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John Wisniewski
John S. Wisniewski is a former Democratic member of the New Jersey General Assembly, representing District 19 from 1996 to 2018. He served as deputy speaker of the Assembly from 2004 to 2018, as assistant majority leader from 2002 to 2003, and as deputy minority conference leader from 1998 to 2001. He was a 2017 Democratic candidate for governor of New Jersey, but lost in the primary election on June 6, 2017.
Biography
Wisniewski earned his B.A. from Rutgers University and his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1987. His professional experience includes working as an attorney.[1]
Committee assignments
2016 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2016 legislative session, Wisniewski served on the following committees:
| New Jersey committee assignments, 2016 |
|---|
| • Transportation and Independent Authorities, Chair |
| • Environment and Solid Waste |
2015 legislative session
In the 2015 legislative session, Wisniewski served on the following committees:
| New Jersey committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Transportation and Independent Authorities, Chair |
| • New Jersey Legislative Select Committee on Investigation, Co-Chair |
| • Environment and Solid Waste |
2014 legislative session
In the 2014 legislative session, Wisniewski served on the following committees:
| New Jersey committee assignments, 2014 |
|---|
| • Transportation and Independent Authorities, Chair |
| • New Jersey Legislative Select Committee on Investigation, Co-Chair |
| • Environment and Solid Waste |
2010-2012
In the 2010-2012 legislative session, Wisniewski served on the following committees:
| New Jersey committee assignments, 2010 |
|---|
| • Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities, Chair |
| • Financial Institutions and Insurance |
Campaign themes
2017
Wisniewski's campaign website highlighted his legislative experience:
| “ |
As the chair of the Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee since 2002, John has sponsored and led to the passage of millions in funds to improve roads, bridges and other transportation projects. He has fought efforts by the Port Authority to double bridge tolls, proposed a State Transportation Infrastructure Bank, and led the effort to stop Governor Jon Corzine from selling off and privatizing the New Jersey Turnpike. As a leading advocate for working people, John has sponsored legislation to increase the minimum wage, fought for middle class property tax relief that also makes millionaires pay their fair share, worked to restore the earned income tax credit, and sponsored the Garden State Manufacturing Act to encourage the creation of jobs in New Jersey. John has always fought for justice and equality for all of New Jersey’s citizens. He led efforts to expand voting rights and was an early sponsor of legislation to provide marriage equality for the LGBT community. During his time in public life, John has never backed away from taking on the powerful on behalf of the people — whether it was Wall Street banks or Chris Christie. In the aftermath of hurricane Sandy, John lobbied big banks to provide mortgage forbearance for victims of the storm. He also sponsored legislation to oversee Sandy recovery money and guarantee it got to deserving victims. Perhaps John’s most well known battle was exposing the Christie Administration’s Bridgegate scandal. Under John’s leadership, the Transportation Committee found the emails that proved the Christie Administration had illegally shut down the George Washington Bridge for petty, political purposes. In 2016, John served as the New Jersey chair of Bernie Sanders campaign for President. Together with Senator Sanders, he has fought to build a Democratic Party that will challenge the billionaire class corrupting our political system and maintaining an economy that sends most new wealth to the richest one percent. A recent MyCentralJersey.com editorial heralded John Wisniewski as “a worthy option as governor,” praising him for presenting “a serious, straightforward style that demands respect. There’s little pretense involved; he makes no apologies for being a dedicated progressive…” As New Jersey’s next governor, John Wisniewski will take on the corrupt political and economic interests — and be a champion for working and middle-class families.[2] |
” |
| —John Wisniewski[3] | ||
2013
Wisniewski's official campaign website listed four campaign themes:[4]
| “ |
Budget
Changing Trenton
Education
Safety
|
” |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2017
New Jersey held an election for governor and lieutenant governor on November 7, 2017. Governor Chris Christie (R) was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election. New Jersey elects its governor and lieutenant governor together on a joint ticket.
The general election took place on November 7, 2017. The primary election was held on June 6, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in the primary election was April 3, 2017.
The following candidates ran in the election for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey.[5]
| New Jersey Gubernatorial and Lieutenant Gubernatorial Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Phil Murphy/Sheila Oliver |
56.03% | 1,203,110 | |
| Republican | Kim Guadagno/Carlos Rendo | 41.89% | 899,583 | |
| Independent | Gina Genovese/Derel Stroud | 0.57% | 12,294 | |
| Libertarian | Peter Rohrman/Karese Laguerre | 0.49% | 10,531 | |
| Green | Seth Kaper-Dale/Lisa Durden | 0.47% | 10,053 | |
| Constitution | Matt Riccardi | 0.32% | 6,864 | |
| Independent | Vincent Ross/April Johnson | 0.23% | 4,980 | |
| Total Votes (6385/6385 precincts reporting) | 2,147,415 | |||
| Source: New Jersey Division of Elections | ||||
Kim Guadagno defeated Jack Ciattarelli, Hirsh Singh, Joseph Rudy Rullo, and Steve Rogers in the Republican primary.[6]
| New Jersey Republican Gubernatorial Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Kim Guadagno |
46.82% | 113,846 |
| Jack Ciattarelli | 31.08% | 75,556 |
| Hirsh Singh | 9.76% | 23,728 |
| Joseph Rudy Rullo | 6.51% | 15,816 |
| Steve Rogers | 5.84% | 14,187 |
| Total Votes | 243,133 | |
| Source: New Jersey Division of Elections | ||
Phil Murphy defeated Jim Johnson, John Wisniewski, Ray Lesniak, Bill Brennan, and Mark Zinna in the Democratic primary.[6]
| New Jersey Democratic Gubernatorial Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Phil Murphy |
48.42% | 243,643 |
| Jim Johnson | 21.91% | 110,250 |
| John Wisniewski | 21.57% | 108,532 |
| Ray Lesniak | 4.83% | 24,318 |
| Bill Brennan | 2.24% | 11,263 |
| Mark Zinna | 1.04% | 5,213 |
| Total Votes | 503,219 | |
| Source: New Jersey Division of Elections | ||
2015
Elections for the New Jersey General Assembly took place in 2015. A primary election was held on June 2, 2015. The general election took place on November 3, 2015. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 30, 2015.[7] Since the general assembly uses multi-member districts, the top two candidates from each party in the primaries advanced to the general election. Incumbent John Wisniewski and incumbent Craig Coughlin were bracketed together and were unopposed in the Democratic primary. Thomas E. Maras and Reyes Ortega were bracketed together and were unopposed in the Republican primary. Ortega did not appear on the official candidate list for the general election; he was replaced by Jesus Varela.[8][9] Wisniewski and Coughlin defeated Varela and Maras in the general election.[10][11][12][13]
| New Jersey General Assembly, District 19 General Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | John Wisniewski Incumbent |
36.3% | 16,159 | |
| Democratic | Craig Coughlin Incumbent |
35.6% | 15,880 | |
| Republican | Thomas E. Maras | 14.8% | 6,597 | |
| Republican | Jesus Varela | 13.3% | 5,916 | |
| Total Votes | 44,552 | |||
2013
Wisniewski won re-election in the 2013 election for New Jersey General Assembly District 19. Wisniewski was unopposed in the June 4 Democratic primary. He and incumbent Craig J. Coughlin (D) defeated Arif Khan (R) and Stephanie Ziemba (R) in the general election, which took place on November 5, 2013.[14][15][16][17]
| New Jersey General Assembly, District 19 General Election, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | John Wisniewski Incumbent |
33.7% | 24,404 | |
| Democratic | Craig J. Coughlin Incumbent |
30.9% | 22,393 | |
| Republican | Stephanie Ziemba | 18.5% | 13,406 | |
| Republican | Arif Khan | 16.8% | 12,151 | |
| Total Votes | 72,354 | |||
2011
Wisniewski won re-election in 2011. Wisniewski and incumbent Craig Coughlin ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on June 7. They then defeated Angel Leon (R) and Shane Robinson (R) in the November 8 general election.[18]
| New Jersey General Assembly District 19 General Election, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | John Wisniewski Incumbent |
34% | 18,241 | |
| Democratic | Craig Coughlin Incumbent |
32.6% | 17,492 | |
| Republican | Angel Leon | 16.8% | 9,008 | |
| Republican | Shane Robinson | 16.6% | 8,915 | |
| Total Votes | 53,656 | |||
2009
Wisniewski won re-election to the New Jersey General Assembly in 2009. Wisniewski received 24,210 votes (29%), defeating Republican challengers Peter Kothari and Richard Piatkowski, as well as Change and Commitment candidate Barry Adler and Independent Conservative candidate James Poesl in the November 3, 2009, general election.[19] He was bracketed with Craig Coughlin (D). [20]
| New Jersey Assembly General Election, Nineteenth Legislative District (2009) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| John S. Wisniewski (D)
|
24,329 | |||
| Craig J. Coughlin (D)
|
22,226 | |||
| Richard W. Piatkowski (R) | 17,555 | |||
| Peter Kothari (R) | 16,846 | |||
| Barry Adler (Change and Commitment) | 2,561 | |||
| James C. Poesl (Independent Conservative) | 1,116 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of New Jersey scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2017
In 2017, the 217th New Jersey State Legislature, second annual session, was in session from January 10 through January 9, 2018.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to civil liberties.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the 217th New Jersey State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 12 through January 10, 2017.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the 216th New Jersey State Legislature, second annual session, was in session from January 13 through December 31.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the 216th New Jersey State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 14 through January 12, 2015.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 215th New Jersey State Legislature, second annual session, was in session from January 10 to January 13, 2014.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the 215th New Jersey State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 10 to January 9, 2013.
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Endorsements
2013
In 2013, Wisniewski’s endorsements included the following:[21] [22]
- The New Jersey AFL-CIO
- Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey
2011
In 2011, Wisniewski’s endorsements included the following:[23]
2016 Democratic National Convention
- Delegate to the 2016 DNC (click to expand)
- See also: Democratic National Convention, 2016
John Wisniewski Democratic National Convention, 2016 Status: Superdelegate State: New Jersey Supporting: Bernie Sanders Delegates to the DNC 2016 Calendar and delegate rules overview • Types of delegates • State election law and delegates • Superdelegates by state Wisniewski was a superdelegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention from New Jersey.[24] Wisniewski was one of 16 superdelegates from New Jersey. Superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention were not bound by the results of their state’s primary or caucus to support a specific presidential candidate. Wisniewski's name was included on a list of superdelegates supporting Bernie Sanders released by Sanders' campaign in April 2016.[25] Leading up to the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Sanders had approximately 1,832 pledged delegates and 47 superdelegates for a total of 1,879 delegates. The winner of the Democratic nomination needed the support of 2,383 delegates at the national convention.[26]
What is a superdelegate?
Superdelegates in 2016 were automatic delegates to the Democratic National Convention, meaning that, unlike regular delegates, they were not elected to this position. Also unlike regular delegates, they were not required to pledge their support to any presidential candidate, and they were not bound by the results of their state's presidential primary election or caucus. In 2016, superdelegates included members of the Democratic National Committee, Democratic members of Congress, Democratic governors, and distinguished party leaders, including former presidents and vice presidents. All superdelegates were free to support any presidential candidate of their choosing at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.[27]
New Jersey superdelegates
New Jersey had a total of 16 superdelegates in 2016. All of them are listed below beneath the candidate they are known to have supported. As of June 1, 2016, nine New Jersey superdelegates were known to have expressed their support for Hillary Clinton, two supported Bernie Sanders, and the support of five superdelegates was unknown.
Clinton
- Barbra Casbar Siperstein
- Albio Sires
- Bill Pascrell
- Bob Menendez Sr.
- Bonnie Watson Coleman
- Cory Booker
- Donald Payne Jr.
- Frank Pallone Jr.
- Tonio Burgos
Sanders
Unknown
New Jersey primary results
The New Jersey Democratic primary took place on June 7, 2016.New Jersey Democratic Primary, 2016 Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates Hillary Clinton 63.2% 554,237 79 Bernie Sanders 36.8% 323,259 47 Totals 877,496 126 Source: The New York Times Delegate allocation
New Jersey had 142 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 126 were pledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state's pledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide primary results.[28][29]
Sixteen party leaders and elected officials served as unpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.[28][30]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Wisniewski and his wife have three children.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "John + Wisniewski + New Jersey + Assembly"
See also
- New Jersey General Assembly
- General Assembly Committees
- New Jersey State Legislature
- Joint Committees
- New Jersey state legislative districts
External links
- Profile from Open States
- NJ Assembly Dems - Assm. Wisniewski
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions via OpenSecrets
Footnotes
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbio - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ John Wisniewski for Governor, "About," accessed May 24, 2017
- ↑ "John Wisnieski official campaign website" accessed May 8, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Division of Elections, "Official List - Candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 New Jersey Division of Elections, "Official Primary Results 2017 - Governor," June 28, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Department of Elections, "2015 Primary Election Timeline," accessed February 2, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official candidates for General Assembly," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Amended Certification," September 2, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official candidate list for June 2 primary," accessed May 22, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 3, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official primary results for General Assembly," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official general election results for General Assembly," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of Elections, "Official Primary Election Results," accessed July 26, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official 2013 General Assembly general election candidates," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "New Jersey - Summary Vote Results," November 6, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "2013 Official General Election results," accessed December 9, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "2011 Official General Assembly Primary Candidate List," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "General Election Results, November 4, 2009," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official 2009 New Jersey Assembly General Election Results," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ PolitickerNJ.com, "AFL-CIO endorses candidates for elections," accessed September 4, 2013
- ↑ Planned Parenthood NJ "Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey Announces Endorsements in State Elections," accessed September 5, 2013
- ↑ Politicker NJ, "2011 AFL-CIO endorsed candidates," accessed August 5, 2011
- ↑ Ballotpedia's list of superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention is based on our own research and lists provided by the Democratic National Committee to Vox.com in February 2016 and May 2016. If you think we made an error in identifying superdelegates, please send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.
- ↑ BernieSanders.com, "Publicly Committed Superdelegates," accessed May 13, 2016
- ↑ To find out which candidate a superdelegate supported, Ballotpedia sought out public statements from the superdelegate in other media outlets and on social media. If we were unable to find a public statement that clearly articulated which candidate the superdelegate supported at the national convention, we listed that superdelegate as "unknown." If you believe we made an error in identifying which candidate a superdelegate supported, please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Presidential Nominating Process and the National Party Conventions, 2016: Frequently Asked Questions," December 30, 2015
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 Democratic National Committee, "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016
- ↑ The Green Papers, "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021
- ↑ Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection, "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016
