
(Congress Bio Directory)
Sires, who was born in Cuba, is seen as an authority on Cuban-American relations. He won his House seat in a 2006 special election, and has served the 13th Congressional District of New Jersey ever since.
Before coming to Congress, he was an experienced New Jersey pol, having served a long career as a mayor, and the first Latino speaker of the state Assembly. But he raised some eyebrows, and objections to his appointment as speaker, because of his history of party switching from Democrat to Republican and back again.
- Career History: U.S. House of Representatives (2006 - present); New Jersey State Assembly (2000- 2006); Speaker, New Jersey State Assembly (2002-2006); Mayor of West New York, New Jersey (1995-2006)
- Birthday: Jan. 26, 1951
- Hometown: Bejucal, Cuba
- Alma Mater: St. Peter's College, BA 1974; Middlebury College, MA 1985
- Spouse: Adrienne
- Religion: Catholic
- Committees: Transportation and Infrastructure ; Foreign Affairs
Sires was a little boy growing up in Cuba when Fidel Castro came to power. His family fled the country a few years later, arriving in the United States in 1962, when Sires was ten.
A self-described high-school jock, Sires earned a basketball scholarship from St. Peter's College in New Jersey. He eventually earned his master's degree from Middlebury College in Vermont. Basketball was his way of making friends when he first arrived in the U.S.
Sires voted with his party 98 percent of the time in the 111th Congress. In January 2009, he became a vice chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which works to elect Democrats to the House.
Sires wasn't always a Democrat. After running unsuccessfully three times for mayor of West New York as a Democrat, he briefly switched in 1985 to the Republican Party. He ran for the same post in 1994 as an Independent, and won. In 1998, Sires rejoined the Democratic Party.
Sires works closely with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). Sires assumed Menendez's congressional seat after Menendez was named by New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) to fill Corzine's old Senate seat.
As a member of the Congressional Cuban Democracy Caucus, he works closely with Cuban-American lawmakers like Reps. Mario (R-Fla.) and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.).
- Herszenhorn, David, "Democrats Back McGreevey's Choice to Lead Assembly, Ending Feud," The New York Times, Nov. 17. 2001
- Gettleman, Jeffrey, "For Sires, Few Hurdles Left on Way to Washington," The New York Times, March 26, 2006
- Getnj.com
- keyboer, Kelly, "Rep. Albio Sires: Health care is constituents' biggest concern," The Star-Ledger, Jul. 1, 2009
- McClatchy Newspapers, "Rep. hangs up on Obama," Sun Journal, Dec. 5, 2008
- Gettleman, Jeffrey, The New York Times, "For Sires, Few Hurdles Left on Way to Washington," Mar. 26, 2006
- Washington Post Votes Database
- States News Service, "Members of Congress Request U.S. Government to Provide Direct Assistance to Victims of Hurricane Gustav in Cuba," Sep. 3, 2008
- Albio, "Nation's largest transit project could not come at a better time," The Hill, Jun. 10, 2009
- Llorente, Elizabeth, "Sires to run for Menendez's old house seat," The Record, Jan. 24, 2006
- States News Service, "Letter From Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus to President Obama," Mar. 25, 2009
- Sires web site
- Isenstadt, Alex, "Sires to be DCCC vice chair," Politico, Jan. 21, 2009
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