Patrick J. Roma

Patrick Joseph Roma (July 20, 1949 – November 26, 2017) was an American lawyer and Republican Party politician who represented the 38th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1988 to 1997, leaving office to serve as a judge in New Jersey Superior Court until his retirement from the bench in 2014.

Born in New York City and raised in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Seton Hall University, he graduated from Samford University with a degree in law and earned a second law degree from New York University School of Law.

Political career

A practicing attorney, Roma was elected to serve on the Borough Council in Palisades Park, serving as council president.

First elected to the Assembly in 1987 with fellow Republican Pat Schuber, Roma and Schuber were re-elected in 1989 before Schuber resigned to take office as the Bergen County Executive and was replaced by Rose Marie Heck. Roma and Heck were re-elected in 1991, 1993 and 1995. Guy Talarico was chosen by Republican county committee members in February 1997 to fill the vacancy created when Roma stepped down from office on January 10, 1997, to take a seat as a judge on the New Jersey Superior Court. He was granted tenure as a judge in 2003 and served until 2014 when he retired.

When a New Jersey law banning assault weapons went into effect in June 1991, Roma was the first person in Bergen County to have turned in a weapon as inoperable.

In 1992, Roma ran against five-term Democratic incumbent Robert Torricelli in New Jersey's 9th congressional district, criticizing his opponent as "the poster child for Congressional abuse" which included bouncing 27 checks drawn on the House Bank for more than $11,000 in just over three years and sending $250,000 in mailings at taxpayer expense using his franking privileges.King, Wayne
"In Redrawn District, Tone Is Bitter in Congress Race"
''The New York Times'', October 8, 1992. Accessed June 27, 2018. "Patrick J. Roma, a Republican candidate for Congress, held a news conference at his headquarters here on Monday and did what he has done almost every day for the last four months: assail his opponent, Representative Robert G. Torricelli, as the epitome of the 'bloated, out-of-control, out-of-touch Congress.'... Assemblyman Roma, a former Palisades Park Borough Council president who is in his third term in the Legislature, is running as much against the Congress as an institution as against Mr. Torricelli, whom he calls "'the poster child for Congressional abuse.' Mr. Roma and his campaign staff routinely pass out checks made of rubber that are drawn on the 'Bouncy Savings & Loan' to focus attention on Mr. Torricelli's record with the House Bank -- 27 overdrafts totaling $11,608 over 39 months."

Death

A resident of Naples, Florida, Roma died of a stroke on November 26, 2017.Levine, Cecilia
"Ex-Bergen Superior Court Judge, NJ Assemblyman Patrick Roma Dies Of Stroke"
Hackensack Daily Voice, November 30, 2017. Accessed June 27, 2018. "Retired Bergen County Superior Court judge and former New Jersey State Assemblyman Patrick James Roma died on Nov. 26 following a massive stroke.... Born in New York City, Roma was raised in Cliffside Park, and lived in Palisades Park and Hillsdale. He died in Naples, Fla."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roma, Chris
1949 births
2017 deaths
Cliffside Park High School alumni
New Jersey lawyers
Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly
New Jersey state court judges
New York University School of Law alumni
20th-century American politicians
People from Cliffside Park, New Jersey
People from Hillside, New Jersey
People from Naples, Florida
People from Palisades Park, New Jersey
Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey
Samford University alumni
Seton Hall University alumni
20th-century American judges
20th-century American lawyers