John Dimon

January 24, 2009 - 9:21am

INSIDE EDGE

25% of Senate entered through special election

By Wally Edge

Raymond Lesniak moved up to the Senate in 1983 after John Gregorio's criminal conviction.

After today's special election convention in District 23, a full one-quarter of the Senate will have entered the upper house by way of a special election: Raymond Lesniak (1983), Ronald Rice (1986), John Girgenti (1990), Robert Singer (1993), Thomas Kean, Jr. (2003), Paul Sarlo (2003), Loretta Weinberg (2005), Sandra Cunningham (2007), and James Beach (2009). An eleventh Senator, Kevin O'Toole, initially served in the Senate in 2001 after winning a special election convention; he later returned to the Assembly and won a Senate seat in November 2007.

Lesniak replaced John Gregorio, who left the Senate following his criminal conviction. Rice, Girgenti and Singer were elected following the deaths of Senators John Caufield, Frank Graves and John Dimon, respectively. Kean took the seat of Richard Bagger, who resigned to concentrate on his career at Pfizer. Sarlo became a Senator when the incumbent, Garry Furnari, was appointed to serve as a Superior Court Judge. Weinberg won the seat of Byron Baer, who resigned for health reasons. Cunningham replaced Joseph Doria, who resigned to become state Community Affairs Commissioner. Beach, the most recent addition to the Senate won a special election convention after John Adler was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

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