Thomas Stephen Gulotta is a Republican

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...

 politician from Nassau County, New York

Nassau County, New York

Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,339,532...

 who was the county executive

County executive

A county executive is the head of the executive branch of government in a county. This position is common in the United States.The executive may be an elected or an appointed position...

 of Nassau from 1987 to 2001.

Early life

Gulotta was born in Oceanside, New York

Oceanside, New York

Oceanside is a hamlet located in the south part of the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York. The population was 32,109 at the 2010 census.-History:...

, the son of Josephine and Frank Gulotta

Frank Gulotta

Frank A. Gulotta was a former New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division judge, and a former Nassau County district attorney.-Biography:...

, Sr. His father was a former Nassau County 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...

 and former New York State Supreme Court judge. The younger Gulotta was raised on Long Island and attended Malverne

Malverne, New York

Malverne is a village in the town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 8,514 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land.-History:...

 High School, where he was student president. He graduated from Trinity College

Trinity College (Connecticut)

Trinity College is a private, liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut after Yale University. The college enrolls 2,300 students and has been coeducational since 1969. Trinity offers 38 majors and 26 minors, and has...

, and earned a law degree from Columbia Law School

Columbia Law School

Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...

 in 1969.

Career

In 1976, he was elected to the New York State Assembly

New York State Assembly

The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...

 representing a district that included his hometown of Merrick, New York

Merrick, New York

Merrick is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, USA. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 22,097. The name "Merrick" is taken from Meroke, the name of the Algonquian tribe formerly indigenous to the area...

. He served in the Assembly until 1981, when he was picked to become the presiding supervisor in the Town of Hempstead, succeeding Al D'Amato

Al D'Amato

Alfonse Marcello "Al" D'Amato is an American lawyer and former New York politician. A Republican, he served as United States Senator from New York from 1981 to 1999.-Early life and family:...

, who had been elected to the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

. He was re-elected to the position in 1983.

In January 1987, Gulotta was appointed county executive by the county's board of supervisors, and ran for reelection to the post in November 1987.

Gulotta opted not to run for a fifth term in 2001, after having won 11 straight elections. His successor was Democrat Thomas Suozzi

Thomas Suozzi

Thomas R. "Tom" Suozzi was the county executive of Nassau County, New York. He was first elected to the post of county executive in 2001, the first Democratic county executive since Eugene Nickerson left office in 1971.In 2006, he ran unsuccessfully against Eliot Spitzer for the Democratic...

.

He later founded Executive Strategies, a consulting firm, and joined the law firm of Shaw, Licitra, Bohner, Eserino, Schwartz & Pfluger in Mineola, New York

Mineola, New York

Mineola is a village in Nassau County, New York, USA. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a Native American word meaning a "pleasant place"....

, and was named a partner of the firm in 2004. He is currently special counsel at Albanese & Albanese, LLP, a law firm.