# Joe Borelli

Joseph Charles Borelli (born July 27, 1982) is an American politician who formerly served as the Minority Leader of the New York City Council. In the Council, he represented the 51st District, which encompasses much of the South Shore of Staten Island. He is a Republican and a staunch supporter of Donald Trump. He now works as a political consultant for Chartwell Strategy Group.

## Early life, education, and career

Borelli was born in Staten Island and adopted at birth by the Borelli family. He attended Public School 4, Our Lady Star of the Sea Grammar School, and St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School, from which he graduated in 2000.
After graduating from Marist College, he worked on the campaign of Vincent Ignizio, who was elected to the New York State Assembly from the 62nd District. He became Chief-of-Staff to the then-Assemblyman, and continued in that role when Ignizio was elected to the New York City Council in February 2007.

## Political career

Borelli was elected on November 6, 2012, to the State Assembly to succeed the retiring Louis Tobacco. He was one of only two Republicans in New York City's State Assembly delegation.
On November 3, 2015, Borelli won a special election to replace fellow Republican Vincent Ignizio on the City Council. Ignizio had left the Council in July to work for a nonprofit. Borelli was sworn into office on November 30, 2015, and was chosen to be the Council's Minority Whip.
In 2016, Borelli frequently appeared on national cable TV news shows where he supported Donald Trump as the Republican Presidential nominee. Borelli also co-chaired Trump's campaign during the 2016 New York Republican primary. Trump later won New York's primary with 59% of the vote, and he went on to win the Republican nomination and later the general election. The following year, Borelli was re-elected in the New York City Council elections, 2017, winning 80% of the vote.
In 2019, Borelli was the Republican and Conservative Party nominee for NYC Public Advocate, running against Democratic incumbent Jumaane Williams. Williams won the race garnering 77.9 percent of the vote to Borelli's 20%. In 2019, New York State Republican Chairman Nick Langworthy named Borelli as a spokesman to help spread the New York GOP's message during the 2020 election cycle.
On November 17, 2021, Borelli was elected as Minority Leader of the City Council's Republican delegation, replacing outgoing Council Member Steven Matteo.
In 2022, Borelli criticized the planned implementation of congestion pricing to the most crowded areas of Manhattan. Congestion pricing eventually went into effect in January 2025.
In 2024, Borelli introduced a bill to revoke New York City's status as a sanctuary city, in an attempt to mitigate the effects of illegal immigration. He stated that "sanctuary city policy is a social experiment gone off the rails."
In January 2025, Borelli resigned from the City Council, about a year before he would have been required to leave office due to term limits. He took a position in the private sector, joining Chartwell Strategy Group, a political consulting firm. Borelli became the first Managing Director of the firm's recently-opened New York City office. He said that he plans to remain politically engaged and will continue to make appearances in the media, despite no longer holding public office.

## Personal life

Borelli lives in the Annadale neighborhood of Staten Island, with his wife Rachel and their two sons: Joseph and John. The family also has an English Bulldog named Luna.