Ray D'Ambra
From Usgs
| ||||
| Northeastern Opposition Leader | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In Office: 2011-Presemt | ||||
| Preceded by | Unknown | |||
| Succeeded by | none | |||
| Born | January 1, 1980 Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, NY | |||
| Political Party | Republican/Smoker's Rights Party | |||
| Spouse | Mary (Donnelly) D'Ambra (deceased) | |||
| Religion | Roman-Catholic | |||
Ray D'Ambra is a Republican and Smoker's Rights Party Legislative Leader from Brooklyn, New York.
Early Life
Born in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, Ray D'Ambra was the son of Joseph D'Ambra and Annette (Johnson) D'Ambra. The first of three children, D'Ambra was expected to work at the family's restaurant. After graduating from high school, D'Ambra would go on to work in this restaurant and after the gangland killings of his father, in 1999, he inherited ownership.
It was here that D'Ambra met Mary Donnelly, an Irish-American girl who was hired to work for the restaurant as a waitress. The two had two children out of wedlock, Anthony (2004) and James D'Ambra (2006). The couple married in 2011 but, unfortunately, later that year both of their children as well as Mary were murdered in a burglary attempt at Ray's Bensonhurst home. This murder forced Ray to resign from office.
Political Career
In 2008, Ray D'Ambra, who had little interest in politics at the time, was nominated by the Italian and Irish Unions as the GOP Candidate. In a shocking upset, D'Ambra won the race by a mere 100 votes. D'Ambra would get re-election in 2010, endorsed by the Smoker's Rights Party and largely unopposed, while losing in a tough election to Senator Frances Bernstein, by nearly 10 points. D'Ambra has stated that funding was the issue, and not receiving funding from the Republican party to match the 17 Million Bernstein received from various PACs just hurt him in the end.
In 2011, Ray resigned from the House due to the murder of his wife and children. He would disappear from politics writing the best selling book The Smoker's Log and was sent back to office in November of 2011 during a special election to fill a vacant legislative seat. Ray won overwhelmingly and was assigned as the Northeastern Opposition Leader.
Elections Results
| Candidates | % | |
|---|---|---|
| Ray D'Ambra [R] | 50% | |
| James Anderson [D] | 49% | |
| Mary Goodman [I] | 1% | |
| Total | 100% | |
| Candidates | % | |
|---|---|---|
| Frankie Bernstein [D] | 55% | |
| Ray D'Ambra [R/SRP] | 45% | |
| Total | 100% | |
| Candidates | % | |
|---|---|---|
| Ray D'Ambra [SRP] | 100% | |
| Total | 100% | |
| Candidates | % | |
|---|---|---|
| Arnold Waters [D] | 37% | |
| Ray D'Ambra [R/SRP] | 63% | |
| Total | 100% | |
