Albert Bernstein
From Usgs
Revision as of 18:24, 28 April 2008
| ||||
| Senator | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In Office: January 2017 - Present | ||||
| Preceded by | Dante Moretti | |||
| Succeeded by | incumbent | |||
| Vice Chairman of the Democratic National Committee | ||||
| In Office: {{{Term-Length2}}} | ||||
| Preceded by | Samuel Clay | |||
| Succeeded by | incumbent | |||
| Born | October 1st, 1946 Brooklyn, New York, USA | |||
| Political Party | Democrat | |||
| Spouse | Frannie Bernstein | |||
| Religion | Jewish | |||
Albert Bernstein is currently the Junior Democratic Senator from New York.
Contents |
Early Life
Al grew up the son of wealthy banker Joseph Bernstein. He lived in a wealthy part of Manhattan for much of his teenage life, a distinct change from the lower middle class Brooklyn where he lived as a young child.
From his book Magnified Apples:
"...My father, Joseph, fit well into his self proclaimed role as patriarch of our family. He was a banker, and we were new money. I can't say it was ever hard, not like others I've known, but it was bizarre and if I could choose I'd do it differently. There's a desperation you can get from growing up with everything given to you. A burning desire to earn your own. Some get it. I did. Others have no problem with taking the wealth and doing nothing all their lives..."
Broadway
When Al returned from business school at the University of Chicago, he almost immediately sought out a job on Broadway. The entertainment industry had always enthralled and inspired him. He got a job working as a secretary at the Gretz Talent Agency under Norman Gretz. He also moonlighted as a stagehand, working 14 hour days for months at a time.
Gretz took Albert under his wing and set him up to produce a string of small near Broadway plays. After that the jobs kept rolling in. In eight years Al went from being a stagehand to being a successful Broadway producer. By the eighties he was a big name, producing for the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim.
Political Career
Al ran for a seat in the House of Representatives in 2016 and won. He ended up being appointed, only a year later, to fill the empty Senate seat that Dante Moretti had left. He ran for election the next year against Phillip Jaques, a New York businessman and won. He became the Ranking Member of the Senate Domestic Affairs Committee, a position he still holds after his reelection to a full 6 year term in 2020.
He is considered among the most progressive Senators, and a liberal attack dog for his policies on abortion and LGBT rights. He is, however, more to the economic center than others in the Democratic Senate Caucus.
Published Works
Something Blue Cigars and Caviar for Supper: A Tale from 42nd Street Under the Autumn Sun Magnified Apples: The Broadway Diaries of Albert Bernstein Under the Autumn Sun and Other Plays
