Nicholas A. Spano is best known as a New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 Republican

New York Republican State Committee

The New York Republican State Committee is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in New York, headquartered in Albany.-History:...

 politician, who represented Yonkers

Yonkers, New York

Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...

 and surrounding areas in the New York State Senate

New York State Senate

The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...

 from 1986 to 2006. During his state senate career he served on the Rules, Transportation, Finance, Education, Health, and Racing, Gaming, and Wagering committees, chaired the Senate Investigations Committee,as was the Senior Assistant Majority Leader.

In 2004, Spano won re-election by only 18 votes after facing a serious challenge by Westchester County Legislator Andrea Stewart-Cousins

Andrea Stewart-Cousins

Andrea Stewart-Cousins is a New York State Senator for the 35th district representing Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Elmsford, Greenburgh, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington, Mount Pleasant, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, and Yonkers....

. During his run for re-election in 2006, Stewart-Cousins ran against him again, this time with the support of Democrats Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

, Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...

, Eliot Spitzer

Eliot Spitzer

Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...

, David Paterson

David Paterson

David Alexander Paterson is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of New York, from 2008 to 2010. During his tenure he was the first governor of New York of African American heritage and also the second legally blind governor of any U.S. state after Bob C. Riley, who was Acting...

 and Andrew Cuomo

Andrew Cuomo

Andrew Mark Cuomo is the 56th and current Governor of New York, having assumed office on January 1, 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 64th New York State Attorney General, and was the 11th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development...

, she won; he conceded defeat on November 16, 2006.

Spano subsequently become involved in commercial real estate as well as lobbying state and local governments in New York through Empire Strategic Planning, a firm he established after his defeat.

Personal life

Spano's paternal grandfather, also named Nicholas, immigrated with two brothers from the Italian province of Bari

Province of Bari

The Province of Bari is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bari.It has an area of 5,138 km², and a total population of 1,594,109 . There are 48 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Bari...

 to the United States in 1918. Spano's father Leonard ran for public office in 1967, employing his son Nicholas in door-to-door campaigning. After losing in 1967, Leonard became a state legislator in 1971, an office he held until 1993 when he was elected to the job of Westchester

Westchester County, New York

Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...

 county clerk.

Spano grew up in Yonkers as the oldest of 16 children of Leonard and Josephine Spano; He is a graduate of Iona College

Iona College (New York)

Iona College is located in New Rochelle, New York, 20 miles north of Manhattan in suburban Westchester County. The college occupies 35 acres on North Ave. The college also operates a Graduate Center in Pearl River, Rockland County, New York....

 in New Rochelle, New York

New Rochelle, New York

New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state.The town was settled by refugee Huguenots in 1688 who were fleeing persecution in France...

. He and his wife Linda reside in Yonkers. They have two children, Lenny and Christina.