Joel Giambra
| Joel Giambra | |
|---|---|
| 6th Erie County Executive | |
|
In office 2000–2007 |
|
| Preceded by | Dennis Gorski |
| Succeeded by | Chris Collins |
| City Comptroller of Buffalo | |
|
In office 1990–1999 |
|
| Preceded by | Robert E. Whelan |
| Succeeded by | Anthony Nanula |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Buffalo, New York |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Michelle (Lettieri) Giambra |
| Children | Gabriella, Nicholas, Dominic, Joel |
| Residence | Buffalo, New York |
| Alma mater | Erie Community College |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Joel Giambra is the former County Executive in Erie County, New York. The county seat is Buffalo, New York, where Giambra currently resides.
Giambra was born and raised in Buffalo, in 1951, to a single mother, Shirley, and also raised by his grandmother. He lived in the Lakeview Housing Project, near the east bank of the Niagara River. He later said, "It was an environment where everybody was poor but we didn’t know it."
His mother eventually remarried to Salvatore "Babe" Panaro, and Giambra considers Panaro to be his father. His mother and stepfather had a daughter, Angela. The family were Roman Catholic.
Giambra attended Grover Cleveland High School and Erie Community College.
Giambra married Michelle Lettieri in 1982, and they have four children, Gabriella, Nicholas, Dominic, and Joel.
Giambra experienced throat cancer, but later recovered. His treatment choice caused a political firestorm as he was treated at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City instead of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo leading to the belief that he was deliberately insulting his constituency by seeking treatment outside Erie County at a time when Roswell Park was a highly rated cancer facility. Supporters claim that he wished to avoid media scrutiny during his treatment and recovery, something he could not do while being treated at Roswell, and that Sloan-Kettering was superior in treating his specific form of cancer.
Giambra was one of the youngest Buffalo Common Council members ever, and also served as Buffalo City Comptroller early in his career. He was a Democrat who changed his political affiliation to Republican in 1999 to better position himself to run for County Executive. He was seen as a future statewide candidate and in 2002 was considered by Governor George Pataki as a running mate for lieutenant governor, before Lt. Gov. Mary Donohue was nominated for reelection. He won a closer than expected re-election in 2003 against a weak Democratic rival, and his administration started to experience problems.
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