J. Randall "Randy" Corman (born September 25, 1960) is an American
Republican Party politician who served a single term in the
New Jersey Senate, from 1992 to 1994, where he represented the
19th Legislative District, which covers portions of
Middlesex County.
Biography
Corman was born in
El Paso, Texas
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
and raised in
Sayreville, New Jersey
Sayreville is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. Sayreville is within the heart of the Raritan Valley region, located on the south banks of the Raritan River, and also located on the Raritan Bay. As of the 2010 United St ...
, where he graduated from
Sayreville War Memorial High School
Sayreville War Memorial High School (SWMHS) is a four-year state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school located in the Parlin, New Jersey, Parlin section of Sayreville, New Jersey, Sayreville, in Middlesex County, N ...
in 1978.
[''Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, 1992'']
p. 215. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1992. Accessed December 24, 2019. "Senator Corman was born Sept. 25, 1960, in El Paso, Texas. He was the valedicotian of his Sayreville War Memorial High School graduating class in 1978. In 1982 he graduated from Rutgers University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa." He was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 2006. He graduated from
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
in 1982.
[
He continues to reside in Sayreville with his wife and 4 children.
]
Elective office and government service
Together with Emery Z. Toth, Corman ran for Assembly in the 19th District in 1989, losing to incumbent Democrat George Otlowski
George John Otlowski (January 3, 1912 – March 16, 2009) was an American publisher turned Democratic Party politician who served on the Board of Chosen Freeholders for Middlesex County, New Jersey for eight years. He served in the New Jers ...
and 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 ...
. As a councilmember in Sayreville, Corman had opposed the construction of an incinerator project in Sayreville based on environmental concerns that did not justify the development on the former NL Industries
NL Industries (), formerly known as the National Lead Company, is a lead smelting company currently based in Houston, Texas. National Lead was one of the 12 original stocks included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the time of its creation o ...
site.
In 1991, Corman ran for the Senate in what had traditionally been a solidly Democratic district, as part of a campaign that targeted the Democrats statewide as being responsible for higher taxes. As part of the Republican landslide that year in the New Jersey Legislature in the wake of 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 ...
Jim 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 ...
's $2.8 billion tax increase package, Corman was elected to the Senate together with running mates Stephen A. Mikulak and Ernest L. Oros
Ernest L. Oros (died August 21, 2012) was an American Republican Party politician who served two terms in the New Jersey General Assembly, from 1992 to 1996, where he represented the 19th Legislative District, which covers portions of Middlesex ...
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 f ...
, defeating Laurence S. Weiss in the Senate and incumbent Democrat Thomas J. Deverin and his running mate Jay Ziznewski in the Assembly. After one term in office, Corman lost his seat in the Senate to Democrat Jim McGreevey, one of three Senate seats that the Democrats picked up in that year's election cycle.
Corman sponsored one of a set of bills proposed in October 1992 that would increase penalties for motor vehicle theft, arguing that it deserves more than "a slap on the wrist". He cited an incident in which a juvenile sought to be arrested so that he could join his friends in a juvenile detention center, with Corman insisting that juvenile car thieves "should not look at incarceration like summer camp".
In December 1992, Corman introduced legislation in the Senate that would subject "anyone conducting unauthorized surveillance of customers in a retail business in New Jersey" to arrest on disorderly conduct
Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions in the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan. Typically, "disorderly conduct" makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to " disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain are ...
charges; New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
had been sending investigators to shopping malls in New Jersey
Shopping malls in New Jersey have played a major role in shaping the suburban landscape of the state following World War II.
History
New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the United States, and in the suburban sphere of influence of b ...
to record the license plate numbers of vehicle from New York State as part of an effort to determine if shoppers from New York were liable for use tax
A use tax is a type of tax levied in the United States by numerous state governments. It is essentially the same as a sales tax but is applied not where a product or service was sold but where a merchant bought a product or service and then conv ...
on purchases made in the Garden State.
Corman was named as director of law for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority in April 1997, a position paying an annual salary of $95,000, as part of what ''The Record (Bergen County)
''The Record'' (also called ''The North Jersey Record'', ''The Bergen Record'', ''The Sunday Record'' (Sunday edition) and formerly ''The Bergen Evening Record'') is a newspaper in New Jersey, United States. Serving Bergen, Essex, Hudson and ...
'' described as "a parade of former Middlesex County officials who have landed lucrative jobs at the toll-road agency".
Corman is a judge with the Middlesex County Worker's Compensation Court, having been nominated by then-Governor Chris Christie
Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018.
Christie, who was born in N ...
in 2013.[Bell, Deborah]
"Christie Nominates Freeholder Director Christopher Rafano to NJ Superior Court Rafano is one of two Middlesex County men who have been picked by Gov. Chris Christie for NJ Superior Court slots."
Woodbridge, NJ Patch, January 29, 2013. Accessed December 24, 2019. "Christie also nominated a Republican candidate to the Superior Court. J. Randall Corman is an attorney and currently is employed as an administrative law judge. Corman, who served as a Sayreville councilman and director of law to the NJ Turnpike Authority, was elected in 1991 as the 19th District state senator in the anti-tax sentiment against then-Governor Jim Florio."
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corman, Randy
1960s births
Living people
New Jersey city council members
Republican Party New Jersey state senators
People from El Paso, Texas
People from Sayreville, New Jersey
Rutgers University alumni
Sayreville War Memorial High School alumni
New Jersey Turnpike Authority