Nicholas Sacco

Nicholas J. Sacco
Sacco at a February 2015 job fair at
North Bergen Public Library
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the district
Incumbent
Assumed office
1994
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 32nd Legislative District
Personal details
Born November 17, 1946
Political party Democratic
Residence North Bergen
Alma mater B.A. Rutgers University (History)
M.A. Seton Hall University (Administration and Supervision)
Occupation Assistant Superintendent of Schools
Mayor, North Bergen, New Jersey
Website Legislative web page

Nicholas J. Sacco (born November 17, 1946) is an American Democratic Party politician, who has been serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 1994, where he represents the 32nd Legislative District. Sacco serves in the Senate as the Chairman of the Transportation Committee, and is also a member of the Law and Public Safety and Veterans' Affairs Committee.[1]

In addition to serving as a State Senator and as Mayor of North Bergen (since 1991), Sacco also serves as the Director of Primary Education after Governor Christie capped the pay on Assistant Superintendent of Schools for the North Bergen School District, and on the North Bergen Township Commission since 1985.[1] Sacco has been Principal of Horace Mann and Lincoln School in North Bergen, and former president and vice president of the North Bergen Council of Administrators and Supervisors which is affiliated with the New Jersey Education Association. He simultaneously holds a seat in the New Jersey Senate and as Mayor. This dual position, often called double dipping, is allowed under a grandfather clause in the state law enacted by the New Jersey Legislature and signed into law by Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine in September 2007 that prevents dual-office-holding but allows those who had held both positions as of February 1, 2008, to retain both posts.[2]

In 2012 the Hudson Reporter named him #1 in its list of Hudson County's 50 most influential people.[3] In 2013 and 2014, he was ranked #3 (the first of which tied him with Union City mayor Brian P. Stack),[4][5] and #4 in 2015.[6]

Early life

Sacco received a B.A. in 1968 in History from Rutgers University and an M.A. in Administration and Supervision from Seton Hall University in 1973.[1]

Career

Sacco is a sponsor of the state's Urban Enterprise Zone legislation, which has helped foster private business investment in urban centers and generates millions of dollars in revenue for North Bergen and other cities.[7] Sacco has also sponsored legislation expanding the use of DNA testing in criminal cases, by having DNA collected from individuals convicted of disorderly conduct offenses that could be compared against databases to help close unsolved crime cases.[8]

District 32

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 32nd District for the 2012-2013 Legislative Session are:[9]

Election history

New Jersey State Senate elections, 2011[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Nicholas J. Sacco (incumbent) 16,413 83.2
Republican Edward T. O’Neill 3,312 16.8
Democratic hold
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2007[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Nicholas Sacco 16,780 82.8
Republican John Pluchino 3,474 17.2
Democratic hold

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Senator Sacco's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed April 11, 2008.
  2. via Associated Press. "N.J. Lawmakers keep double dipping". WPVI-TV, March 4, 2008. Accessed June 4, 2009.
  3. Adriana Rambay Fernández, Stephen LaMarca, Gennarose Pope, Ray Smith, Al Sullivan and E. Assata Wright. "They've Got the Power". The Union City Reporter. January 8, 2012. Pages 1, 4-7 and 10-11.
  4. Cruz, Vanessa; DeChiaro, Dean; Rambay Fernandez, Adriana; Palasciano, Amanda; Sullivan, Al; Wright, E. Assata (January 13, 2013). "Power Surge". The Union City Reporter. pp. 1, 5-7, 10.
  5. DeChiaro, Dean; Sullivan, Al (February 2, 2014). "The 'Power List'". The Union City Reporter. p. 6.
  6. Sullivan, Al; Davis, Carlo; Schwartz, Art; Passantino, Joseph (January 18, 2015). The Union City Reporter, pp 1, 5, 9, 12
  7. Hague, Jim (March 22, 2005). "North Bergen's UEZ has a new home Office set up on Broadway, in heart of zone". Hudson Reporter. Accessed June 25, 2012. "Ever since North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco first introduced legislation 10 years ago, in his role as a state senator, that began the process to have Urban Enterprise Zones (UEZ) in many of the state's major cities and towns as a way to increase business sales while helping to beautify the community, the North Bergen UEZ has been operating out of Town Hall, but was really without an identity."
  8. Hack, Charles. "State Sen. Nicholas Sacco introduces bill to collect DNA samples from all convicted of disorderly persons offenses", The Jersey Journal, March 21, 2012. Accessed June 25, 2012. "Convicted shoplifters and others guilty of disorderly persons offenses would be forced to submit a DNA sample to authorities under new legislation proposed by Sen. Nicholas J. Sacco, D-North Bergen. The goal of the bill, which was introduced in Trenton yesterday, is to reduce the number of unsolved crimes, according to Sacco, who is also North Bergen’s mayor."
  9. Legislative Roster 2012-2013 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed May 2, 2012.
  10. Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2011 General Election, New Jersey Department of State, December 14, 2011. Accessed May 2, 2012.
  11. Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2007 General Election, New Jersey Department of State, December 3, 2007. Accessed June 25, 2012.

External links

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