Donald Thomas DiFrancesco (born November 20, 1944) is a retired American
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
who served as the 51st
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 ...
from 2001 to 2002. He succeeded
Christine Todd Whitman after her resignation to become Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency. A member of the
Republican Party, DiFrancesco previously was President of the
New Jersey Senate from 1992 to 2002.
Education and early career
Born in
Scotch Plains, New Jersey, DiFrancesco attended
Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School
Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School (or SPFHS) is a comprehensive regional four-year public high school in Union County, New Jersey, United States, which serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from the Township of Scotch Plains and the ...
, where he was senior class president. He graduated in 1966 with a Bachelor's Degree from
Penn State University in business, and was awarded a
J.D. degree from
Seton Hall University School of Law
Seton Hall University School of Law is the law school of Seton Hall University, and is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall Law is the only private law school in New Jersey, and, according to the ''U.S. News & World Report'' rankin ...
in 1969. He served as Scotch Plains Municipal Attorney.
New Jersey Legislature
DiFrancesco was elected to 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 ...
in 1975. He won a contested Republican primary, defeating former Assemblyman
Arthur Manner by 1,067 votes. He defeated incumbent Democratic Assemblywoman
Betty Wilson (New Jersey politician) by 2,387 votes. He was re-elected in 1977 by a margin of 4,709 votes.
DiFrancsco won a 1979 special election for State Senator when the Republican incumbent,
Peter J. McDonough resigned. He defeated his running mate, Assemblyman
William J. Maguire at the Union County Republican Convention; in general election, he defeated Springfield Mayor Joanne Rajoppi by 6,917 votes. He was re-elected in 1981, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1993 and 1997.
DiFrancesco ran for Senate Minority Leader after the 1981 elections, eschewing the traditional rotation of leadership posts. He defeated
James P. Vreeland (R-Towaco), who had served as Assistant Minority Leader during the previous session. DiFrancesco's attempt to win GOP control of the upper house in 1983 was unsuccessful. After Republicans won a majority of seats in the 1991 election, DiFrancesco used a similar strategy and beat the sitting Minority Leader,
John H. Dorsey, to win the Senate presidency.
Governor
DiFrancesco, a state senator representing the Scotch Plains area, became governor when fellow Republican
Christine Todd Whitman resigned from office to join the administration of newly elected President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
.
At the time of Whitman's resignation, the
New Jersey 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 st ...
stipulated that the Senate president retains that position while also serving as acting governor. This made DiFrancesco, in his own words, the most powerful New Jersey governor ever (and perhaps the most powerful governor ever) because he was the leader of both the State Senate and executive branch simultaneously. This distinction was shared by later acting governors
Robert E. Littell,
John O. Bennett and
Richard Codey.
DiFrancesco's title was officially Acting Governor until it was changed retroactively by legislation passed on January 10, 2006, which classified anyone who, after January 1, 2001, acted as governor for longer than 180 days as a full governor.
2001 election
DiFrancesco initially planned to run for a full term as governor in
the 2001 election. Democratic
Woodbridge Mayor
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 ...
and Republican
Jersey City Mayor
Bret Schundler also sought the governorship. Polls showed DiFrancesco with a commanding lead over the more conservative Schundler in the primary, but trailing McGreevey (although performing better against him than Schundler) with a large number of undecided voters. DiFrancesco abruptly withdrew from the race in April 2001 after a number of unfavorable news stories emerged concerning his past legal and business dealings. A report in ''
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 d ...
'' suggested that the media criticism took a heavy toll on DiFrancesco, who had never before been subjected to the intense scrutiny of a statewide campaign, and his family, ultimately prompting his withdrawal. Under New Jersey law, a candidate can designate a replacement to appear on the ballot in the event of his/her withdrawal. DiFrancesco designated former Representative
Bob Franks
Robert Douglas Franks (September 21, 1951 – April 9, 2010) was an American Republican politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New Jersey.
Early life
Franks was born on September 21, 1951, in Hackensack, New Jersey, the son of Nor ...
, who had only narrowly lost to
Jon Corzine
Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...
in a 2000 Senate race despite being massively outspent by Corzine in a year in which Democrats gained four seats in the Senate. However, despite receiving widespread support from the New Jersey Republican establishment, Franks was soundly defeated by Schundler in the Republican primary, who went on to lose to McGreevey in the general election by a wide margin.
Approval ratings
An August 7, 2001,
Quinnipiac University Polling Institute poll showed Donald DiFrancesco's approval ratings at 54%, but what was remarkable about that poll is that it showed he had a 48% approval rating among Democrats.
Current activities
DiFrancesco presently serves on the
Commerce Bancorp board of directors and is a partner in a law firm. He resides with his wife and children in
Warren Township, New Jersey
Warren Township is a township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. The township is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the much larger New York metropolitan area, located within the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United State ...
.
[Coelho, Frank]
"Warren Township OKs design concept for 9-11 Memorial"
''Independent Press'', August 19, 2010. Accessed October 21, 2015. "Heading the effort to collect donations will be ex-New Jersey Governor and current township resident, Donald DiFrancesco."
In August 2011, there was a feud between New Jersey Governor
Christie and New York City mayor
Michael Bloomberg over whether DiFrancesco would be invited to the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks ceremony in Lower Manhattan, since DiFrancesco was governor during the attacks.
Notes
References
External links
New Jersey Governor Donald T. DiFrancesco National Governors Association
The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Difrancesco, Donald
1944 births
Living people
Commerce Bancorp
Republican Party governors of New Jersey
Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly
Republican Party New Jersey state senators
People from Scotch Plains, New Jersey
Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School alumni
People from Warren Township, New Jersey
Smeal College of Business alumni
Presidents of the New Jersey Senate
Seton Hall University School of Law alumni
American politicians of Italian descent