous campaign, and this one, he’s knocking on doors and getting to know the people. Once you know the candidate as an individual, you tend to vote for the individual and not along party lines.” (Diane Dwire, chairperson, Onondaga County Democratic Committee)
After graduating from college, Stirpe took a job as a financial analyst with General Electric in Syracuse. He then started a private company, Qube Software, Inc.- but that venture ended when he filed for bankruptcy in 2002. In an interview with The Post-Standard in 2006, Stirpe called that experience “an entrepreneurial battle scar” that gives him an edge in the Assembly. As he puts it, he understands economic downturns and bankruptcy because he’s been there.
During his past term, Stirpe served on committees for economic development, small business, higher education, veterans, and aging. Stirpe was the prime sponsor of six bills in the Assembly. Four of these passed in the Assembly floor but remain in committee in the Senate.
One of the bills would establish a grant program in each county for small businesses. Another would provide small businesses with grants of up to $100,000 for developing energy efficient business practices.
Stirpe got his first taste of politic inside his family’s restaurant in Clyde, New York.
“I grew up in a very Republican area, and my father happened to be a Democrat. And a lot of the town meetings would take place in his little restaurant. Talk about politics is always happening; I grew up around it when I was working in the restaurant. That’s where everyone went to discuss all the problems of the day and come up with all the solutions.” (Al Stirpe, Assemblyman for the 121st District)
When he was deciding to run for office, Stirpe’s greatest influence was his father.
“One time my father ran for mayor, he owned the restaurant at the time and didn’t have time to go out and campaign. He didn’t win that election and I know he felt really bad about it. It sort of made an impression on me that, if I were ever gong to do this and run for office, I was going to have to make sure I had the time to dedicate to give it a full effort” (Al Stirpe)
Stirpe was born in Clyde, in Wayne County. He studied economics at the University of Notre Dame, returning to New York state after graduating.
He has lived in the 121st District for 26 years. He and his wife Chele live in North Syracuse with their daughter Alexandra, 12. He has two stepchildren, Jesseca, 22, and Chris, 25, who serves in the Navy.
Stirpe and friends say the transition from business to politics was natural for him. Deborah Gardener, a volunteer for Stirpe’s campaign, met him in July of 2006 when he knocked on her door asking for petition signatures.
She’s been volunteering for Stirpe ever since.
“I think he likes the job. This is his full time job. I think he enjoys going to things, all the things Assemblymen are expected to go to — school functions, the Little League, senior citizen functions. He really enjoys that.” (Deborah Gardener)
The election is Nov. 4.
For Democracywise, I’m Stacy Lange.
(Stacy Lange is a junior in broadcast journalism).
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