John A. Villapiano (born November 17, 1951) is an American former professional football player who played in the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

and 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 served on the

Monmouth County, New Jersey Monmouth County () is a county located on the coast of central New Jersey. The county is part of the New York metropolitan area and is situated along the northern half of the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population w ...

Board of Chosen Freeholders In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the b ...

and 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 1988 to 1992.

Early life and education

Born in

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,< ...

on November 17, 1951, Villapiano is the younger brother of

Phil Villapiano Philip James Villapiano (born February 26, 1949) is a former American football linebacker who played 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Early life Villapiano played high school football at both Asbury Park High School and Ocean T ...

, who played for 13 seasons in the NFL with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. Raised in Ocean Township, he attended

Ocean Township High School Ocean Township High School (OTHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in the Oakhurst section of Ocean Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school in the Ocean Township ...

. Like his older brother, he played for the

Bowling Green Falcons football The Bowling Green Falcons football program is the intercollegiate football team of Bowling Green State University. The team is a member of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level; BGSU football ...

team as its captain, graduating in 1974.Staff
''Fitzgerald's Legislative Manual, 1988''
p. 245. Accessed September 3, 2016. Villapiano played as a linebacker in the

in 1974 and 1975 for the Houston Texans /

Shreveport Steamer The Shreveport Steamer were a professional American football team in the World Football League. The franchise began the 1974 season in Houston, Texas, as the Houston Texans (no connection to the current NFL team of the same name), playing their ...

. For the 1974 season, ''

Pro Football Weekly ''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League (NFL). It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illinoi ...

'' named Villapiano to its WFL All-League Team. In 1975, Villapiano told the ''

Asbury Park Press The ''Asbury Park Press'' is a daily newspaper in Monmouth and Ocean counties of New Jersey and has the third largest circulation in the state. It has been owned by Gannett since 1997. Its reporting staff has been awarded numerous national hon ...

'' that he was still owed more than $11,000 by the World Football League and hadn't been paid for his last six weeks of play, but that he stayed on the field so that he "wouldn't breach my contract." Married to Patricia McMahon, with four children, Villapiano has been the director and co-owner of a family-owned preschool and day camp in Long Branch. Seashore Day Camp & School, was founded in 1926 and describes itself as the state's first day camp.

Government service

After serving on the Ocean Township Planning Board in 1978 and 1979, Villapiano was elected to the Ocean Township Council, serving from 1979 to 1987. Villapiano was elected to the Monmouth County

in 1987, where he advocated for establishment of the county's first shelter for homeless families. Anthony M. Villane resigned from his seat representing the 11th Legislative District of the

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 ...

.Ben-Joseph, Robin
"Kean nominates Villane to Cabinet"
''

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. Villapiano 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. The special election was the last one before the passage of an amendment to the

New Jersey State Constitution The Constitution of the State of New Jersey is the basic governing document of the State of New Jersey. In addition to three British Royal Charters issued for East Jersey, West Jersey and united New Jersey while they were still colonies, the sta ...

that allows the political party of a departing elected official to select a replacement. Villapiano and running mate Daniel P. Jacobson, a 27-year-old Township Council member in Ocean Township, were elected to full two-year terms in the Assembly in the November 1989 general election, while Republican

Joseph A. Palaia Joseph A. "Joe" Palaia Sr. (February 3, 1927 – August 20, 2016) was an American politician. He served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1981 to 1989 and in the State Senate from 1989 to 2008, representing the 11th Legislative District. ...

defeated Democratic incumbent John D'Amico, Jr. for the seat 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, ...

. As a member of the Assembly, Villapiano served as a member of the Appropriations Committee and advocated for beach replenishment on 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 ...

and expansion of the state's Urban Enterprise Zone program. As part of the Republican Party landslide in the 1991 general election as a backlash against Governor

James Florio James Joseph Florio (August 29, 1937 – September 25, 2022) was an American politician who served as the 49th governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994. He was previously the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 1st congressional district from 19 ...

's tax increases, Villapiano and Jacobson lost their re-election bid and were replaced in the Assembly by Steve Corodemus and Thomas S. Smith. In his book ''How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative'',

Allen Raymond Allen Raymond is a former Republican Party (United States), Republican Political consulting, political consultant in the United States who spent three months in federal prison for his role in the 2002 New Hampshire Senate election phone jamming sc ...

described his involvement in the 1991 race on behalf of the campaign committee of Assembly Speaker

Chuck Haytaian Garabed "Chuck" Haytaian (born January 28, 1938) is an American Republican Party politician, who was the Speaker of the New Jersey State Assembly during the 'tax revolt' of the James Florio – Christine Todd Whitman era. He is of Armenia ...

, creating advertisements falsely implying that Villapiano had awarded himself bonuses after laying off dozens of employees at his day camp, and another piece that charged that Jacobson and Villapiano had been involved with crooked real estate deals. In the 1993 general election, Jacobson and Villapiano ran again for Assembly, losing again to Corodemus and Smith. In March 2007, Villapiano announced that he would run as a Democrat to fill the

seat being vacated by the retirement of Republican Joseph A. Palaia. In the November 2007 general election, Republican

Sean T. Kean Sean T. Kean (born May 21, 1963) is an American Republican Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since being sworn into office on January 10, 2012, representing the 30th legislative district, Prior to redistricti ...

won the seat by a 28,249 to 16,314 margin.Staff
"Sean Kean wins Senate seat in 11th District race"
''Atlanticville'', November 21, 2007. Accessed September 2, 2016. "Sean T. Kean Kean, a Republican, won the 11th District state Senate seat in the Nov. 6 election, receiving 28,249 votes over Democratic candidate John Villapiano, who garnered 16,314 votes."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villapiano, John 1951 births Living people American athlete-politicians Bowling Green Falcons football players County commissioners in New Jersey Houston Texans (WFL) players New Jersey city council members Politicians from Monmouth County, New Jersey Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Ocean Township High School alumni Politicians from Long Branch, New Jersey People from Ocean Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey Shreveport Steamer players Sportspeople from Monmouth County, New Jersey 20th-century American politicians