Stirpe's district comprises the towns of Cicero, Clay, Manlius, Pompey and Tully in Onondaga County, Central New York.

Stirpe was born and raised in Clyde, New York where his family owned and operated Albert's Restaurant for more than 26 years.

[4] Stirpe ran for the New York Assembly in 2006 when his Republican predecessor decided to run for the 49th District Senate seat against the incumbent.

Though he was not the Onondaga County Democrats designated candidate, he won the September primary and went on to win the seat in November.

[7] In a hotly contested rematch in 2012, costing over $800,000,[8] Stirpe won the election with almost 6,000 more votes than Miller according to unofficial results.