John J. Matheussen (born January 30, 1953) is an American Republican Party politician. He served in the New Jersey Senate from 1992 to 2003, where he represented the 4th Legislative District.

Early life and education

Born in Jersey City, Matheussen grew up in Secaucus, New Jersey and graduated from

Weehawken High School Weehawken High School is a six-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grade from Weehawken in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Weehawken School District. The sch ...

. He earned his undergraduate degree, a B.A. in Communications, from

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the ...

and was awarded a J.D. from the

University of Dayton School of Law The University of Dayton School of Law (UDSL) is a private law school located in Dayton, Ohio. It is affiliated with the University of Dayton, which is a Catholic university of the Society of Mary. The school is accredited by the American Bar As ...

., New Jersey Legislature. Accessed May 26, 2010.

Political career

In the 1991 Republican landslide in the New Jersey Legislature, Matheussen won an open Senate seat over Assemblyman Anthony S. Marsella, while his running mates George Geist and Mary Virginia Weber won in the Assembly. In the 1991 race, Matheusen took the seat vacated by three-term incumbent Daniel J. Dalton with 51.7% of the vote, with Marsella polling 48.3%. Matheusen won re-election in 1991 over Bernard Lynch by a 58.9%-41.1% margin, over Sean F. Dalton in a three-way race in 1997 by a 50.7%-46.1% margin and again in 2001 by a 58.3%-41.8% margin over Joseph Manganello. Matheusen introduced legislation in the Senate in March 1999 to implement the $1 billion property tax rebate proposed by

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 r ...

Christine Todd Whitman which would start at $120 per family at its initiation and was planned to grow to $600 per household in its fifth year. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in 2002, with businessman Doug Forrester winning the party's nomination. Forrester won the primary with 44.6% of the vote and State Senator

Diane Allen Diane B. Allen (born March 8, 1948) is an American politician and television journalist. A member of the Republican Party, she represented the 7th legislative district in the New Jersey Assembly from 1996 to 1998 and New Jersey Senate from 1998 ...

came in second with 36.9%, ahead of Matheussen who garnered 18.6% of the vote.NJ US Senate - R Primary 2002
OurCampaigns.com, last updated January 16, 2007. Accessed May 26, 2010. Matheussen was nominated by

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 ...

in February 2003 to head the

Delaware River Port Authority The Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), officially the Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is a bi-state agency instrumentality created by a congressionally approved interstate compact between the governments of Pen ...

. After Matheussen resigned from the Senate in May 2003 to take the post at the DRPA, his Senate seat was filled by Assemblyman George Geist. An attorney with the firm of Dilworth Paxson LLP, Matheussen has been a resident of the Sewell section of

Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey Washington Township is a township in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 48,677, an increase of 118 from the 2010 census count of 48,559, which in turn reflected an i ...

. In 2014, he was nominated by Governor Chris Christie and confirmed as a judge on

New Jersey Superior Court The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts.Jeffrey S. Mandel, New Jersey Appellate Pr ...

.Powell, Michael
"In New Jersey, Leader of an Agency Under Investigation Is Given a Judge’s Robe"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', January 20, 2014. Accessed September 29, 2022. "Gov. Chris Christie recently paused in his war over traffic cones, gargantuan traffic jams and accusations of political retribution to nominate a few men as judges on the state’s Superior Court. His nomination of John J. Matheussen, a fellow Republican, caught my eye."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matheussen, John J. 1953 births Living people New Jersey lawyers Republican Party New Jersey state senators Politicians from Gloucester County, New Jersey Politicians from Jersey City, New Jersey People from Secaucus, New Jersey People from Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey Seton Hall University alumni University of Dayton alumni Weehawken High School alumni 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians