James S. Cafiero (September 21, 1928 – August 3, 2023) was an American attorney 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 served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1968 to 1972 and 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, ...

from 1972 to 1982 and from 1990 to 2004, where he represented the 1st legislative district.

Early life and education

James Cafiero was born on September 21, 1928. His father, attorney and judge Anthony J. Cafiero, later represented

Cape May County Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the county is located on Cape May bound by Delaware Bay to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. Adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are fiv ...

in the Senate from 1948 to 1954. Cafiero graduated from The Lawrenceville School and earned a

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 ...

in economics from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1950 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 the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and olde ...

in 1953. After law school, Cafiero worked as an assistant Cape May County prosecutor from 1958 to 1960 and as an attorney at his father's firm.

Political career

New Jersey Assembly

Following the United States Supreme Court's decision in ''

Reynolds v. Sims ''Reynolds v. Sims'', 377 U.S. 533 (1964), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that the electoral districts of state legislative chambers must be roughly equal in population. Along with ''Baker v. Carr'' (196 ...

'' and a special constitutional convention, a new legislative district was created in 1967 consisting of Cape May and

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

counties. While serving as assistant prosecutor, Cafiero ran for the General Assembly on a victorious Republican ticket with Robert Kay for Senate and James R. Hurley of Millville for Assembly. They were re-elected in 1969.

New Jersey Senate

1972 to 1982

In 1971, Kay lost the support of the Cape May County Republican Party for a second term. Cafiero and Hurley both prepared to run for Senate, while Kay threatened to stand for the nomination without party support. After the Cumberland and Cape May party chairs reached a deal to nominate Cafiero for Senate and Joseph Chinnici as Hurley's running mate for Assembly, Kay withdrew. Cafiero won the general election against former Millville commissioner Paul Porreca by only 916 votes, with the result split along county lines. As a freshman Senator, Cafiero chaired the Appropriations Committee, making him the third most powerful member of the legislature. He was named Senate Minority Leader in 1975, replacing

Alfred N. Beadleston Alfred Nash Beadleston, Jr. (February 20, 1912 – January 18, 2000) was an American Republican Party politician who served as Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly and President of the New Jersey Senate. Biography Beadleston was born ...

. He was re-elected easily in 1973 (though Republicans lost the Senate) and 1977 before leaving party leadership in 1978 and stepping down in 1981. He was succeeded by Hurley.

1990 to 2004

In 1991, Cafiero returned to the Senate after Hurley retired to join the

New Jersey Casino Control Commission The Casino Control Commission is a New Jersey state governmental agency that was founded in 1977 as the state's Gaming Control Board, responsible under the Casino Control Act for licensing casinos in Atlantic City. The commission also issues lic ...

. He defeated Assemblyman Edward Salmon amid growing opposition to Governor Jim Florio's tax increases. In

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, he was re-elected by a large margin as part of a Republican

wave In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (res ...

which retook both houses of the legislature. He won easily in 1993 and 1997 before facing William J. Hughes Jr., the son of U.S. Representative and Ambassador

William J. Hughes William John Hughes (October 17, 1932 – October 30, 2019) was an American politician and diplomat who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1975 to 1995, representing New Jersey's Second Congressional Distri ...

, in 2001. Cafiero defeated Hughes by just 441 votes, which proved decisive in creating a 20-20 tie in the Senate and a power-sharing arrangement between the Republican and Democratic parties. He retired for a second time in 2003 and was succeeded by

Nicholas Asselta Nicholas Asselta (born August 17, 1951) is an American Republican Party politician, who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2004 to 2008, where he represented the 1st Legislative District. In the Senate, Asselta was a member of the Budget and ...

, who had considered challenging Cafiero in the primary. In 1996, Cafiero introduced a bill that would dedicate a portion of the special sales tax collected for the Wildwoods to be used for the construction of a minor league stadium that would have room for 5,000 fans. He served in the Senate on the Judiciary Committee and the Law and Public Safety and Veterans' Affairs Committee. Cafiero was Republican Whip from 2002 to 2004., New Jersey Legislature. Accessed August 9, 2007.

Personal life and death

Cafiero was a resident of

North Wildwood North Wildwood is a city located on the Jersey Shore in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 3,621, a decrea ...

. He died on August 3, 2023, at the age of 94.

References

External links

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 ...

. , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cafiero, James S. 1928 births 2023 deaths Lawrenceville School alumni Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Republican Party New Jersey state senators New Jersey lawyers People from North Wildwood, New Jersey Politicians from Cape May County, New Jersey University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni Princeton University alumni