Molinari, Susan, 1958-

<p>Representative Susan Molinari crafted a meteoric political career as a moderate Republican who could reach out to an increasingly important voter demographic: young, suburban, middle-class mothers. Hailing from a Republican political dynasty that had played a role in Staten Island politics for nearly 50 years, she succeeded her father—Guy Victor Molinari—in the United States House of Representatives. When the Republicans took control of the House in 1994, they quickly elevated the charismatic Molinari to prominent positions, giving her a place in GOP policy deliberations.</p>

<p>Susan Molinari was born on March 27, 1958, in the Bronx, New York, the only child of Guy and Marguerite Wing Molinari. The son of a politically involved family, Guy Molinari served in the New York state assembly from 1974 to 1980 and later spent 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Staten Island, New York. In 1976 Susan Molinari graduated from St. Joseph Hill Academy in Staten Island. Four years later, she graduated with a BA from New York State University at Albany and, in 1982, she earned a MA in political communications at SUNY Albany. From 1981 to 1983, Molinari worked as a finance assistant for the Republican Governor’s Association. She also worked two years as an “ethnic-community liaison” for the Republican National Committee in Washington. In 1985, she won election to the city council of New York, defeating her Democratic opponent by fewer than 200 votes. As the only Republican on the 36-member council, Molinari served as minority leader and was entitled to sit on all committees. Popular among constituents, she won re-election with 75 percent of the vote.2 In 1988 Susan Molinari married John Lucchesi of Staten Island; the couple divorced in 1992, with no children.</p>

<p>In 1990 Representative Guy Molinari resigned his U.S. House seat to become the Staten Island borough president. His district, which encompassed all of Staten Island and a portion of Brooklyn, had a nearly two-to-one Democratic edge in voter enrollment but was nevertheless known as New York City’s most conservative enclave. Susan Molinari declared her candidacy for the March 20 special election, running on her four years’ experience on the city council and the strength of her family name. She received a boost from her father’s well-established political machine and a fundraising visit by President George H. W. Bush. Molinari’s platform included a mix of anti-crime programs, promises to reduce taxes, reasonable defense spending, support for reproductive rights, and pro-environmental positions. On the eve of the special election, the New York Times endorsed Molinari over Democratic candidate Robert J. Gigante because she “promises to add a moderate Republican voice to the city’s Democrat-dominated congressional delegation.” Molinari defeated Gigante with a 24 percent margin. In her subsequent three re-election campaigns in her newly reapportioned (but largely intact) district, she won with comfortable majorities between 50 and 69 percent. In each contest Molinari topped her main Democratic challengers by 15 percentage points or more, as a sizeable number of voters went to the polls for third-party candidates.</p>

<p>Susan Molinari (born March 27, 1958) is an American politician, journalist, and lobbyist from New York. A Republican, she was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Staten Island for three terms. She was considered a rising star in the GOP and was selected to deliver the keynote address at the 1996 Republican National Convention. However, the next year, she resigned from Congress to become a TV journalist for CBS News. Later she became a vice president for public policy at Google from 2012 to 2018.</p>

<p>Molinari was born in Staten Island, New York, the daughter of Marguerite (Wing) and lawyer and perennial Republican politician Guy Molinari, and granddaughter of Italian-born Republican politician S. Robert Molinari. She graduated from the then SUNY Albany (now called the University at Albany, The State University of New York). She served on the New York City Council before winning a special election to the House of Representatives in 1990 as a Republican to replace her father, who retired from Congress to become Staten Island Borough President.</p>

<p>Molinari is a member of the Advisory Board for WeProtect which is a global non-profit cooperation with the goal to protect children online and stop the crime of online child sexual abuse and exploitation.</p>