James J. Kennedy (born February 9, 1953) is a

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician who has represented the 22nd Legislative District 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 ...

since taking office in January 2016. He served as Mayor of

Rahway, New Jersey Rahway () is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is southwest of Manhattan ...

from 1991 through 2010, when he declined to seek a sixth term.

Career

Kennedy won his first nomination in the 1990 Democratic

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

, when he contested the re-election for Daniel Martin, who at the time had been mayor for 20 years. Kennedy owns a local store, Kennedy Jewelers, that was adversely affected by the decline of the city's downtown area during the 1970s and 1980s, and he was president of the Rahway

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

during the later 1980s. While serving on the board of trustees for the Rahway YMCA, Kennedy befriended

Jim McGreevey James Edward McGreevey (born August 6, 1957) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 52nd governor of New Jersey from 2002 until his resignation in 2004 following the revelation of his extramarital affair w ...

, a lawyer then residing in neighboring Woodbridge Township who would ultimately become

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

. After McGreevey became governor, Kennedy joined State Street Partners, a Trenton lobbying firm founded by Rocco F. Iossa, a former aide to Republican Congressman Dennis Gallo and counselor to GOP Governor Christine Todd Whitman. After McGreevey, resigned Kennedy started a business, Skye Consulting L.L.C., which has assisted local governments, redevelopment contractors and a foreign-owned water treatment and waste management utility company. Kennedy and his wife, Lori, a kindergarten teacher who retired in June 2011, have one son, Sean, who operates the jewelry store on a day-to-day basis. The couple previously had another child, who died when he was two years old.

New Jersey Assembly

Following the retirement of incumbent Democratic Assemblywoman

Linda Stender Linda Stender (born July 25, 1951) is an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2002 to 2016, where she represented the 22nd legislative district. She ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the United S ...

in 2015, Kennedy was chosen by the local Democratic County Committees over Fanwood Mayor Colleen Mahr to succeed Stender. He won the general election alongside incumbent Jerry Green that November.

Committees

For the 2020–2021 Legislative Session, Kennedy served on the following committees:Assemblyman James J. Kennedy (D)

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 January 24, 2022. *Environment and Solid Waste (as Chair) *Tourism, Gaming and the Arts (as Vice Chair) *Transportation and Independent Authorities

District 22

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

. The representatives from the 22nd District for the 2022—23 Legislative Session are:Legislative Roster for District 22

. Accessed January 11, 2022. *Senator

Nicholas Scutari Nicholas Paul Scutari (born November 18, 1968) is an American politician and attorney who is the 115th and current President of the New Jersey Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served in the New Jersey Senate since 2004, represent ...

(D) *Assemblywoman Linda S. Carter (D) *Assemblyman James J. Kennedy (D)

Electoral history

New Jersey Assembly

References

External links

Legislative web page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, James J. 1953 births Living people People from Rahway, New Jersey Politicians from Union County, New Jersey Mayors of places in New Jersey Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly 21st-century American politicians