Essex county executive joseph divincenzo executive branch

Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. (born May 17, ), widely known as Joe D., has been the County Executive of Essex County, New Jersey since

Background and career

DiVincenzo attended Jersey City State College. where he played football for the Knights graduating in with a degree in public health.^[1][2]

DiVincenzo was first elected to the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders in He served as the board's president for eight terms.^[3] Prior to becoming freeholder, DiVincenzo held public jobs in Essex County as a parks supervisor, teacher, and athletics coordinator.^[4]

County Executive

DiVincenzo was sworn in to his first term as County Executive of Essex County on January 1, ^[5] after being elected in ; he was reelected for his fourth term in November He received the backing of the state's Democratic establishment, including Bob Menendez, Cory Booker, Stephen Sweeney, Vincent Prieto, Donald Payne Jr., and Steve Fulop.^[6] DiVincenzo announced in December that he would be running for his fifth term of office.^[7] He won the election with 80% of votes cast against West Orange's Adam Kraemer.^[8]

Double dipping

Double dipping is the practice of simultaneously holding multiple elected positions or to being employed by and collecting retirement benefits from the same public authority at the same time.^[9]

In , DiVincenzo while still in office began to collect pension as County Executive.

Essex county executive joseph divincenzo executive search

Joseph DiVincenzo, a longtime New Jersey political powerhouse, easily won a sixth term as Essex County executive, holding a commanding lead over his Republican challenger, Adam Kraemer, as the clock moved past midnight on Election Night. DiVincenzo, whose last four years in office were largely devoted to responding to the COVID pandemic, was tallying He first won the post in Kraemer was at For DiVincenzo, his stranglehold on his seat seemed to be assured with another impressive Election Night, underscoring the overwhelming support Essex County voters generally give to Democrats.

He justified the move by claiming that it is legal, as well as a good financial decision for his family.^[4][10][11]

Statewide influence

DiVincenzo is generally considered to be a power broker and political boss of the Essex County political machine, exerting much influence on county and state politics.^[12] In in The New York Times, New Jersey State SenatorKevin O'Toole (R-Cedar Grove) is quoted as saying that "in terms of Democratic politics, Joe D.

is becoming the king of North Jersey."^[13]

Crossing party lines, he, and many other registered Democrats statewide, endorsed Republican GovernorChris Christie in his successful re-election bid.^[14][15]

In , he endorsed Governor Phil Murphy in his successful re-election bid.^[16]

Campaign spending violations investigation

In October , questions arose regarding DiVincenzo's campaign spending.

The state Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), in its count complaint against DiVincenzo, alleged that he failed to properly report nearly $72, in campaign expenditures, and improperly spent more than $16,^[17][18] In May , the commission announced it would not hold hearings until after the election, tentatively in January ^[19] It is unclear whether the ELEC will hear the case.

The four-person board, required by law to include two Democrats and two Republicans, has been without a Democratic member since Governor Christie has not appointed one. One Democrat, Walter Timpone, recused himself without explanation, leading to Divincenzo's lawyers' claims that there must be an official quorum.^[20] The case is unlikely to proceed.^[21][22] Governor Christie chose not to replace the Democrat, effectively crippling the ELEC.^[23]

Personal life

After residing for 34 years in Nutley, he moved with his wife Donna to Roseland in ^[24] He has two children, Kimberly DiVincenzo-Root and Joseph DiVincenzo.^[1]

References

External links