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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, 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. Vitale attended John F. Kennedy Memorial High School in Woodbridge Township.

Mayor of Woodbridge

Following Pelzman's death in June 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. Vitale endorsed former State Treasurer John McCormac in the special election and served as mayor until November 13, 2006, when McCormac was sworn in.

New Jersey 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 to 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. 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. 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. As chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee, Vitale has blocked a vote in the Senate on a measure that has passed twice in the General Assembly under which non-professional bakers would be allowed to legally sell their goods to consumers, leaving New Jersey and Wisconsin as the only states that forbid the practice. Vitale has cited "public safety and public health concerns", along with the impact of home-based competition on local brick-and-mortar businesses, as his reasons for blocking the measure.

Committees

Committee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:

• Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens (as chair)

District 19

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 19th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:

• Senator Joe F. Vitale (D)
• Assemblyman Craig Coughlin (D)
• Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez (D)

Electoral history

New Jersey Senate

New Jersey general election, 2017

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph F. Vitale (Incumbent)	27,681	100.0	37.4
Total votes			27,68	100.0

New Jersey general election, 2003

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph F. Vitale (Incumbent)	22,643	65.5	11.9
	Republican	Paul "Daniels" Danielczyk	11,949	34.5	11.9
Total votes			34,592	100.0

New Jersey general election, 1997

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joseph F. Vitale	32,454	60.2	12.6
	Republican	Stephen A. Mikulak	21,445	39.8	5.3
Total votes			53,899	100.0

References

1. "New Jersey Legislature Committees and Membership". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on February 4, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
2. "Democratic Leadership". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
3. Tedeschi, Bruno. "Mcgreevey Rules Out Return To Senate Post", The Record, November 9, 1997. Accessed July 7, 2010.
4. ^ [https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislative-roster/175/senator-vitale Senator Joseph F. Vitale (D), New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 23, 2024.
5. 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."
6. 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. "
7. SENATE, No. 1789 - STATE OF NEW JERSEY 208th LEGISLATURE INTRODUCED MARCH 22, 1999, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed June 22, 2012.
8. via Associated Press. "Home bakers fighting for right to sell goods -- again", NJ.com, March 20, 2016. Accessed January 28, 2018. "New Jersey and Wisconsin are the only two states that effectively ban the sale of home-baked goods. Opponents cite public health concerns and unfair competition against established businesses.... The measure has passed in New Jersey's lower house twice, but Senate health and human services Chairman Sen. Joe Vitale has refused to bring up the measure for a vote."
9. New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
10. Legislative Roster for District 19, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 23, 2024.
11. "Official List, Candidates for State Senate for GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2023 Election" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
12. "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.
13. "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 20, 2019.
14. "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.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. "2003g_s_candidate_tally.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
18. "2001-general-elect-state-senate-tallies.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
19. "1997-general-election-results-state-senate.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 29, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2019.

External links

• Senator Vitale's Website
• Senator Vitale's legislative webpage, New Jersey Legislature
• New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms - 20161 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004

• Living people
• 1954 births
• American people of Italian descent
• Democratic Party New Jersey state senators
• Mayors of Woodbridge Township, New Jersey
• Politicians from Middlesex County, New Jersey
• 21st-century mayors of places in New Jersey
• 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature
• 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature