Thomas F. "Tom" Barraga (born April 23, 1943) is a member of the Suffolk County Legislature in New York, representing the 11th Legislative District, which includes West Islip,

Bay Shore Bay Shore is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Islip, New York, United States. It is situated on the South Shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay. The population of the CDP was 29,244 at the time of the 2020 ...

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Lo ...

, and parts of Brentwood. He was a member of the New York State Assembly for 23 years.

Biography

Barraga was raised on Long Island, attended St. Joseph's Elementary School in Babylon and graduated from St. Anthony's High School in Smithtown. He received a BBA degree in marketing from St. John's University in 1964. Barraga served six years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, receiving an honorable discharge in 1966. He earned an

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as account ...

from Long Island University in 1972 and a

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

as a Doctorate of Philosophy, Business and Public Administration from Columbia Pacific University in 1981. Barraga began working in the private sector, and held positions with the

American Can Company The American Can Company was a manufacturer of tin cans. It was a member of the Tin Can Trust, that controlled a "large percentage of business in the United States in tin cans, containers, and packages of tin." American Can Company ranked 97th amon ...

, Dun & Bradstreet, and

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

. He entered politics in 1977, serving as

Town Clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a Tow ...

for the Town of Islip. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1983 to 2005, sitting in the 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th,

189th 189th may refer to: *189th (Canadien-Français) Battalion, CEF, a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War *189th Airlift Squadron, a unit of the Idaho Air National Guard that flies the C-130 Hercules *189th Airlift Wing, ...

, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 194th, 195th and

196th New York State Legislature The 196th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5, 2005, to December 31, 2006, during the eleventh and twelfth years of George Pataki's governorship A governor i ...

s. On November 8, 2005, he was elected in the 11th Legislative District to the Suffolk County Legislature. Barraga resides in West Islip. He and his wife Joanne ('' née'' Kurtz) have two daughters. He is a member of Our Lady of Lourdes

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in West Islip, the

Sons of Italy The Order Sons of Italy in America ( it, Ordine Figli d’Italia in America, OSIA) is the largest and the oldest Italian American fraternal organization in the United States. A similar organization exists in Canada. It has more than 600,000 me ...

, and the American Legion. He used to be vice-chairman of the board of trustees at Suffolk Community College.

Controversy

On January 29, 2014, Barraga wrote a letter to a young constituent whose mother was struck by a car that made an illegal left-turn, seriously injuring her, while she was riding a bicycle in Babylon. Barraga advised that he felt, "no one... who lives in Suffolk County should ever ride a bicycle or motorcycle." Barraga wrote that additional signage and/or bike lanes would do little to solve the problem, as motorists would ignore signs. "Reality at times can be difficult for some to come to grips with but giving false hope would be inappropriate."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barraga, Thomas F. 1943 births Living people County legislators in New York (state) Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from Suffolk County, New York St. John's University (New York City) alumni Long Island University alumni Columbia Pacific University alumni