Joseph A. "Joe" Griffo (born January 16, 1956) is an American politician serving as a member of the New York Senate from the 47th district since 2007. The 47th district includes all of Lewis County, most of Oneida County, and parts of St. Lawrence County. Prior to his election to the Senate, Griffo served as mayor of Rome, New York and as Oneida County executive. A Republican, Griffo serves as deputy minority leader of the State Senate. Early life and education Joseph Griffo was born to Joseph and Betty Griffo in Rome, New York. Griffo was educated in the Rome City School District and graduated from Rome Free Academy High School in 1974. He then attended the College at Brockport, State University of New York, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1978. Career Oneida County Legislature Griffo served in the Oneida County Legislature from 1989 to 1991. Mayor of Rome, New York Griffo was elected mayor of his hometown of Rome, New York in 1991, and won two subsequent elections in 1995 and 1999. As mayor, Griffo eliminated Rome's special one-quarter percent sales tax. Also, Griffo "was able to prevent a tax hike there in all but one of his years in office, despite the crippling loss of Griffiss Air Force Base in 1993 – perhaps the worst single economic blow the county has ever seen." Griffo merged the parks and recreation departments and handed over the city's weights and measures and emergency management departments to the county, resulting in savings. To prevent closures and service cuts, he privatized Rome Hospital, the Erie Canal Village, and city trash collection services. Griffo brought Woodstock '99 to Rome; this effort earned him the nickname "The Rock N' Roll Mayor." The concert was held at the decommissioned Griffiss Air Force Base and served as a precedent to using the space for future concerts and events. Woodstock '99 attracted over 200,000 people. As the crowd got out of control, state troopers and local police dispersed the crowd without further incident. Oneida County executive Griffo was appointed Oneida County executive in June 2003 to serve out the term of his predecessor. Griffo was then elected to the post in November 2003. After raising taxes 16% for 2003, his predecessor had announced that taxes for 2004 might need to be raised by as much as 26% due to skyrocketing