John Girgenti
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John A. Girgenti (born August 8, 1947) is an American Democratic Party politician, who has been serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 1990, where he represents the 35th Legislative District. Senator Girgenti is currently the Majority Whip, a post he has held since 2004, and is the Chairman of the Law and Public Safety and Veterans' Affairs Committee and Vice Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senator Girgenti has sponsored many important pieces of legislation that have become law, including a measure that requires a life sentence of community supervision for certain convicted sexual offenders who have completed their prison terms, and legislation that mandates and provides funding for sprinkler installation in New Jersey college dorms, following 2000's tragic Seton Hall University dormitory fire. He has also championed the law criminalizing the desecration of human remains, helping families preserve the dignity and respect of their deceased loved ones and has worked to keep criminals from profiting off of the sales of 'murderabilia.' He has also been avidly opposed to the sale of realistic or replica toy guns to children and was a prime sponsor of the law mandating child-proof firearms or 'smart guns' be sold in the State.
Senator Girgenti was one of the first Senators to call for enhanced fingerprinting requirements for state employees involved with domestic security, following the September 11, 2001 attacks and has fought hard to update and modernize New Jersey's background check laws so that towns and communities can identify potential threats and prevent them from obtaining jobs where they could harm residents.
The Senator has also fought hard to create the State Public Safety Interoperable Communications Coordinating Council, which would allow first responders — police, firefighters and emergency workers — to communicate between agencies on a single assigned radio frequency. Girgenti has also pushed for increased aid to the New Jersey National Guard, helping to enact legislation which increases the base pay of Guard members when on active duty in the State.
Before entering the Senate, Girgenti served in the New Jersey General Assembly, the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature, from 1978 to 1990. While in the Assembly, the Senator served as Deputy Majority Leader in 1990, and Assistant Minority Leader from 1986 to 1989. In March 1990, he was chosen by district Democrats to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Frank X. Graves, Jr., and was sworn into the Senate on April 5, 1990.
Girgenti served on the Hawthorne Board of Education from 1972-1976, serving as its Vice President from 1972-1973. The Senator is a former director of the Passaic County Mental Health Department. He was appointed to the County Mental Health Board in 1976 and became board president four months later.
Girgenti received a B.A. in 1969 from Seton Hall University in Political Science and an M.A. in 1972 from St. John's University in Government and Public Administration.
[edit] District 35
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 35th Legislative District are:
- Assemblywoman Nellie Pou, and
- Assemblyman Alfred E. Steele
[edit] External links
- Senator Girgenti's Senate Website
- New Jersey Senate Democrats Website Biography
- New Jersey Voter Information Website 2003
- New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure form for 2005 (PDF)
- New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure form for 2004 (PDF)
