John B. Paolella

John B. Paolella
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 38th district
In office
January 12, 1982 – January 12, 1984
Preceded byJohn Skevin
Succeeded byPaul Contillo
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 38th district
In office
January 8, 1980 – January 12, 1982
Preceded byRobert Burns
Paul Contillo
Succeeded byPat Schuber
Personal details
Born (1949-02-14) February 14, 1949 (age 75)
Hackensack, New Jersey
Political partyRepublican
Residence(s)Bay Head, New Jersey
formerly Hackensack, New Jersey
Alma materHarvard University
Seton Hall University (J.D.)

John B. Paolella (born February 14, 1949) is an American Republican Party politician who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature from the 38th district– one term in the New Jersey General Assembly and one term in the New Jersey Senate.

Born in Hackensack on February 14, 1949, Paolella attended Bergen Catholic High School and graduated from Harvard University in 1971. He received a J.D. degree from Seton Hall University School of Law and was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1976. He served as a legal advisor to then-Assemblyman W. Cary Edwards.[1]

In his first bid for the Legislature, Paolella and Republican running mate Louis F. Kosco defeated incumbent Democratic Assemblymen Robert Burns and Paul Contillo.[2] After serving one term there, Paolella ran for the Senate in 1981 and defeated incumbent John Skevin.[3] Paolella served a two-year term in the Senate before being defeated for reelection in 1983 by Contillo[4] who went on to serve for eight more years in the Senate and a second brief stint in the Assembly in 2013.

Paolella later moved to Bay Head and got involved in local politics there. In 2014, running on a Republican ticket with fellow Bergen County transplant Steve Lonegan, he ran for a seat on the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders seeking to defeat long-time incumbent Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari.[5] Vicari ultimately defeated Paolella nearly 76%–24%.[6]

  1. ^ Fitzgerald, J. A. (1983). Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey. Vol. 200. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  2. ^ "Results of the General Election Held on November 6, 1979" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 28, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  3. ^ "Candidates for the Offices of State Senate and General Assembly" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  4. ^ "Candidates for the Offices of State Senate and General Assembly" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  5. ^ "3rd Congressional District race among several primary contests". Burlington County Times. March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  6. ^ Nee, Daniel (June 3, 2014). "No Upsets in Ocean County Freeholder Primaries". Patch Media. Retrieved March 16, 2019.