1981 New Jersey Senate election

1981 New Jersey Senate elections
	November 3, 1981
All 40 seats in the New Jersey State Senate; 21 seats needed for a majority
	Results by district; Democratic hold Democratic gain; Republican hold Republican gain
Senate President before election; Joseph P. Merlino; Democratic	Elected Senate President ; Carmen Orechio; Democratic

The 1981 New Jersey State Senate elections were held on November 3.

The election coincided with a tightly contested gubernatorial election between Thomas Kean and James Florio. Republicans gained five seats, narrowing the Democratic majority to four.

Contents
Incumbents not running • Summary of results
By District: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40

Background

1974–82

1982–1992

New Jersey Legislature before (left) and after (right) the 1981 redistricting

Redistricting

As required, the New Jersey legislature reapportioned its state legislative districts in advance of the 1981 election. The new districts resulted in many senators running for re-election in newly re-numbered districts.

ABSCAM scandal

A Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation resulted in the retirements of Senators Joseph A. Maressa and Angelo Errichetti, both of whom accepted bribes from the FBI under the guise of Arab oil sheikhs. Errichetti was convicted; Maressa was not prosecuted but opted to retire.[1]

Incumbents not running for re-election

Democratic

Joseph A. Maressa (District 4)[1]
Angelo Errichetti (District 5)[2]
Charles B. Yates (District 7)[2]
Joseph P. Merlino (District 13) (ran for governor)[2]
William J. Hamilton (District 17)[2]
Frank J. Dodd (District 26)[2]
James A. Galdieri (District 32)

Republican

James Cafiero (District 1)[2]
Barry T. Parker (District 8) (ran for governor)[2]
James Wallwork (District 25) (ran for governor)[2]

Summary of results by State Senate district

District	Incumbent		Elected Senator
1st Legislative District	James Cafiero	Rep	James R. Hurley	Rep
2nd Legislative District	Steven P. Perskie	Dem	Steven P. Perskie	Dem
3rd Legislative District	Raymond Zane	Dem	Raymond Zane	Dem
4th Legislative District	Joseph A. Maressa	Dem	Daniel Dalton	Dem
5th Legislative District	Vacant[lower-alpha 1]		Walter Rand	Dem
6th Legislative District	Lee Laskin	Rep	Lee Laskin	Rep
7th Legislative District	Charles B. Yates	Dem	Herman T. Costello	Dem
8th Legislative District	Barry T. Parker	Rep	H. James Saxton	Rep
9th Legislative District	John F. Russo[lower-alpha 2]	Dem	Leonard T. Connors	Rep
10th Legislative District	Brian T. Kennedy[lower-alpha 3]	Rep	John F. Russo	Dem
11th Legislative District	S. Thomas Gagliano[lower-alpha 4]	Rep	Brian T. Kennedy	Rep
12th Legislative District	Eugene Bedell[lower-alpha 5]	Dem	S. Thomas Gagliano	Rep
13th Legislative District	Joseph P. Merlino[lower-alpha 6]	Dem	John P. Gallagher	Rep
14th Legislative District	Walter E. Foran[lower-alpha 7]	Rep	Francis J. McManimon	Dem
15th Legislative District	Wayne Dumont[lower-alpha 8]	Rep	Gerald R. Stockman	Dem
16th Legislative District	John H. Ewing	Rep	John H. Ewing	Rep
17th Legislative District	William J. Hamilton	Dem	John A. Lynch Jr.	Dem
18th Legislative District	Vacant[lower-alpha 9]		James Bornheimer	Dem
19th Legislative District	Laurence Weiss	Dem	Laurence Weiss	Dem
20th Legislative District	Anthony E. Russo[lower-alpha 10]	Dem	John Gregorio	Dem
21st Legislative District	John Gregorio[lower-alpha 11]	Dem	C. Louis Bassano	Rep
22nd Legislative District	Donald DiFrancesco	Rep	Donald DiFrancesco	Rep
23rd Legislative District	John H. Dorsey[lower-alpha 12]	Rep	Walter E. Foran	Rep
24th Legislative District	James P. Vreeland[lower-alpha 13]	Rep	Wayne Dumont	Rep
25th Legislative District	James Wallwork	Rep	John H. Dorsey	Rep
26th Legislative District	Frank J. Dodd	Dem	James P. Vreeland	Rep
27th Legislative District	Carmen Orechio[lower-alpha 14]	Dem	Richard Codey	Dem
28th Legislative District	John P. Caufield	Dem	John P. Caufield	Dem
29th Legislative District	Wynona Lipman	Dem	Wynona Lipman	Dem
30th Legislative District	Frank E. Rodgers[lower-alpha 15]	Dem	Carmen Orechio	Dem
31st Legislative District	Wally Sheil	Dem	Edward T. O'Connor Jr.	Dem
32nd Legislative District	James A. Galdieri	Dem	Frank E. Rodgers	Dem
33rd Legislative District	William Musto	Dem	William Musto	Dem
34th Legislative District	Joseph Hirkala[lower-alpha 16]	Dem	Joseph Bubba	Rep
35th Legislative District	Frank X. Graves Jr.	Dem	Frank X. Graves Jr.	Dem
36th Legislative District	Vacant[lower-alpha 17]		Joseph Hirkala	Dem
37th Legislative District	Matthew Feldman	Dem	Matthew Feldman	Dem
38th Legislative District	John Skevin	Dem	John Paolella	Rep
39th Legislative District	Frank Herbert	Dem	Gerald Cardinale	Rep
40th Legislative District	Garrett W. Hagedorn	Rep	Garrett Hagedorn	Rep

The seat was left vacant by the expulsion of Angelo Errichetti following his conviction for federal bribery charges.
Redistricted to 10th district.
Redistricted to 11th district.
Redistricted to 12th district.
Redistrict to 13th district.
Redistricted to 15th district.
Redistricted to 23rd district.
Redistricted to 24th district.
The seat had been vacant since Bernard J. Dwyer resigned to take his seat in the United States House of Representatives.
Redistricted to 21st district.
Redistricted to 20th district.
Redistricted to 25th district.
Redistricted to 26th district.
Redistricted to 30th district.
Redistricted to 32nd district.
Redistricted to 36th district.
This seat had been vacant since the resignation of Anthony Scardino to join the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission.

District 1

The first district consisted of all of Cape May County and the Cumberland municipalities of Vineland, Millville, Bridgeton, Upper Deerfield, Deerfield, and Maurice River. Prior to redistricting, it had contained all of Cumberland County.

Incumbent Senator James Cafiero retired.

James R. Hurley, Assemblyman from Millville (Republican)
Edward H. Salmon, Cumberland County Freeholder and former Mayor of Millville (Democratic)

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James R. Hurley	32,443	53.8
	Democratic	Edward H. Salmon	27,862	46.2
Total votes			60,305	100.0

District 2

The second district consisted of Atlantic County except for the municipalities of Folsom, Buena, and Buena Vista, which were removed in redistricting. Redistricting also removed Bass River and Washington in Burlington County and Tuckerton and Little Egg Harbor in Ocean County.

Joseph McGahn, former Democratic Senator (Republican)
Steven Perskie, incumbent Senator since 1978 (Democratic)

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steven P. Perskie (incumbent)	29,843	51.7
	Republican	Joseph L. McGahn	27,890	48.3
Total votes			57,733	100.0

District 3

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Raymond J. Zane (incumbent)	37,613	63.2
	Republican	D. Paul McMahon, Jr.	21,903	36.8
Total votes			59,516	100.0

District 4

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Daniel J. Dalton	32,386	63.3
	Republican	Frank B. Smith	18,755	36.7
Total votes			51,141	100.0

District 5

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Walter Rand	32,866	72.0
	Republican	John H. Lyons, Jr.	12,800	28.0
Total votes			45,666	100.0

District 6

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lee B. Laskin (incumbent)	36,279	56.7
	Democratic	James Greenberg	27,735	43.3
Total votes			64,014	100.0

District 7

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Herman T. Costello	31,172	57.1
	Republican	Michael J. Conda	23,391	42.9
Total votes			54,563	100.0

District 8

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	H. James Saxton	33,132	65.7
	Democratic	Raymond J. Storck	17,314	34.3
Total votes			50,446	100.0

District 9

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Leonard T. Connors, Jr.	40,656	64.4
	Democratic	Wesley K. Bell	22,441	35.6
Total votes			63,097	100.0

District 10

All of the new tenth district had previously been contained within the boundaries of the ninth district in Ocean County. It consisted of Lakewood, Brick, and Toms River, and the shore towns of Lavallette, Mantoloking, Bay Head, Seaside Park, Seaside Heights, Ocean Gate, Point Pleasant Beach, and Point Pleasant.

Hazel Gluck, Assemblywoman from Lakewood (Republican)
John F. Russo, incumbent Senator since 1974 (Democratic)

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John F. Russo (incumbent)	38,166	58.6
	Republican	Hazel S. Gluck	26,933	41.4
Total votes			65,099	100.0

District 11

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brian T. Kennedy (incumbent)	32,063	57.8
	Democratic	George Callas	22,807	41.1
	Citizens	Stan Johnson	574	1.0
Total votes			55,444	100.0

District 12

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	S. Thomas Gagliano (incumbent)	33,521	59.1
	Democratic	Roger J. Kane	23,169	40.9
Total votes			56,690	100.0

District 13

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John P. Gallagher	27,988	51.6
	Democratic	Eugene J. Bedell	26,268	48.4
Total votes			54,256	100.0

District 14

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Francis J. McManimon	31,742	57.7
	Republican	Thomas Colitsas	23,296	42.3
Total votes			55,038	100.0

District 15

Incumbent Senator Joseph Merlino, who had been redistricted from the 13th district, opted to run for Governor of New Jersey.

Carmen J. Armenti, former mayor of Trenton (Republican)
Gerald R. Stockman, Assemblyman from Trenton (Democratic)

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gerald R. Stockman	30,243	56.4
	Republican	Carmen J. Armenti	23,410	43.6
Total votes			53,653	100.0

District 16

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John H. Ewing	38,026	65.5
	Democratic	John F. Guerrera	20,068	34.5
Total votes			58,094	100.0

District 17

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John A. Lynch	25,761	60.6
	Republican	Donald J. Douglas	15,280	35.9
	Citizens	Paul Lennon	1,484	3.5
Total votes			42,525	100.0

District 18

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James Bornheimer	31,383	52.1
	Republican	Peter P. Garibaldi	28,853	47.9
Total votes			60,236	100.0

District 19

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Laurence S. Weiss	31,446	60.4
	Republican	Edmund S. Kaboski	20,582	39.6
Total votes			52,028	100.0

District 20

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John T. Gregorio	25,340	52.3
	Republican	John Fenick	23,087	47.7
Total votes			48,427	100.0

District 21

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	C. Louis Bassano	36,957	51.9
	Democratic	Anthony E. Russo	34,252	48.1
Total votes			71,209	100.0

District 22

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donald T. DiFrancesco	46,330	67.9
	Democratic	Frank Fiorito	21,876	32.1
Total votes			68,206	100.0

District 23

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Walter E. Foran	37,494	75.1
	Democratic	Samuel J. Gugliemini	12,431	24.9
Total votes			49,925	100.0

District 24

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wayne Dumont, Jr.	37,467	77.4
	Democratic	Edward Gaffney	10,953	22.6
Total votes			48,420	100.0

District 25

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John H. Dorsey	36,433	68.0
	Democratic	Horace Chamberlain	17,137	32.0
Total votes			53,570	100.0

District 26

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James P. Vreeland	38,141	69.9
	Democratic	Benjamin Steltzer	16,414	30.1
Total votes			54,555	100.0

District 27

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard J. Codey	30,403	73.9
	Republican	Richard E. Koehler	10,737	26.1
Total votes			41,140	100.0

District 28

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John P. Caufield	20,786	75.0
	Republican	Herta B. Tully	6,913	25.0
Total votes			27,699	100.0

District 29

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Wynona M. Lipman	23,598	88.3
	Republican	Louis J. Smith	3,125	11.7
Total votes			26,723	100.0

District 30

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carmen A. Orechio	30,990	49.4
	Republican	John I. Crecco	29,930	47.7
	Citizens	Arthur Kinoy	1,765	2.8
Total votes			62,685	100.0

District 31

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Edward T. O'Connor, Jr.	37,863	75.4
	Republican	Jean C. Lane	12,348	24.6
Total votes			50,211	100.0

District 32

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Frank E. Rodgers	34,150	63.4
	Republican	Joseph F. Ward	18,551	34.4
	Politicians Are Crooks	Herbert H. Shaw	1,171	2.2
Total votes			53,872	100.0

District 33

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William V. Musto	24,012	62.0
	Republican	Ralph A. Montanez	14,707	38.0
Total votes			38,719	100.0

District 34

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph Bubba	31,044	52.7
	Democratic	William J. Bate	27,843	47.3
Total votes			58,887	100.0

District 35

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Frank X. Graves Jr.	28,439	74.6
	Republican	Frank E. Gorman	9,693	25.4
Total votes			38,132	100.0

District 36

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph Hirkala	30,422	55.4
	Republican	Philip R. Gervato	23,049	42.0
	Bergen Home Rule	Edna M. Perrotta	1,395	2.5
Total votes			54,866	100.0

District 37

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matthew Feldman	39,299	61.7
	Republican	Barbara L. deMare	24,416	38.3
Total votes			63,715	100.0

District 38

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John B. Paolella	30,670	51.0
	Democratic	John M. Skevin	27,968	46.5
	Citizens For Progress	Bernard J. Focarino	1,473	2.5
Total votes			60,111	100.0

District 39

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gerald Cardinale	38,929	58.2
	Democratic	Francis X. Herbert	27,948	41.8
Total votes			66,877	100.0

District 40

1981 general election[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Garrett W. Hagedorn	42,014	66.8
	Democratic	Mitchell Kahn	20,835	33.2
Total votes			62,849	100.0

References

Tinney, Kathleen (1 Nov 2012). "Joseph A. Maressa, 89, former state Senator". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 26 Jun 2021.
Sullivan, Joseph F. (7 June 1981). "A NEW LOOK FOR THE LEGISLATURE". The New York Times. p. NJ1.
"Candidates for the Offices of State Senate and General Assembly" (PDF). Retrieved 26 June 2021.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[3] The seat was left vacant by the expulsion of Angelo Errichetti following his conviction for federal bribery charges.

[4] Redistricted to 10th district.

[5] Redistricted to 11th district.

[6] Redistricted to 12th district.

[7] Redistrict to 13th district.

[8] Redistricted to 15th district.

[9] Redistricted to 23rd district.

[10] Redistricted to 24th district.

[11] The seat had been vacant since Bernard J. Dwyer resigned to take his seat in the United States House of Representatives.

[12] Redistricted to 21st district.

[13] Redistricted to 20th district.

[14] Redistricted to 25th district.

[15] Redistricted to 26th district.

[16] Redistricted to 30th district.

[17] Redistricted to 32nd district.

[18] Redistricted to 36th district.

[19] This seat had been vacant since the resignation of Anthony Scardino to join the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission.

[Maressa-1] Tinney, Kathleen (1 Nov 2012). "Joseph A. Maressa, 89, former state Senator". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 26 Jun 2021.

[times6.7-2] Sullivan, Joseph F. (7 June 1981). "A NEW LOOK FOR THE LEGISLATURE". The New York Times. p. NJ1.

[1981results-20] "Candidates for the Offices of State Senate and General Assembly" (PDF). Retrieved 26 June 2021.

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