Joseph Cirnigliaro
Attorney (JD) | Political Strategist | Public Affairs & International Relations Advisor
Dr. Joseph Giuseppe Cirnigliaro has been actively involved in politics since 1976. He began his political work campaigning for Mario Cuomo during his mayoral race against Ed Koch, and subsequently participated in campaigns for multiple New York City mayors, including Rudy Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg, and Bill de Blasio. He also worked on gubernatorial campaigns for Mario Cuomo, Andrew Cuomo, and David Paterson, the latter being both his schoolmate at Columbia University and his law school classmate.
Joseph later served as Campaign Manager for Assemblyman Hon. Arnaldo Ferraro, who introduced him to electoral politics and supported his candidacy for the New York State Senate.
He was also a candidate for the Italian Senate/Parliament, nominated through the former President of Sicily, Hon. Nello Musumeci, who currently serves as a Senator and Minister in the Italian government.
Joseph’s academic mentors played a significant role in his career, including Antonio Martino, former Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Interior; Jonathan Cole, former Provost of Columbia University; and Stewart Rabinowitz, former Dean of Hofstra Law School and President of Hofstra University.
He was instrumental in coordinating official visits by Minister Antonio Martino to Columbia University and the Italian Consulate in New York. Joseph also helped organize visits by the President of Sicily to the New York–New Jersey area, in coordination with Italian Consul General Francesco Genuardi, now Ambassador to Belgium.
Earlier in his career, Joseph facilitated visits to the United States by the Mayor of Palermo, Leoluca Orlando, the President of the Province of Palermo, Francesco Calderone, and the Mayor of Catania, who also served as a Senator and personal physician to the Italian Prime Minister at the time. These visits included meetings with Charles Gargano, U.S. Ambassador under President Reagan and a senior official in New York State government, to promote cultural and economic exchange with Sicily.
Many Italian political leaders and cultural figures visiting New York were interviewed by Dr. Joseph Cirnigliaro, including former Italian Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema, upon recommendation of the Italian Consulate.
Dr. Joseph Cirnigliaro also worked with the U.S. Presidential Campaign, maintaining offices in Manhattan and Atlantic City. He assisted in coordinating presidential campaign rallies in 2016 in cooperation with the campaign’s political offices in New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut.