Background
Thiele, Fred W. was born on August 26, 1953.
Thiele, Fred W. was born on August 26, 1953.
Thiele is a native of Sag Harbor, New York and graduated from Pierson High School in 1971. He graduated from Southampton College of Long Island University in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude in political science and history.
The district includes East Hampton, Shelter Island, Southampton and portions of Brookhaven in Suffolk County. Thiele received a law degree from Albany Law School in 1979 and was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1980. He began his political career as counsel to former Assemblyman John L. Behan, a position in which he served until 1982.
Subsequent to his service as a legislative assistant he became Southampton Town Attorney and East Hampton Town Planning Board Attorney, from 1982–1987 and 1982-1986 respectively.
After serving in the Suffolk County Legislature he would go on to be elected as Southampton town supervisor, where he would serve until winning a 1995 special election to succeed his former boss in the State Assembly. Although Thiele had been a lifelong Republican, he has always been somewhat independent-minded.
After being elected to the Suffolk County Legislature, he joined the chamber"s nine Democrats to elect a Democrat as presiding officer On October 1, Thiele announced he was joining the Independence Party, saying the Republicans no longer stood for "pocketbook issues." He is seeking permission to caucus with the Democrats.
The other Independence Party now former assemblyman, Timothy P. Gordon, also caucused with the Democrats.
He currently resides in Sag Harbor. The Thiele family are lifelong fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the New York Mets and the New York Islanders. In 1995, Republican Governor George Pataki appointed Assemblyman John L. Behan as New York State Commissioner of Veterans" Affairs.
Behan resigned from the, leaving a vacant seat.
Thiele decided to run for the vacant 2nd district and defeated Democratic nominee Leo Davis 69%-38% in the March 1995 special election. In 2008, He defeated Democratic nominee Michael Pitcher 62%-38%.
Before his switch, Thiele had been ranking minority member on the Assembly Education Committee and vice chairman of the Assembly Minority Joint Conference Committee. He currently sits on the House Committee on Education, House Committee on Election Law, House Committee on Environmental Conservation, House Committee on Oversight, House Committee on Transportation, and House Committee on Ways and Means.
He is a member of the Independence Party of New York, after switching from the Republican Party in October 2009.
He is an Independent.
Married Kathleen Thiele. Children: Michael, Jeffrey, Josephine.