José Marco Serrano (born June 19, 1972) is a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

from the 29th District, representing Mott Haven,

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, Highbridge, Morris Heights, Spanish Harlem, Yorkville,

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and part of the Upper West Side. He is the son of

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

José Serrano. A lifelong South Bronx resident, Serrano was elected to the New York State Senate in November 2004. He defeated Republican

Olga Mendez Olga may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olga (name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters named Olga or Olha * Michael Algar (born 1962), English singer also known as "Olga" Places Russia * Olga, Russia ...

, a 26-year incumbent in the district. Since 2019, he has served as the Chair of the Majority Conference, the third highest ranking member of the Senate. He was the subject of Congressional campaign speculation when his father announced his retirement from representing

NY-15 New York's 15th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in New York City, State of New York. The district has been represented by Democrat Ritchie Torres since 2021. The 15th d ...

, but chose not to run.

Background

Serrano was born and raised in the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...

, where his father, José E. Serrano, was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

, and later a member of the United States House of Representatives. Serrano is a graduate of

Manhattan College Manhattan College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts university in the Bronx, New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Christian Brothers) as an academy for day students, it was la ...

. Prior to becoming involved in politics, Serrano worked with the New York Shakespeare Festival. In 2001, Serrano was elected to the 17th district of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

, representing

, Mott Haven, Longwood, and Hunt’s Point. He was re-elected in 2003.

New York Senate

In 2004, longtime state Senator

Olga A. Méndez Olga Aran Méndez (February 5, 1925 – July 29, 2009) was the first Puerto Rican woman elected to a state legislature in the United States mainland, when, in 1978, she became a member of the New York State Senate. Early years Olga Aran Mén ...

switched parties to become a Republican. With the district overwhelmingly Democratic, Serrano was asked to run against her. According to the New York Times, which endorsed him, Serrano promised "to pursue unfinished and ignored business in the capital, including legislating an end to the Rockefeller drug laws." He would garner more than 80% of the vote in his victory over Mendez. Since his initial election to the Senate, Serrano has never faced serious opposition for general re-election. In September 2007, he was named one of ''

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s "40 under 40" for being a young influential member of New York City politics. In 2019, Serrano was named Chairman of Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation, a post he also held from 2009 to 2010. In 2020, he won reelection against Republican challenger Jose A. Colon with 82% of the vote.

References

External links

New York State Senate: Jose M. SerranoSerrano For State Senate websiteSenator Serrano's Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serrano, Jose M. 1972 births American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Living people New York City Council members Hispanic and Latino American New York City Council members Democratic Party New York (state) state senators Politicians from the Bronx Puerto Rican people in New York (state) politics Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New York (state) Manhattan College alumni 21st-century American politicians

Background

New York Senate

See also

References

External links