Representative Michael A. Arcuri

Michael Angelo Arcuri (born June 11, 1959) is an American politician, attorney, and former United States Representative from New York. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New York’s 24th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from January 3, 2007, to January 3, 2011, serving two terms in Congress. His tenure in the House coincided with a significant period in American political history, including the later years of the George W. Bush administration and the first two years of the Barack Obama administration, during which he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his central New York constituents.

Arcuri was born to Carmen Arcuri and Elizabeth Arcuri; his mother later retired from work as a stenographer. He was raised in Utica, New York, and graduated from Thomas R. Proctor High School in Utica in 1977. He went on to attend the State University of New York at Albany, where he majored in history and minored in economics, receiving his degree in 1981. Arcuri then studied law at New York Law School, from which he graduated in 1984. He was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1985 and returned to his hometown the following year.

In 1986, Arcuri opened a private law office in Utica, beginning a legal career that would lead to prominent public service in Oneida County. In 1993, he was elected District Attorney of Oneida County, which includes the city of Utica. His election was historically notable: he was only the third Democrat ever to hold the office and the first Democrat to do so in approximately 40 years. As district attorney, he handled a range of criminal matters and gained statewide attention for several high-profile prosecutions.

One of the most notable cases of Arcuri’s tenure as district attorney involved the prosecution of Joseph A. Smith of Oneida for the murder of Desiree Case of Yorkville. Case’s body was discovered in an abandoned house on February 26, 2000, and Smith was arrested on November 29, 2001, after being charged in a sealed indictment with two counts of second-degree murder. A jury found Smith guilty on both counts in March 2002. In late June 2002, however, a judge set aside the conviction after Arcuri brought forward evidence that had not been provided to the defense, including a confession by another man, Earl Wright, who was eventually found guilty of Case’s murder. Arcuri dropped the charges against Smith, who was released from jail on August 1, 2002. Smith later filed a claim for misconduct and negligence against the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office and the Utica Police Department, which was ultimately settled out of court.

Arcuri entered national politics in 2006, when he ran for an open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. In November 2006, he was elected to Congress from what was then designated New York’s 22nd congressional district, a district that encompassed a large swath of central New York, including Utica, Auburn, Rome, and most of the suburbs of Binghamton. He defeated State Senator Ray Meier for the seat vacated by retiring Republican Representative Sherwood Boehlert, winning 54 percent of the vote to Meier’s 45 percent. His victory was historically significant, as he became only the second Democrat to represent that district or its predecessors in 106 years, and the first Democrat to hold the seat since 1951. Following redistricting and changes in district numbering, he is generally recorded as having represented New York’s 24th congressional district during his time in Congress.

During his congressional service from 2007 to 2011, Arcuri was regarded as a centrist Democrat and was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of fiscally conservative and moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives. In March 2010, the National Review identified him as one of the most centrist members of the House, noting that his voting record was measured as 50.2 percent liberal and 49.8 percent conservative, a distinction he shared with only one other member of the House during the 110th Congress. In the House, he served on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, where he sat on the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management; the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit; and the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. He also served on the Committee on Rules, including the Subcommittee on Rules and the Organization of the House, participating in the shaping of floor procedures and legislative debate.

Arcuri successfully sought re-election in 2008. In that campaign, he faced a strong challenge from businessman Richard L. Hanna but prevailed with 52 percent of the vote to Hanna’s 48 percent. In 2010, in a rematch of the previous contest, Arcuri again faced Hanna amid a national political climate that favored Republican candidates. In the general election held on November 2, 2010, Arcuri was defeated, receiving 85,624 votes to Hanna’s 101,599, and he left Congress at the conclusion of his second term on January 3, 2011.

After his congressional service, Arcuri remained active in law and public affairs. He ran for Oneida County Court judge but was defeated by Assistant District Attorney Robert Bauer. He later continued his public service at the state level. Arcuri became a member and administrative law judge of the New York State Industrial Board of Appeals, an agency that reviews certain determinations and orders of the New York State Department of Labor. In that capacity, he has adjudicated labor and employment-related disputes, drawing on his extensive legal and prosecutorial background.

Arcuri is married to the former Sabrina Kennedy. The couple has four children: Carmen Joseph, Dominique, Nicholas Deon, and Sophia Rose Arcuri. Throughout his career in local law practice, county prosecution, and national legislative service, Arcuri has remained closely associated with Utica and the broader central New York region that formed the base of his legal and political life.