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Joe Morelle
Joe Morelle
Ranking Member of the House Administration Committee
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Rodney Davis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives; from New York's 25th district
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; November 13, 2018
Preceded by	Louise Slaughter
Majority Leader of the New York State Assembly
	In office; January 1, 2013 – November 13, 2018
Preceded by	Ronald Canestrari
Succeeded by	Crystal Peoples-Stokes
Speaker of the New York State Assembly; Acting
	In office; February 2, 2015 – February 3, 2015
Preceded by	Sheldon Silver
Succeeded by	Carl Heastie
Member of the New York State Assembly; from the 136th district
	In office; January 1, 1991 – November 13, 2018
Preceded by	Pinny Cooke
Succeeded by	Jamie Romeo
Personal details
Born	April 29, 1957 (age 67); Utica, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Mary Beth Bauer (m. 1984)
Children	3
Residence(s)	Irondequoit, New York, U.S.
Education	State University of New York, Geneseo (BA)
Website	House website
	Joseph Morelle's voice Joseph Morelle speaks in support of legislation to expedite the SIV program for Afghan refugees; Recorded July 20, 2021

Joseph D. Morelle (/məˈrɛli/ mə-RELL-ee; born April 29, 1957)^[1] is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 25th congressional district since 2018. A Democrat, he was formerly a member of the New York State Assembly representing the 136th Assembly district, which includes eastern portions of the City of Rochester and the Monroe County suburbs of Irondequoit and Brighton. Speaker Sheldon Silver appointed him as majority leader of the New York State Assembly in January 2013 and Morelle served as acting speaker in the Speaker's absence.^[2] He was elected to the United States House of Representatives for New York's 25th congressional district in November 2018 following the death of longtime Representative Louise Slaughter.

Early life and education

Morelle was born in Utica, New York, to Gilbert and Juliette Morelle. Gil was a Korean War veteran, a heating and cooling technician and a lifelong Plumbers and Pipefitters Union member. Joe and his three siblings grew up Catholic, on Vayo Street in Irondequoit, where he attended Eastridge High School.^[3] He received a bachelor's degree in political science from SUNY Geneseo^[3] in 1986.^[1]

In his early years, Morelle was a sales manager for a drycleaning and laundry business.^[4] He got his political start working for State Senator John D. Perry as a constituent services representative in Rochester and legislative aide in Albany.^[5]

Political career

County legislature

Morelle, a Democrat, made his first foray into elective politics at age 24 when he ran for a seat in the Monroe County legislature.^[6] He failed to unseat the incumbent on the first try, but prevailed in the 1983 election.^[7] He was reelected once before running for the New York State legislature.^[8]

State legislature

Morelle was first elected to the State Assembly in 1990.^[3] He ran uncontested in the November 2008 general election^[9]^[10] and won the November 2010 general election with 61% of the vote.^[11]^[12]

During his tenure in the state legislature, Morelle authored more than 200 laws, including major reforms to the workers compensation system, laws to require carbon monoxide detectors in one- and two-family homes, toughen regulations governing charitable organizations, protect the elderly and infirm who live in nursing homes or receive home based health care, and raise senior citizens' real property tax exemption. He sponsored bills to exempt veterans from certain state licensing fees, protect their grave sites, and assist them with the civil service application process.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2001, Morelle was appointed chair of the Assembly Standing Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Sports Development. He worked with area leaders to develop Rochester as a center for tourism and the arts in Western New York.^{[citation needed]}

In addition to the Tourism Committee, Morelle's standing committee assignments included Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce and Industry; Higher Education; Local Governments; and Libraries and Education Technology. At his request, the Speaker created the Subcommittee on Manufacturing in order to give New York's manufacturing sector a greater voice in state government.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, Morelle issued a report, "Creating a State of Innovation: Unleashing The Power of New York's Entrepreneurial Economy", detailing New York's economic decline, particularly upstate, and offering numerous policy recommendations to reverse this years-long trend.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, Morelle was elected chair of the Monroe County Democratic Committee,^[13] and held this position until 2014.

Campaign violations

In 1990, an acting state Supreme Court justice ruled that Morelle fraudulently obtained several signatures on nominating petitions to qualify him for an independent line on the 1990 ballot (New York permits cross-filing in some circumstances) during his run for the State Assembly.^[5] Morelle remained on the ballot and won the election.^[14] He later admitted that he allowed family members to sign the petitions for the individuals whose names appeared on them and did not personally witness the signatures, both of which are illegal.^[14] In 1991 he was charged with seven misdemeanor counts of violating state election law.^[14] Morelle denied intentionally violating the law, but accepted a plea bargain in which he was found guilty of two counts of disorderly conduct.^[14] He was sentenced to 32 hours of community service and a $25 fine.^[14] Because disorderly conduct is a violation of the law, rather than a misdemeanor or felony, Morelle's plea enabled him to avoid having a permanent criminal record as a result of the incident.^[14]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

After the death of Representative Louise Slaughter, Morelle announced his candidacy for New York's 25th congressional district; he won the Democratic Party's nomination on June 26, 2018.^[15] On November 6, he ran in two elections: a special election for the last two months of Slaughter's 16th term, and a regular election for a full two-year term. He won both, defeating Republican nominee Jim Maxwell.^[16]

2020

Morelle ran for reelection to a second full term, winning the Democratic primary against challenger and Brighton town councilwoman Robin Wilt.^[17] He defeated the Republican nominee, businessman George Mitris,^[18] in the general election.^[19]^[20]

Tenure

Morelle was sworn in on November 13, 2018.

On December 2, 2024, Michael Hopkins, a congressional staffer for Morelle, was arrested after routine x-ray screens discovered 11 rounds of ammunition and several ammunition magazines in his bag. Hopkins was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of ammunition and possession of a high capacity magazine.^[21]

Committee assignments

Committee on House Administration (Ranking member)
Committee on Appropriations

Caucus memberships

Political positions

Morrelle voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.^[25]

Leadership call to discuss Biden

On July 7, 2024, it was reported that Morelle had expressed interest in encouraging Biden to end his bid for re-election. This was during a call that U.S. House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries held with the committee leaders.^[26]

Electoral history

Democratic primary results^[27]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Joseph Morelle	16,245	45.63%
Democratic	Rachel A. Barnhart	7,003	19.67%
Democratic	Robin Wilt	6,158	17.30%
Democratic	Adam McFadden	6,103	17.14%

^[28]

New York's 25th congressional district special election, 2018
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph Morelle	141,290	58.29%	+2.10%
	Republican	Jim Maxwell	101,085	41.71%	−2.10%
Total votes			242,375	100.0	N/A
	Democratic hold

New York's 25th congressional district, 2018
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph Morelle	147,979	54.8
	Independence	Joseph Morelle	4,585	1.7
	Working Families	Joseph Morelle	4,575	1.7
	Women's Equality	Joseph Morelle	2,105	0.8
	Total	Joseph Morelle	159,244	59.0
	Republican	Jim Maxwell	91,342	33.8
	Conservative	Jim Maxwell	17,781	6.6
	Reform	Jim Maxwell	1,613	0.6
	Total	Jim Maxwell	110,736	41.0
Total votes			269,980	100.0
	Democratic hold

New York's 25th congressional district, 2020^[19]^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph Morelle	187,503	53.9
	Working Families	Joseph Morelle	14,584	4.2
	Independence	Joseph Morelle	4,309	1.2
	Total	Joseph Morelle (incumbent)	206,396	59.3
	Republican	George Mitris	115,940	33.4
	Conservative	George Mitris	20,258	5.8
	Total	George Mitris	136,198	39.2
	Libertarian	Kevin Wilson	5,325	1.5
Total votes			347,919	100.0
	Democratic hold

New York's 25th congressional district, 2022^[29]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph Morelle	136,788	48.88
	Working Families	Joseph Morelle	11,893	4.25
	Total	Joseph Morelle (incumbent)	148,681	53.13
	Republican	La'Ron Singletary	106,573	38.08
	Conservative	La'Ron Singletary	21,929	7.84
	Total	La'Ron Singletary	128,502	45.92
Total votes			279,841	100

Personal life

Morelle lives in Irondequoit with his wife, Mary Beth.^[3] They have three children.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Assembly Member Joseph D. Morelle (NY)". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
^ McKinley, Jesse; Kaplan, Thomas; Craig, Susanne (January 27, 2015). "Sheldon Silver to Be Replaced as Speaker of New York State Assembly". New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Assembly District 132, Joseph D. Morelle: Biography". New York State Assembly. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
^ "Morelle Narrowly Wins Over Ogden", Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, pp. 8A, November 11, 1990
^ ^a ^b Hand, Jon (January 28, 2015). "Timeline on Joseph Morelle's career". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, NY.
^ "GOP Keeps Control of County Legislature", Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, pp. 2A, November 4, 1981
^ "Democrats Gain 2 Seats in Legislature", Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, pp. 3A, November 9, 1983
^ "Morelle Defeats His Challenger", Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, pp. 3A, November 4, 1987
^ "Election Results 2008: New York State Legislature". The New York Times. 2008. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012.
^ "Assembly Election Returns: November 4, 2008" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 23, 2012.
^ "Election Results 2010: New York State Legislature". The New York Times. 2010. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012.
^ "Assembly Election Returns: November 2, 2010" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 18, 2013.
^ "Morelle Officially Seeks Chair", Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, pp. 2A, May 27, 2005
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Venere, Emil (January 23, 1992). "Morelle Pleads Guilty in Election-Law Violations". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, NY. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Assemblyman Joseph Morelle to run for Louise Slaughter's congressional seat". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
^ "Joe Morelle defeats Jim Maxwell for Louise Slaughter's seat". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
^ "Robin Wilt for Congress: Campaign Announcement". Retrieved November 16, 2019 – via Facebook.
^ Coltin, Jeff; Lyskawa, Madeline; Stark-Miller, Ethan; Bolton, Emma (November 8, 2019). "Who's threatening House members in 2020". City & State New York. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
^ ^a ^b "November 3, 2020 General Election Certification" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. September 17, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "2020 Election Results". New York State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
^ Gandy, George. "Morelle staff member accused of bringing ammo into congressional office building". RochesterFirst. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
^ "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
^ "Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute".
^ "Membership". Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
^ Bycoffe, Aaron; Wiederkehr, Anna (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ "4 more senior Dems call on Biden to stand down from reelection bid - POLITICO".
^ "Monroe County Board of Elections Canvassing Book 2018" (PDF). Retrieved June 23, 2019.
^ "New York Election Results: 25th House District". The New York Times. January 28, 2019.
^ "2022 General Election Results — Certified December 15, 2022". New York State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.

External links

Congressman Morelle official U.S. House website
Campaign website

Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
Profile at Vote Smart
Appearances on C-SPAN

New York State Assembly
Preceded by Pinny Cooke	Member of the New York Assembly from the 132nd district 1991–2012	Succeeded by Phil Palmesano
Preceded by Phil Palmesano	Member of the New York Assembly from the 136th district 2013–2018	Succeeded by Jamie Romeo
Preceded by Ronald Canestrari	Majority Leader of the New York Assembly 2013–2018	Succeeded by Crystal Peoples-Stokes
Political offices
Preceded by Sheldon Silver	Speaker of the New York Assembly Acting 2015	Succeeded by Carl Heastie
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Louise Slaughter	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 25th congressional district 2018–present	Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Kevin Hern	United States representatives by seniority 219th	Succeeded by Mary Gay Scanlon