Ann Marie Buerkle ( ; née Colella; born May 8, 1951) is an American nurse, attorney, and politician. She served as a commissioner of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) beginning in July 2013 and was the agency's acting chairman from February 2017 to September 2019. During her tenure, the number of companies fined declined sharply, and she was criticized by consumer advocates. Buerkle was an Assistant New York State Attorney General from 1997 through 2010. She served as the U.S. representative for the , elected in 2010 in an upset of a Democratic incumbent. In a rematch of her 2010 contest, Buerkle was defeated by former Congressman Dan Maffei. She is a member of the Republican Party. Early life and career Buerkle was born Ann Marie Colella in 1951 in Auburn, New York, the daughter of Sadie M. (née Fiduccia) and Alfred D. "Al" Colella. All of her grandparents were born in Italy. After graduating as a registered nurse from St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing in Syracuse, New York, she worked at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City and at St. Joseph's. She was a substitute school nurse for many years before obtaining her J.D. degree from Syracuse University School of Law. She was married to August Buerkle from 1972 to 1997. She served as an Assistant New York State Attorney General from 1997 to 2010. She also served one term on the Syracuse, New York Common Council. Buerkle is divorced and has six children. U.S. House of Representatives Elections 2010 Buerkle defeated turkey farm owner Mark Bitz and activist Paul Bertan to win the Republican nomination. Buerkle defeated incumbent Dan Maffei in the 2010 midterm election, an outcome determined after weeks of absentee ballot counting and precinct recanvassing; Buerkle emerged victorious by a narrow 567-vote margin of over 200,000 ballots cast. Maffei conceded the race on November 23, 2010, when it became clear that challenged votes would not change the outcome of the race. Maffei had been favored to retain the seat. In addition to rating the district as "Leans Democratic", RealClearPolitics and other pundits thought it was an unlikely congressional district to switch parties. Going into the election, other pundits from CQ Politics, The Cook Report, and the Rothenberg Report ranked it as "Lean Democrat" to "Democrat Favored". Buerkle was endorsed by former Alaska Governor and 2008 vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin (who labeled Buerkle a