John D. Calandra, Jr. was a New York State Senator from the Bronx and chairman of the Bronx Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

. A lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and former United States Attorney

United States Attorney

United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...

, Calandra ran unsuccessfully for the State Senate in 1962 and 1964, losing both times to Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Joseph Marine.

In 1965, he was elected by defeating Democrat James J. Farrell after the senatorial districts were redrawn to favor Republican candidates. In 1967, Calandra ran for Bronx District Attorney

District attorney

In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...

, but lost. 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...

, he rose to the rank of majority whip

Whip (politics)

A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...

. He served in the State Senate until his death in 1986, aged 57, after suffering a series of heart attacks. He also served as chairman of the Bronx County Republican Party from 1970 until his death.

Family

His widow, JoAnn Calandra, ran in a special election to take over his Senate seat in April 1986, but she was defeated by Guy Velella

Guy Velella

Guy John Velella was a Republican New York State Senator from The Bronx.A political leader, state assemblyman, and state senator for over 30 years, Velella was indicted in 2002 with 25 counts of bribery and conspiracy for allegedly accepting at least $137,000 in exchange for steering public-works...

. In 1996, Calandra's son, John J. Calandra, an attorney, ran for the Assembly in the Bronx, but was soundly defeated by incumbent Democrat Stephen B. Kaufman

Stephen B. Kaufman

Stephen B. Kaufman is a lawyer and former Democratic City Councilman and New York State Assemblyman from the Bronx. In 2004, he ran unsuccessfully for the New York State Senate.-External links:*...

.

Legacy

The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, which is located in Manhattan but under the aegis of Queens College, New York City

Queens College, City University of New York

Queens College, located in Flushing, Queens, New York City, is one of the senior colleges of the City University of New York. It is also the fifth oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning. The college's seventy seven acre campus is located in the heart of the...

is named in Calandra's honor.