Holly T. Schepisi (born December 20, 1971) is an American lawyer, businesswoman, and

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

politician who is the

New Jersey State Senator 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, ...

, representing the 39th legislative district. She previously served in the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

, from January 10, 2012, until March 24, 2021. She has served as Deputy Minority Leader since January 14, 2020, and served as Assistant Minority Leader for two years before then. She resides in

River Vale River Vale is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. River Vale is the easternmost municipality in an area of the county referred to as the Pascack Valley. As of the 2010 United ...

with her husband Paul Garfinkel and their two children. In March 2015, she suffered a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circul ...

but fully recovered after surgery in the summer of 2015. On March 9, 2021, she was chosen to succeed long-serving Senator

Gerald Cardinale Gerald Cardinale (February 27, 1934 – February 20, 2021) was an American Republican Party politician, who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 1982 until his death in 2021, representing the 39th Legislative District. He also served one ...

in the State Senate, following his death in office. She was sworn in on March 25, 2021.

Biography and early life

Schepisi is the daughter of John A. Schepisi, a lawyer and former chairman of the

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

in politics and psychology in 1993, and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test take ...

in 1997. While in college, she worked at the

1992 Republican National Convention The 1992 Republican National Convention was held in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, from August 17 to August 20, 1992. The convention nominated President George H. W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle for reelection. It was Bush's fourth co ...

, interned for

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

, Congresswoman

Marge Roukema Margaret "Marge" Roukema (née Scafati; September 19, 1929 – November 12, 2014) was an American politician who represented New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives for twenty-two years as a Republican from 1981 to 2003. Early life ...

, and a member of the British Parliament. In 2007, she began serving as the Township Attorney for River Vale, a position she held until 2011. In addition, she was also a

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...

for

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

(2012–2014) and an alternate prosecutor for Old Tappan (2010–2011) and Westwood (2002–2011).

New Jersey Assembly

In August 2011,

Charlotte Vandervalk Charlotte Vandervalk (born July 31, 1937) is an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1991 until 2012, representing the 39th legislative district. She served in the Assembly as Deputy Republican ...

announced her retirement from the General Assembly seat in the 39th district. A resident of River Vale, Schepisi was selected by the Bergen County Republican Organization to take Vandervalk's place on the ballot, and in the general election she and her running mate

Bob Schroeder Robert Schroeder (born February 16, 1960) is an American businessman and Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2010 to 2014, where he represented the 39th Legislative District, having taken the seat of ...

defeated the Democratic candidates, Anthony Iannarelli Jr. and Michael McCarthy. She was sworn in on January 10, 2012.

Tenure

In 2014, Schepisi introduced a bill that would have weakened vaccination requirements for school children. The bill would have allowed certain children under the age of six to attend school without receiving a Hepatitis B vaccine. Schepisi stated that the debunked link between vaccines and autism was not her "primary rationale" for introducing the bill. The bill did not become law. In the summer of 2017, Schepisi held the first of several planned public hearing in Paramus with various civic leaders on mandated affordable housing under the

Mount Laurel Doctrine The ''Mount Laurel'' doctrine is a significant judicial doctrine of the New Jersey State Constitution. The doctrine requires that municipalities use their zoning powers in an affirmative manner to provide a realistic opportunity for the production ...

with local mayors and other state assembly members. In October 2018 Schepisi joined then-Republican State Senator Dawn Addiego and Republicans Kristin Corrado,

Amy Handlin Amy H. Handlin (born January 28, 1956) is an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly, where she represented the 13th Legislative District from 2006 to 2020. Education and career Handlin earned a B. ...

DiAnne Gove DiAnne C. Gove (born February 15, 1951) is an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 9th Legislative District from 2009 to 2024. She was sworn in on December 7, 2009, to fill the vac ...

Serena DiMaso Serena DiMaso (born May 17, 1963) is an American Republican Party politician who represented the 13th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2018 to 2022.BettyLou DeCroce BettyLou DeCroce (born November 17, 1952) is an American Republican Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2012 to 2022, where she represented the 26th Legislative District. Biography and early career Born and r ...

, and

Nancy Munoz Nancy Ann Foster Munoz, commonly known as Nancy Munoz, (born September 8, 1954) is an American Republican Party politician who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2009, where she represents the 21st Legislative District. She was ...

in calling for an investigation into Governor Phil Murphy's hiring practices.

Committees

Committee assignments for the current session are:Senator Holly T. Schepisi

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

. Accessed February 20, 2022. *Community and Urban Affairs *Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens

District 39

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the

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 two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The representatives from the 39th District for the 2022—23 Legislative Session are: *Senator Holly Schepisi (R) *Assemblyman

Robert Auth Robert Joseph Auth (born July 4, 1956) is an American politician from New Jersey who represents the 39th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since taking office on January 14, 2014. Education Auth earned his B.A. from New ...

(R) *Assemblywoman

DeAnne DeFuccio DeAnne DeFuccio (born March 26, 1973) is an American Republican Party politician who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly from the 39th district since 2021. Early life and education Born in Oakland, DeFuccio grew up in nearby Fran ...

(R)

Electoral history

New Jersey Senate

2021

Six months after being appointed to fill Sen. Cardinale's seat, Schepisi stood for re-election against Ruth Dugan—wife of the late State Senator James P. Dugan and herself an elected official on the Saddle River Board of Education.

New Jersey Assembly

2019

In what was one of the most competitive races in 2019 Schepisi and her running mate

won re-election by 6,000 and 4,000 votes respectively. During the campaign, controversy surrounding Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick's law website drew their Democratic opponents, Gerald Falotico and John Birkner, to call on them to condemn the website.

2017

In the tightest election of Schepisi's career in the Assembly she won re-election.

2015

In a generally bad year for Republicans in

, Schepisi and Auth cruised to re-election.

2013

In 2013 Governor Chris Christie easily beat Democrat

Barbara Buono Barbara A. Buono (born July 28, 1953) is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014, where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate, succ ...

and Schepisi and her new running mate

easily beat their Democratic opponents.

2011

After the 2011 re-districting the 39th District was still widely considered "safe republican". Schepisi ran for the

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

for the first time and easily placed second.

References

External links

Senator Holly T. Schepisi;s legislative web page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schepisi, Holly 1971 births Living people 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Businesspeople from New Jersey Fordham University School of Law alumni New Jersey lawyers Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Republican Party New Jersey state senators People from River Vale, New Jersey Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey Catholic University of America alumni Women state legislators in New Jersey