Joseph Vitale (politician)

Joseph F. Vitale
Interim Mayor of Woodbridge Township
In office July 25, 2006 – November 13, 2006
Member of the New Jersey Senate from the 19th Legislative District
Incumbent
Assumed office January 13, 1998
Preceded by	Jim McGreevey
Personal details
Born	November 10, 1954 Elizabeth, New Jersey
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Woodbridge Township, New Jersey
Occupation	President, Vitale Sign Corporation
Website	Legislative web page

Joseph F. Vitale (born November 10, 1954) is an American Democratic Party politician, who has been serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 1998, where he represents the 19th Legislative District. He is also the former Mayor of Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, having been elected by the Township Council in July 2006 to fill a temporary vacancy, following the death of Mayor Frank Pelzman. Senator Vitale came to the Senate in 1998 filling a vacancy created when Jim McGreevey stepped down from his seat as part of his ultimately unsuccessful bid for election as Governor of New Jersey in 1997.^[1]

Senator Vitale serves on the Board of Directors for the Middlesex County Habitat for Humanity and on the Board of Trustees of the Visiting Nurses Association of Central Jersey.

Vitale attended John F. Kennedy Memorial High School in Woodbridge Township.^[2]

Political career

State Senate

Vitale was elected in the 1997 elections to succeed Jim McGreevey who was running for Governor. As the 19th districts consists of mainly Democrat-friendly towns in Middlesex County, he has been easily reelected in every Senate election never winning by less than 20 points.

From 2004-2009, Vitale was the Deputy Majority Leader in the Senate. Currently, he is Chairman of the Senate on the Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and the Vice Chairman in the Senate for Economic Growth.^[2]

Vitale and William Gormley were the lead sponsors of the 1999 New Jersey Homeless Youth Act, which allows minors to seek homeless shelter without parental approval.^[3] He is also the sponsor of bills to allow needle exchange programs for drug users and to prohibit gun ownership by those convicted of domestic violence offenses. Senator Vitale was the prime sponsor of over forty bills that were signed into law, including bills establishing the KidCare and FamilyCare health care coverage programs, as well as a bill which would require nursing aides to undergo certified criminal background checks, a bill which would prohibit the use of mandatory overtime in health care facilities except in emergency situations, and the "New Jersey Health Care Access and Patient Protection Act," which requires the State to compile information on doctors, such as office location and medical malpractice history, in a database available to the public.

Mayor of Woodbridge

Following Pelzman's death in July 2006, Vitale volunteered to serve as Woodbridge's interim mayor. He was nominated by the township's Democratic Committee and voted in by the Township Council to serve a four-month term as mayor, saying he was taking on the mayor's job in order to continue Pelzman's programs and to provide leadership during the interim period though the time constraints of dual office holding were making him rule out seeking the remaining 14 months of Pelzman's term during the November 2006 special election for mayor.^[4] Vitale endorsed former State Treasurer John McCormac in the special election and served as mayor until November 13, 2006, when McCormac was sworn in.^[5]

District 19

Each of the forty districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The other representatives from the 19th Legislative District for the 2014-2015 Legislative Session are:^[6]

• Assemblyman Craig Coughlin
• Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski

Election history

New Jersey State Senate elections, 2013^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph Vitale	24,126	62.6
	Republican	Robert Luban	14,439	37.4
	Democratic hold

New Jersey State Senate elections, 2011^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph F. Vitale (incumbent)	18,623	66.9
	Republican	Paul Lund, Jr.	9,232	33.1
	Democratic hold

New Jersey State Senate elections, 2007^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph F. Vitale (incumbent)	18,864	66.4
	Republican	Donald H. Nelsen, Jr.	9,557	33.6
	Democratic hold

References

1. Tedeschi, Bruno. "MCGREEVEY RULES OUT RETURN TO SENATE POST", The Record (Bergen County), November 9, 1997. Accessed July 7, 2010.
2. Senator Vitale's legislative webpage, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed October 22, 2013.
3. SENATE, No. 1789 - STATE OF NEW JERSEY 208th LEGISLATURE INTRODUCED MARCH 22, 1999, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed June 22, 2012.
4. Harrison, Rick. "Vitale unanimous pick for Woodbridge mayor", Home News Tribune, July 26, 2006. Accessed June 22, 2012. "Vitale, D-Middlesex, succeeds Township Council President Patricia Osborne, who served as acting mayor after Mayor Frank G. Pelzman died June 29, less than a month after being diagnosed with skin cancer."
5. Racz, Gene. "McCormac now heads Woodbridge", Home News Tribune, November 14, 2006. Accessed June 22, 2012. "McCormac, a 47-year-old business-development consultant and former state treasurer, was the winner of the special mayoral election on Nov. 7 to fill the unexpired term of the late Mayor Frank G. Pelzman, who died in June. "
6. "Legislative Roster 2014-2015 Session". New Jersey Legislature. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
7. "Official List Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/05/2015 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 4, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
8. Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2011 General Election, New Jersey Department of State, December 14, 2011. Accessed June 22, 2012.
9. Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2007 General Election, New Jersey Department of State, December 3, 2007. Accessed June 22, 2012.

External links

• Senator Vitale's Website
• Senator Vitale's legislative webpage, New Jersey Legislature
• New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms
  • 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004