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Nicholas Scutari

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Nick Scutari
115th President of the New Jersey Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 11, 2022
Preceded byStephen Sweeney
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 22nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 13, 2004
Preceded byJoseph Suliga
Personal details
Born
Nicholas Paul Scutari

(1968-11-18) November 18, 1968 (age 56)
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationKean University (BA)
Rutgers University, New Brunswick (MEd)
Thomas M. Cooley Law School (JD)
WebsiteLegislative website

Nicholas Paul Scutari[1] (born November 18, 1968)[2] is an American politician and attorney who is the 115th and current President of the New Jersey Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served in the New Jersey Senate since 2004, representing the 22nd Legislative District. He has held the position of Senate President since 2022.[3]

Early life

Scutari attended Union County College,[4] received a B.A. from Kean University in Psychology, an Ed.M. from Rutgers University in Education and a J.D. from the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. He is an attorney with the Law Offices of Nicholas P. Scutari.[5]

Political career

Before his election the Senate, Scutari was a member of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, where he became the youngest Freeholder Chairman in county history. He served as Freeholder Chairman in 1999, after serving a year as Freeholder Vice Chairman. Prior to being a freeholder, he served as a member of the Board of Education in Linden.[5]

New Jersey Senate

He was nominated for the Senate after Senator Joseph Suliga announced that he would not seek re-election after a female casino employee in Atlantic City accused him of sexual harassment.[6]

Senator Scutari has served on the State Government Committee (as Chair), the Joint State Leasing and Space Utilization Committee, the Commerce Committee and the Judiciary Committee.[5] Senator Scutari has held the role of Chair of the New Jersey Senate Committee on Judiciary for the longest period in modern history. He is a former Commissioner of the New Jersey Clean Elections Commission. He is also a former Vice Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. He now heads the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Scutari was the chief sponsor of New Jersey's Medical Marijuana law that was signed into law in 2009 and has been an advocate for the effort to legalize marijuana for all individuals over the age of 21.[7] After a bill he introduced failed in 2014, Scutari introduced a bill in May 2017 to legalize, regulate and tax recreational marijuana use; while then-Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie was vigorously opposed to the measure, incoming governor Phil Murphy had announced that he would support legalization.[8]

Committees

  • Judiciary
  • Joint State Leasing and Space Utilization Committee
  • Commerce

District 22

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The representatives from the 22nd District for the 2022—23 Legislative Session are:[9]

Acting Governor of New Jersey

On June 4, 2022, Senate President Scutari was sworn in as the Acting Governor of New Jersey as both Governor Phil Murphy and Lieutenant Governor Shelia Oliver were out of state on personal trips.[10]

Linden municipal prosecutor

Concurrent with his senatorship, Scutari was Municipal Prosecutor for the city of Linden, New Jersey until he was ousted from the position in January 2020 for absence at court hearings. He contested the report which cited that he did not appear more than 50% of the time and is suing the city.[11][12][13]

Family

In Italy, his cousin Donato Scutari, a member of the Italian Communist Party, was elected Deputy and Senator of the Italian Republic. His uncle, Anthony Scutari, was chair of the Union County Improvement Authority.[14]

Electoral history

New Jersey Senate

New Jersey general election, 2021[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Nicholas Scutari (Incumbent) 32,044 61.5 Decrease 5.8
Republican William H. Michelson 20,100 38.5 Increase 5.8
Total votes 52,144 100.0
New Jersey general election, 2017[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Nicholas Scutari (Incumbent) 29,563 67.3 Increase 7.8
Republican Joseph A. Bonilla 14,362 32.7 Decrease 7.8
Total votes 43,925 100.0
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2013[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Nicholas Scutari (Incumbent) 24,899 59.5
Republican Robert M. Sherr 16,933 40.5
Democratic hold
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2011[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Nicholas Scutari (Incumbent) 16,104 61.6
Republican Michael W. Class 10,024 38.4
Democratic hold
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2007[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Nicholas Scutari (Incumbent) 14,711 56.9
Republican Rose McConnell 11,139 43.1
Democratic hold
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2003[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Nicholas Scutari 16,658 55.0
Republican Martin Marks 13,609 45.0
Democratic hold

References

  1. ^ "Nicholas Paul Scutari Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com". www.martindale.com.
  2. ^ Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey: 2004 Edition. Lawyers Diary and Manual, LLC. February 23, 1900. ISBN 9781577411871 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ "Democrat Scutari wins vote to become next N.J. Senate president after Sweeney's shocking loss". MSN. November 12, 2021.
  4. ^ Staff. "Two students at county's college earn free tuition", The Home News, May 4, 1999. Accessed January 24, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "'Higher education is the key to success for our children. Too often, however, a child's academic success is determined by his or her family's financial situation,' said Freeholder Chairman Nicholas P. Scutari, who attended Union County College before graduating from Kean College."
  5. ^ a b c Senator Scutari's Legislative Website, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 24, 2022.
  6. ^ via Associated Press. "Democrats allowed to substitute candidate -- Union state senator quit after his arrest", The Record (Bergen County), October 4, 2003. Accessed April 11, 2008. "Democratic leaders named Nicholas P. Scutari to replace Sen. Joseph Suliga, D-Union, who dropped out of the 22nd District election race last week to seek treatment for 'an alcohol-related problem.'"
  7. ^ Perez-Pena, Richard. "New Jersey’s Medical Marijuana Law Loses Planned Grower and Dispensers", The New York Times, July 23, 2010. Accessed November 17, 2017. "State Senator Nicholas P. Scutari, a Democrat from Linden who was the other main sponsor, said that Mr. Christie wanted too much control over the program and that the state would have no choice but to approve private growers."
  8. ^ Johnson, Brent. "Bill to legalize recreational marijuana in N.J. set to be unveiled", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 14, 2017. Accessed November 17, 2017. "A state lawmaker on Monday is scheduled to unveil the latest piece of legislation that would legalize, regulate, and tax recreational marijuana in New Jersey.... State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) will formally announce the Democratic-sponsored measure at a noon news conference at the Statehouse in Trenton.... Scutari, who sponsored New Jersey's medical marijuana law, has been lobbying for the state to legalize recreational pot for years. He introduced a bill in 2014 to legalize and tax marijuana in the state, but it did not advance."
  9. ^ Legislative Roster for District 22, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 11, 2022.
  10. ^ "N.J. Senate President Scutari gets first crack at taking over for Murphy as acting gov Saturday". NJ.com. June 5, 2022. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ NJ.com, Ted Sherman | NJ Advance Media for (October 15, 2019). "Powerful state senator was often a no-show as municipal prosecutor, report charges". nj.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ NJ.com, Rebecca Everett | For (February 23, 2020). "N.J. town's court had 'culture of wrongdoing' led by rogue judge and Sen. Scutari, suit says". nj.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ NJ.com, Ted Sherman | NJ Advance Media for (October 30, 2019). "State senator seeks $10M, charging slander, libel and defamation after being called a 'no-show' by a political rival". nj.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "Union County Democrat Chairwoman and family are doing very well". March 23, 2006.
  15. ^ "Official List, Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 06/08/2021 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  16. ^ "2017-official-general-election-results-state-senate.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  17. ^ "Official List Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/05/2015 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 4, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
  18. ^ Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2011 General Election Archived 2012-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of State, December 14, 2011. Accessed June 22, 2012.
  19. ^ Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2007 General Election Archived 2012-08-22 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of State, December 3, 2007. Accessed June 22, 2012.
  20. ^ "Official List Candidates Returns for State Senate For November 2003 General Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 2, 2003. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
New Jersey Senate
Preceded by Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 22nd district
2004–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by President of the New Jersey Senate
2022–present 		Incumbent
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