Thomas H. Paterniti (February 4, 1929 – May 13, 2017) was an American dentist and

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 as

Mayor of Edison, New Jersey List of Mayors of Raritan Township and Edison Township, New Jersey Edison is a township located in Middlesex County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan Valley region, Ediso ...

, on two separate tenures and in both houses of the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

, where he represented the 18th Legislative District. He served four terms 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 for ...

, from 1980 to 1988, followed by a single term 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, ...

, from 1988 to 1992.

Biography

Paterniti was born on February 4, 1929, in

Perth Amboy, New Jersey Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,4 ...

. A graduate of Most Holy Rosary School in Perth Amboy and

Perth Amboy High School Perth Amboy High School (or PAHS) is a four-year comprehensive high school, comprehensive community state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school which serves students in ninth grade, ninth through twelfth grades fro ...

, he served two years in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1946 to 1948. After working various trades, he graduated from

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a 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 oldest diocesan un ...

with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in chemistry and from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

with a Doctorate of Dental Surgery. He maintained a dental office in

Metuchen Metuchen ( ) is a suburban Borough (New Jersey), borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The borough is a commuter town of New York City, located in the heart of the Raritan River, Raritan Valley reg ...

from 1957 to 2016 and also practiced at JFK Medical Center. He served as Mayor of Edison for a single term from 1974 to 1978. He first won election to the General Assembly in 1979 together with fellow Democrat

James Bornheimer James W. Bornheimer Jr. (October 19, 1933 – October 9, 1993) was an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1972 to 1982 and in the New Jersey Senate from 1982 to 1984. Born in New Brunswick, h ...

. After Bornheimer ran successfully for the district's Senate seat, Paterniti and Frank M. Pelly won election in 1981, 1983 and 1985. In 1985, Paterniti introduced legislation in the Assembly that would require owners of adult bookstores to maintain a list of the names and addresses of their customers, stating that "it has been reported that homosexual activity has taken place at adult bookstores" and that the list could be used to help control the spread of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

by discouraging homosexual activity at these stores. Under the terms of Paterniti's bill, store owners would be held liable if individuals contracted AIDS as a result of sexual activity on the premises. In the 1987 election, Paterniti ran for the New Jersey Senate, defeating incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Peter P. Garibaldi Peter P. Garibaldi (September 12, 1931 – August 20, 2023) was an American politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1968 to 1974 and in the New Jersey Senate from 1984 to 1988. Garibaldi was elected mayor of Monroe Township ...

59.2% to 40.8%. In the campaign against Garibaldi, Paterniti argued that his opponent was

double dipping A dual mandate is the practice in which elected officials serve in more than one elected or other public position simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain and ''cumul des mandats'' in France; not to be confused ...

, holding a seat in the Senate as well as serving as mayor of Monroe Township. In 1989, Paterniti was elected as

, following the death of Anthony M. Yelencsics in April 1989.Strum, Charles
"New Jersey Politicians Serve Public, Twice"
''

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 ...

'', December 27, 1992. Accessed July 5, 2010. He served one year from January 1990 to 1991 when he stepped down to focus on his upcoming Senate campaign. In an October 1990 article, ''

'' had cited local criticism of Paterniti for holding onto three jobs simultaneously, as mayor and State Senator, while still maintaining an active dental practice. Paterniti insisted that there was no issue in his holding the multiple jobs, citing "the art of delegation and the ability to structure time properly". In the June 1991 primaries, Paterniti lost the Democratic state senate nomination to lawyer Harry Pozycki of Metuchen, who in turn lost the general election to Republican

Jack Sinagra Jack G. Sinagra (March 18, 1950 – August 26, 2013) was an American Republican Party politician who was the Mayor of East Brunswick, New Jersey and served in the New Jersey Senate from 1992 to 2001, where he represented the 18th Legislative D ...

.Staff
"ELECTION FOCUS SHIFTS TO NOVEMBER"
''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', June 6, 1991. Accessed July 5, 2010. Paterniti ran for the Assembly in 1993 together with running mate Matthew Vaughn, losing to incumbent Republicans

Harriet E. Derman Harriet E. Derman (born November 4, 1943) is an American lawyer and Republican Party politician who was elected to two terms in the New Jersey General Assembly, where she represented the 18th Legislative District from 1992 to 1996. She later se ...

and Jeffrey A. Warsh. In 1997, Paterniti ran for the Senate again, losing to Sinagra by a margin of 58.5%-41.5%. From 1970 to 1978, and again from 1992 to 2015, Paterniti served as chairman of the Edison Democratic Organization. Paterniti died on May 13, 2017, at JFK Medical Center at age 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paterniti, Thomas H. 1929 births 2017 deaths American dentists Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Democratic Party New Jersey state senators Politicians from Perth Amboy, New Jersey Mayors of Edison, New Jersey Perth Amboy High School alumni Seton Hall University alumni University of Maryland, College Park alumni 20th-century dentists