Anthony M. Villane Jr. (December 24, 1929 – June 29, 2022) was an American dentist and Republican Party politician who was elected to serve seven terms in the
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.
Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...
from 1976 to 1988, and served as head of the
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs
The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The department is headed by Commissioner Sheila Oliver, who is also serving as lieutenant governor of New Jersey.
Function
The NJDCA prov ...
from 1988 to 1990, when he was named as regional administrator of the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urb ...
.
Early life and education
Villane was born in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Newark Public Schools
Newark Board of Education is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in the city of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The state took over the district in ...
and graduated from
Barringer High School
Barringer Academy of the Arts & Humanities (formerly Barringer High School and Newark High School), is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Newark, in Essex County, New Jersey, United ...
. He earned his undergraduate degree from
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
in 1951 and received a degree in dentistry in 1955 from
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...
. He served in the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
from 1955 to 1958 with the rank of captain, after which he maintained a dental practice in
Eatontown
Eatontown is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the borough's population was 12,709,''Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, Volume 202, Part 2'' p. 251. E. J. Mullin, 1987. Accessed September 1, 2016.
In 1971, Villane was chosen to chair the Long Branch Republican Party, a position he filled until 1977.
Government service
From 1975 to 1977, Villane served as a trustee of the board of education of the
Long Branch Public Schools
Long Branch Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in the city of Long Branch, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The district is one of 31 ...
.
A resident of
Long Branch, New Jersey
Long Branch is a beachside City (New Jersey), city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 30,719,< ...
, Villane and his Republican running mate Brian Kennedy defeated Democratic incumbent Gertrude Berman and her running mate Richard J. Connors in the November 1975 general election, to win the two Assembly seats in the 10th Legislative District, covering portions of Monmouth County and
Ocean County
Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...
, and Villane was re-elected to the Assembly in the 10th District in 1977 and 1979 with William F. Dowd.
In redistricting following the
1980 United States census
The United States census of 1980, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 226,545,805, an increase of 11.4 percent over the 203,184,772 persons enumerated during the 1970 census. It was th ...
, Villane was shifted to the 11th Legislative District. In the general elections in 1981, 1983, 1985 and 1987, Villane was re-elected with Republican running mate Joseph A. Palaia. From 1985 to 1988, Villane served as head of the Assembly's Appropriations Committee, where he was successful in delivering aid to communities in Monmouth County. In December 1980. Governor of New Jersey
Brendan Byrne
Brendan Thomas Byrne (April 1, 1924 – January 4, 2018) was an American politician, statesman, and prosecutor, serving as the 47th governor of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982.
A member of the Democratic Party, Byrne started his career as a privat ...
signed into law a bill sponsored by Villane that specified a jail sentence of up to six months for those who "recklessly organizes" a
hazing
Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...
ritual that seriously injures a pledge as part of initiation practices. As chairman of the Assembly's Select Committee on Tourism, Villane was the chief sponsor of the Fair Beaches Act in 1987, which would ensure that shore municipalities would be required to receive state approval for beach access fees, some of which are the country's highest charges. In an effort to prevent the dumping of garbage and medical waste that had washed ashore in New Jersey, leading to a drop in tourism, Villane and Assembly Speaker
Chuck Hardwick
Charles Leighton Hardwick (born November 8, 1941) is an American Republican Party politician and business leader who served as Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly and was a candidate for Governor of New Jersey.
Early life
Hardwick was bo ...
co-sponsored a bill that passed the Assembly in February 1988 by a 72–1 margin allocating $1.5 million to be used to fund a blimp that would search for illegal ocean dumping along the
Jersey Shore
The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...
during the summer months. Cameras on the airship would identify those dumping waste off the coast and a telephone number printed on the blimp's side would allow residents to call in tips.Hollman, Laurie "A Blimp For Shore Patrol Gets Vote Of N.j. Assembly" ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'', February 19, 1988. Accessed September 1, 2016. "This summer, the supercop that patrols the Jersey shore on the lookout for bad guys, or in this case, illegal ocean dumpers, could be a blimp.That is, if Assemblyman Anthony M. Villane Jr. (R., Monmouth County) and Assembly Speaker Chuck Hardwick (R., Union) get their way. Their bill establishing 'eye in the sky' surveillance this summer to monitor the New York Bight and the New Jersey coast by airship passed the Assembly yesterday by a 72–1 vote." Despite what he described as a "giggle factor" in using a blimp, Villane advocated for the use of an airship as a more visible surveillance tool that could loiter for extended periods of time and use far less fuel than fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters.
Following the death of Representative James J. Howard, Villane lost the June 1988 primary to
Joseph Azzolina
Joseph Azzolina (January 26, 1926 – April 15, 2010) was an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey Legislature for a total of 24 years. 22 of these years he served in the New Jersey General Assembly while he served t ...
to fill the seat in
New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District
New Jersey's 3rd congressional district is represented by Democrat Andy Kim of Moorestown who has served in Congress since 2019. It is one of seven districts that voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election while being held by a ...
Red Bank Register
Red Bank is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. Incorporated in 1908, the community is on the Navesink River, the area's original transportation route to the ocean and other ports. Red Bank is in the New York Metropolitan A ...
'', July 8, 1988. Accessed September 1, 2016.
Villane gave up his dental practice and resigned from office on July 11, 1988, after being confirmed to serve as commissioner of the
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs
The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The department is headed by Commissioner Sheila Oliver, who is also serving as lieutenant governor of New Jersey.
Function
The NJDCA prov ...
to succeed
Leonard S. Coleman, Jr.
Leonard S. Coleman Jr. (born February 17, 1949) was the last president of the National League. He held the office from 1994 until 1999 when it was eliminated by Major League Baseball. He is currently on the Board of Directors of H. J. Heinz Compa ...
in the cabinet of Governor of New Jersey Thomas H. Kean; as part of the $95,000-a-year job, Villane oversaw a department with 1,000 employees that administered a budget of $400 million. Democrat
John Villapiano
John A. Villapiano (born November 17, 1951) is an American former professional football player who played in the World Football League and a Democratic Party politician who served on the Monmouth County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders an ...
defeated Villane's son Thomas in a September 15, 1988, special election to fill the vacant seat, and was sworn into office on September 28, 1988, cutting the Republican majority in the Assembly to 41–39. Villane served until January 1990, and was succeeded by
Randy Primas
Melvin Randolph "Randy" Primas, Jr. (August 31, 1949 – March 1, 2012) was an American politician who served as the first African-American Mayor of Camden, New Jersey from 1981 to 1990. He was succeeded by fellow African American Aaron A. Thomso ...
, who became DCA commissioner after serving nine years as
Mayor of Camden, New Jersey Mayor of Camden, New Jersey, has been an office since its inception in 1828.
List of mayors
* Victor Carstarphen (2021–present)
* Curtis Jenkins (interim) (2021)
* Frank Moran (2018–2021)
* Dana Redd (2010–2018)
* Gwendolyn Faison (2000–2 ...
.
In January 1990, Villane was named to serve as the New York / New Jersey regional administrator of the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urb ...
to succeed Joseph Monticciolo. He was the first New Jersey resident to hold the position.Staf "Villane Goes to HUD; Michaels To Direct State GOP" ''New Jersey Reporter'', June–July 1990. Accessed September 1, 2016.
A resident of
Eatontown, New Jersey
Eatontown is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the borough's population was 12,709,Monmouth Medical Center
Monmouth Medical Center, in Long Branch, Monmouth County, New Jersey, is one of New Jersey's largest community academic medical centers and is an academic affiliate of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School of Rutgers University, and is a part of ...
in Long Branch. He was survived by his wife of 69 years, the former Sarah Belverio.