STATEN ISLAND, NY – The Richmond County Republican Committee unanimously elected State Assemblyman Michael Tannousis as its next chairman on October 6.

Tannousis will replace current Chairman Anthony Reinhart, who was elected to serve as Vice-Chairman and Chief Operating Officer at the committee’s biennial reorganization meeting, which was held at the Vanderbilt in South Beach.

The son of Greek-Cypriot immigrants who came to the United States after being displaced by the illegal Turkish invasion of Cyprus, Tannousis said it is vital that the Republican Party make inroads to other first- and second-generation Americans who are seeking a better life.

“Rather than fear how the changing demographics will affect our city’s political landscape, I think we should embrace the opportunity to reach new Americans and articulate how Republican values, Republican philosophy and a Republican approach to governing can help them thrive in this city and this country,” Tannousis said. “I look forward to continuing to build upon the rational and common sense voice that the Staten Island Republican Party continues to be throughout our community and we will continue to put forth strong candidates that will carry our Republican ideals and principles.”

Though the Democratic Party has longed held sway with ethnic and immigrant voters, particularly in liberal urban enclaves like New York City, those votes have been trending more Republican in recent elections. Democrats have been steadily losing ground among Hispanic voters, as evidenced by former President Donald Trump’s 10-point gain with the group between the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. In the 2021 New York City Mayoral election, Republicans fared extremely well with Asian-American voters, which helped the party flip two Council seats previously held by Democrats. GOP Mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa garnered 44 percent of the vote in election precincts where more than half the residents are Asian.

“I firmly believe that the American Dream is alive and well. I am living proof of that,” Tannousis added. “But years and years of Democrat, progressive policies in New York have eroded that dream, and have made it so far out of reach for so many people. It is incumbent upon us to do all that we can to communicate how the Republican Party can once again make the American Dream attainable.”

A lifelong Staten Islander, Tannousis graduated from Monsignor Farrell High School and earned a B.A. from SUNY Binghamton and a Juris Doctor degree from Pace Law School. He began his career in public service in 2006 as an aide to then-City Council Minority Leader James Oddo. After obtaining his law degree, he was an assistant district attorney in the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and the Staten Island District Attorney’s Office, where he successfully prosecuted serious felony cases involving violent crimes and drug sales. He successfully prosecuted multiple high-profile murder cases on Staten Island. He was elected to succeed Nicole Malliotakis in the 64th State Assembly District (East Shore/Bay Ridge) in 2020.