Alfred Coppola (original) (raw)

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American politician

Alfred "Al" Coppola (born January 11, 1942) is a former state senator and politician in New York. A resident of Buffalo, New York, Coppola is a long time political figure in the city, who served briefly as the 57th District member in the New York Senate at the turn of the 21st century.[1]

A longtime member of the Buffalo Common Council, representing the city's Delaware District,[2] Coppola was nominated by Democratic Party leaders in Erie and Niagara Counties in a February 2000 special election to fill a vacancy in the State Senate.[3][4] The vacancy was created after State Senator Anthony Nanula resigned to become Buffalo City Comptroller.[5] Coppola defeated Niagara County Legislator Renae Kimble, a Democrat running on the Republican line, to win the Senate seat.[6] As a senator, Coppola represented parts of Buffalo and Tonawanda and all of Niagara Falls and Grand Island. He focused much of his legislative program on energy issues during his tenure in Albany.

Coppola lost the September 2000 primary for a full two-year second term in the Senate to City of Buffalo Councilmember Byron Brown. Coppola continued his reelection campaign into the general election as the nominee of the Conservative and Independence Parties. He lost to Brown, but did finish ahead of Republican nominee Bob Woolworth.

Coppola unsuccessfully challenged Brown in the 2002 and 2004 Democratic primaries for the Senate seat which in 2002 was renamed the 60th district and as the Republican nominee in the general election those years. In 2005 he made a short-lived bid for the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Buffalo,[7] a nomination which eventually went to Brown. After Brown resigned the Senate seat to become mayor, Coppola briefly pursued the Democratic nomination to run in the special election. This nomination went to his cousin, Marc Coppola, who had succeeded him as council member.[8]

Al Coppola challenged his cousin, Senator Marc Coppola and Antoine Thompson,[9][10] who had been endorsed by Brown in the 2006 Democratic primary for the Senate seat. The race was won by Antoine Thompson.

In 2008 Thompson was successful against Buffalo attorney Mark J. Grisanti who ran against him in the Democratic primary. He was unopposed in that year's general election. In 2010 Thompson won the 2010 Democratic primary with 56% of the vote against challengers Al Coppola and local businessman Rory Allen.[11]

Coppola ran for the office again in the September 13, 2012 primary election against endorsed Democrat Michael L. Amodeo and Charles Swanick, a former member of the Erie County legislature.[12] Amodeo won the election, Coppola came in third.

Coppola ran for this seat in the Democratic primary on September 9, 2014 against Marc Panepinto while incumbent Mark Grisanti faced Kevin T. Stocker in the Republican primary.[13] Timothy D. Gallagher is running on the Conservative Party ticket.[14] Panepinto won the nomination.

1. ^ "Five Questions With... Al Coppola: State Senate Candidate". ArtVoice. September 9, 2010. Archived from the original on September 13, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
2. ^ ""I was always my own man," Coppola reflects, ahead of pivotal primary". The Buffalo Chronicle. September 1, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
3. ^ McCarthy, Robert J. (September 24, 2000). "Democrats Nominate Swarts' Slate for Court Seats". Buffalo News. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
4. ^ McCarthy, Robert J. (December 10, 1999). "Coppola Seems Favored in State Senate Bid". Buffalo News. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
5. ^ Perez-Pena, Richard (March 16, 2009). "Comptroller Candidate Withdraws". New York Times. p. 6. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
6. ^ McCarthy, Robert J. (March 26, 2000). "Surprise Candidate Kimble Poses a Threat to Coppola's Albany Express". Buffalo News. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
7. ^ Hicks, Jonathan P. (June 4, 2005). "All Eyes on a Black Candidate in Buffalo's Mayoral Race". New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
8. ^ Hicks, Jonathan P. (March 20, 2003). "To Beat the System, They Infiltrated It; A Political Force Grows in Buffalo". New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
9. ^ McCarthy, Robert J. (June 20, 2006). "Election splits cousins Coppola Al accused of aiding Marc's State Senate opponent". Buffalo News. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
10. ^ Terreri, Jill (September 3, 2006). "Candidates say they're running their own campaigns". Niagara Gazette. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
11. ^ Meyer, Brian (September 15, 2010). "Thompson rolls past Allen, Coppola". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on September 20, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
12. ^ "Coppola enters State Senate race". Niagara Frontier Publications. July 21, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
13. ^ "Senator Coppola may have an uncontested primary". The Buffalo Chronicle. December 28, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
14. ^ "Alfred T. Coppola". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 25, 2024.