James Oddo (original) (raw)

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Republican politician from Staten Island

James Oddo
Oddo in 2009
Commissioner of the New York City Department of Buildings
Incumbent
Assumed office April 27, 2023
Mayor Eric Adams
Preceded by Eric Ulrich
15th Borough President of Staten Island
In officeJanuary 1, 2014 – December 31, 2021
Preceded by James Molinaro
Succeeded by Vito Fossella
Minority Leader of the New York City Council
In officeJanuary 1, 2002 – December 31, 2013
Preceded by Thomas Ognibene
Succeeded by Vincent Ignizio
Member of the New York City Councilfrom the 50th district
In officeFebruary 1, 1999 – December 31, 2013
Preceded by John Fusco
Succeeded by Steven Matteo
Personal details
Born James Steven Oddo (1966-01-12) January 12, 1966 (age 58)New York City, New York, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse Kim Petersen (2014–present)
Education Fordham University (BA)New York Law School (JD)
Signature
Website Official website

James Steven Oddo (born January 12, 1966) [1] is an American attorney and politician who served as the Borough President of Staten Island from 2014 to 2021. Oddo had previously served as a member of the New York City Council, representing the 50th district from 1999 to 2013. He is currently serving as the Commissioner for the New York City Department of Buildings under Mayor Eric Adams.[2]

Early life and education

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Oddo was born on Staten Island, the youngest of four sons to an Italian-American family of city employees.[3] He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Fordham University, and a Juris Doctor from New York Law School.[4]

He started in politics by working as chief of staff to then-councilman John Fusco for seven years and as Legal Counsel to the former Council Minority Leader Thomas Ognibene.

Oddo's career as a politician began in February 1999 when he won a special election to fill the seat vacated by John Fusco.[5] After the resignation of Tom Ognibene, he was elected Minority Leader of the City Council with the consent of the three other Republicans on the Council in 2002.

His district, the 50th, is located mainly on Staten Island and encompasses the neighborhoods of Arrochar, Bulls Head, Castleton Corners, Concord, Dongan Hills, Emerson Hill, Fort Wadsworth, Grant City, Graniteville, Grasmere, Heartland Village, Isle of Meadows, Meiers Corners, Midland Beach, New Dorp, New Springville, Oakwood, Ocean Breeze, Old Town, Prall's Island, Richmondtown, South Beach, Todt Hill, Travis, Westerleigh, and Willowbrook; but also parts of Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights and Bath Beach in Brooklyn.

On October 20, 2010, he announced he would run for the office of Staten Island Borough President in 2013.[6] On November 5, 2013, he was elected to office with 48,168 votes (69%). He outran Democratic candidate Lou Liedy, Green Party candidate Henry Bardel, and Libertarian Party candidate Silas Johnson. His percentage of 69% was the highest ever for a non-incumbent winner of the office, beating the record set by Republican Robert Connor in 1965.[7] James Oddo was re elected Borough President on November 7, 2017, with 75.56% of the vote.[8]

In 2022, Oddo was named Chief of Staff to the New York City Deputy Mayor for Operations in the administration of Mayor Eric Adams.[9]

Staten Island Bus Study

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Borough President Oddo championed the Staten Island Bus Study which has recommended major service changes to Staten Island express buses.[10] As a result of the study, express bus service to Staten Island was to be completely reorganized in August 2018. As part of the redesign, all of the existing bus routes would be discontinued and replaced with 21 new routes with a "SIM" prefix.[11][12]

Norwegian comedy show incident

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Councilman Oddo received widespread, negative attention[13] when a video of the councilman appeared on YouTube around October 5, 2007.[14] In the video clip, Oddo is shown being interviewed by a film crew from the Norwegian comedy show Rikets røst (meaning "Voice of the Nation"), a show similar to The Colbert Report. The comedians had gained entry to councilman Oddo's office by posing as TV journalists who wanted to get the view of a Republican on the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

Instead, the interviewer, Pia Haraldsen, played the role of an uninformed foreigner.[15] She asked how Barack Obama could run for president, "as he is not a U.S. citizen" (when informed by Oddo that Obama is indeed an American, she wondered about that, given that she had read somewhere that he was "African-American") and asked if Senator Clinton could be president "after that embarrassing incident with the cigar?" On the aired clip, Haraldsen cannot refrain from smiling as Oddo starts swearing at and threatening the film crew. One of the film crew's cameras continues recording the incident, as Oddo, in a profanity-laced tirade, furiously tells them to get "the fuck" out of his office and threatens to physically harm the film crew. Oddo later apologized, stating the tirade was "inappropriate" but that the sentiment beneath it was entirely appropriate, despite threatening physical harm to the film crew.[16][17]

The incident was widely viewed as an embarrassing and inappropriate reaction by Oddo.[18]

Support of Congressman Fossella

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In 2008, Oddo supported Congressman Vito Fossella, stating that he "knows what [Fossella's] core is about" and "He is my friend ... and I stand with him during the good times and I stand with him during the difficult times. What he needs to do is what he did today: Say, 'I'm ready to be held accountable and apologize and I have to heal myself, heal my relationship with my friends and family, and heal my relationship with my community.'"[19] Fossella had been arrested for driving under the influence, was living with one woman while being married to another woman, and had fathered a child with the other woman.[20]

2018 Surrogate Court election

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Oddo was widely believed to be running for surrogate court judge in 2018 despite running for election as Borough President in 2017.[21] When asked about a potential surrogate court judge candidacy, Oddo stated that he honestly did not know if he would serve a full second term; this statement led critics and his main opponent in the 2017 Borough President election, Tom Shcherbenko, to argue that he should not run for Borough President if he already had one foot out the door.[22] Oddo was re-elected Borough President in 2017.[23] Oddo ultimately chose not to run for Surrogate Court Judge.[24]

Views towards Muslims

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In 2010, when developers planned to build a Muslim community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan, Oddo said he understood the outrage of families opposed to building a Muslim place of worship within a mile of the World Trade Center.[25]

Later that year, when a Catholic church planned to sell a convent to a group intending to use the building for a mosque, Oddo said that he would oppose the plan until the "responsible leadership of the Muslim community wholeheartedly, full-throatedly condemns the extremists of their religion."[26]

In 2005, Oddo said that police officers conducting random security searches on the New York subway system was not enough. Instead, he wanted police officers to prioritize the searching of young Muslim men.[27][28]

  1. ^ Advance, Staten Island (November 1, 2009). "On the Issues: James Oddo". silive.
  2. ^ "Mayor Adams Appoints Jimmy Oddo as Department of Buildings Commissioner, Molly Wasow Park as Department of Social Services Commissioner" (Press release). City of New York. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-15. Mayor Adams [said] "Commissioner Oddo is an expert at building and running high-functioning teams, and he will bring the leadership the Department of Buildings needs to oversee our city's buildings and protect New Yorkers who work in construction and walk on our streets"
  3. ^ Benanti, Carol Ann (October 31, 2019). "Mayor de Blasio and BP Oddo make a surprise visit to Bocelli Ristorante; share dinner Wednesday evening". silive.
  4. ^ "Jimmy Oddo's midlife crisis | CSNY". Cityandstateny.com. 2018-04-23. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  5. ^ "Grant City". Daily News (New York, New York). March 11, 1999. p. 50.
  6. ^ Wrobleski, Tom (20 October 2010). "Oddo will run for Staten Island borough president in 2013". Staten Island Advance. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
  7. ^ Wrobleski, Tom (November 6, 2013). "Photos/video: Republican James Oddo rolls to historic Staten Island borough presidential win". silive.com. Staten Island Advance. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  8. ^ Wrobleski, Tom (November 6, 2013). "Photos/video: Borough President James Oddo re elected by a large margin". silive.com. Staten Island Advance. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  9. ^ Coltin, Jeff; McDonough, Annie; Dorn, Sara (February 22, 2022). "Who's who in Eric Adams' administration". City & State - New York. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  10. ^ "Staten Island Express Bus Network Redesign". Nymta.civicconnect.com. 2019-08-19. Archived from the original on 2018-08-20. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  11. ^ Bascome, Thomas Erik (March 7, 2018). "MTA unveils new express bus routes expected to roll out in August". Staten Island Advance. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  12. ^ Walker, Ameena (March 7, 2018). "MTA reveals redesigned Staten Island express bus routes". Curbed NY. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  13. ^ Kuntzman, Gersh (2007-10-13). "Jimmy Oddo rules 'Rost´: Pol f-bombs the Norwegians". The Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  14. ^ YouTube: James Oddo interview - "Get the f*** out of my office"
  15. ^ YouTube: Pia Haraldsen interview on Fox News - "I'm playing the role of a stupid, ignorant, blonde reporter."
  16. ^ YouTube: James Oddo explanation, Silive.com
  17. ^ "Oddo Apologizes For Curse-Word Laden Tirade". NY1. 2007-10-09. Archived from the original on 2009-06-24. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  18. ^ NBC News[_dead link_‍]
  19. ^ "Vito's blood-alcohol level twice the legal limit, Va. cops say". Staten Island Advance. May 2, 2008.
  20. ^ Staten Island's Fossella admits child from affair". silive.com. May 8, 2008.
  21. ^ "BP James Oddo eyeing surrogate court bench in 2018". Staten Island Advance. 2017-02-09.
  22. ^ "Issue by Issue: Oddo and Shcherbenko share their visions for Staten Island". Staten Island Advance. 2017-10-31.
  23. ^ "Borough President James Oddo re-elected by a large margin". silive. 2017-11-08. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  24. ^ "BP James Oddo will not run for surrogate". silive. 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  25. ^ Harrell, Jeff (May 25, 2010). "Some things are sacred". silive.com.
  26. ^ Padnani, Amy (July 23, 2010). "No Midland Beach mosque -- convent sale canceled". silive.com.
  27. ^ Oddo, James S. (August 21, 2005). "Target Muslims in City Bag Checks, Argues Lawmaker". Daily News (New York, New York). p. 33.
  28. ^ Beveridge, Andy A. (August 24, 2005). "Can NYC Profile Young Muslim Males?" Gotham Gazette.
Political offices
Preceded byJohn Fusco Member of the New York City Councilfrom the 50th district 1999–2013 Succeeded bySteven Matteo
Preceded byThomas Ognibene Minority Leader of the New York City Council 2002–2013 Succeeded byVincent Ignizio
Preceded byJames Molinaro Borough President of Staten Island 2014–2022 Succeeded byVito Fossella