Chairman's Biography

Chairman Ragusa has a long and distinguished record of service as a leader in both the Republican Party and civic organizations throughout Queens. For almost a decade, Chairman Ragusa has been a Vice-Chairman of the Queens County GOP; he has been an elected Republican State Committeeman and District Leader for the 26th Assembly District (Whitestone, Bayside, Little Neck, Douglaston, Glen Oaks, and parts of Flushing) for 23 years, with an impressive track record of electing Republicans in a district where Republicans are outnumbered by Democrats by nearly 3-1, overseeing the successful campaigns of State Senator Frank Padavan, Councilman Mike Abel, for whom Ragusa served as treasurer, and Assemblyman Doug Prescott. Chairman Ragusa also served as treasurer to the Queens County Republican Committee and has been a delegate to six Republican National Conventions.

Chairman Ragusa has been a practicing CPA for over 35 years and has been managing partner of the firm Ragusa & DeVito CPAs for the last 27 years, the past 15 of which based in Whitestone as an active practice handling accounting and consulting work for individual residents and small businesses. Chairman Ragusa also has provided his expertise on a pro-bono basis to many community organizations and non-profits such as the Douglaston-Little Neck Memorial Day Parade, Unisphere, Inc, the Whitestone Village Revitalization Committee, and Friends of Oakland Lake, among others. Chairman Ragusa graduated from NYU with a B.S. in accounting.

Chairman Ragusa’s community affiliations include serving as president of the Beechhurst Property Owners Association, a member of the Greater Whitestone Taxpayers Association, the Clearview Seniors Golf Association, and formerly the Fort Totten Advisory Committee, the Bayside Historical Society, and Americans of Italian Heritage. Chairman Ragusa has also served proudly in the National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve.

As a State Committeeman and as a Vice Chairman, Chairman Ragusa has been credited with being instrumental in securing GOP support for the initial Mayoral Candidacy of Rudolph W. Giuliani. Chairman Ragusa also chaired the Queens County Republican party election committee that voted to unanimously support George E. Pataki in 1994 and thereafter. Chairman Ragusa has been honored by the Queens County Republican Party as Man of the Year in 1996 and 2003 for his exemplary work with the Republican Party in Northeast Queens.

Chairman Ragusa's professional knowledge as a CPA and as a senior elected GOP official in Queens County has been utilized to advance programs, issues and legislation to help protect taxpayers. He has also advanced the delivery of vital services to our communities and has always worked to improve its quality of life. Chairman Ragusa has joined with Senator Frank Padavan to protect and improve the quality of the public schools in our neighborhoods.

Chairman Ragusa resides in Beechhurst, Queens with his wife Nelly. They have been happily married for 38 years. Their daughter Stephanie and son-in-law John are both N.Y. City schoolteachers. They, with Chairman Ragusa's granddaughters, reside in Whitestone.

Chairman Ragusa since being elected to represent all registered Republicans in Queens County has outlined an aggressive agenda to rejuvenate the Republican Party’s grassroots and outreach operations. He has worked tirelessly to reach out to local GOP clubs and leaders, met with key GOP Senate and Assembly leaders as well as national figures like our own Rudy Giuliani, Governor Mitt Romney and most recently Vice President Dick Cheney. He is fighting hard to advance our principles and ensure that we have a voice at City Hall, Albany and Washington.