Louis F. Kosco (born June 5, 1932) is an American Republican Party politician who served in both 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 f ...

and the New Jersey Senate.

Biography

Born in Hackensack, Kosco grew up in Ridgefield Park, where he attended Lincoln Elementary School and graduated from

Ridgefield Park High School Ridgefield Park High School is a six-year comprehensive community public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grade from Ridgefield Park, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary scho ...

in 1950. He later attended

Lincoln Technical Institute Lincoln Tech is an American group of for-profit postsecondary vocational institutions headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. Each campus is owned and operated by Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (), a provider of career-oriented pos ...

and the New York Institute of Auto Mechanics. Kosco lived in

Paramus Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...

, where he served on the Borough Council from 1969 to 1979, was Police and Fire Commissioner in 1974, Public Works Commissioner in 1972 and 1973 and was the Borough Council President in 1977 and 1978. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, reaching the rank of sergeant., New Jersey Legislature. Accessed May 26, 2010. In the 1980 elections for the General Assembly, Kosco and running mate John B. Paolella defeated incumbents

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

and Paul J. Contillo. He served in the General Assembly from 1980 to 1987, serving as Assistant Minority Whip in 1984 and 1985. In 1987, Kosco ran for Senate, losing to incumbent Paul J. Contillo by a 53%-47% margin. In a 1991 rematch, Kosco unseated the three-term incumbent Contillo, taking 57% of the vote.NJ Senate District 38 - History
Our Campaigns, last updated February 28, 2003. Accessed May 26, 2010. Kosco began his service in the New Jersey Senate in 1992, where he served as Chair of the Law and Public Safety Committee and as a member of the Judiciary Committee. Kosco was re-elected to the Senate in 1993 over Democrat James Krone and again in 1997 by a 55%-42% margin against Democrat

Valerie Vainieri Huttle Valerie Vainieri Huttle (born September 15, 1956) is an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly where she represented the 37th Legislative District, from 2006 to 2022. Huttle served on the Bergen County ...

. In 1993, Kosco and Senator John P. Scott co-sponsored legislation to impose a

commuter tax A commuter tax is a tax (generally on either income or wages) levied upon persons who work, but do not live, in a particular jurisdiction. The argument for a commuter tax is that it pays for public services, such as police, fire, and sanitation, re ...

on New York residents who worked in the Garden State based on their total family income, which Kosco described as "retaliatory legislation" on behalf of the 230,000 New Jersey residents who worked in New York and were assessed taxes by that state on their income. In redistricting following the 2000 Census, two heavily Democratic-leaning municipalities — Fair Lawn and Fort Lee — were added to the 38th Legislative District. These two communities voted heavily for Democrat Joseph Coniglio in the November 2001 elections, who unseated Kosco by a 53%-47% margin.Friedman, Matt
"Kosco takes no pleasure over Coniglio conviction"
,

Politicker Network The Politicker Network, or Politicker.com, was a national network of fifty state-based political websites operated by the ''New York Observer''. Origins The network had its origins in journalist Ben Smith's ''New York Observer'' blog, "''The Poli ...

, April 17, 2009. Accessed May 26, 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosco, Louis F. 1932 births Living people United States Army personnel of the Korean War New Jersey city council members Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Republican Party New Jersey state senators People from Hackensack, New Jersey People from Paramus, New Jersey People from Ridgefield Park, New Jersey Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey Ridgefield Park High School alumni United States Army soldiers