Carmine Savino

Carmine F. Savino Jr. (November 11, 1911 – November 19, 1993) was an American lawyer, newspaper editor and Republican Party politician who represented Bergen County before being appointed to serve on the state court of tax appeals. He spent six decades as an editor at a group of local newspapers.

Born and raised in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, Savino lived there his entire life. His father served as the township's mayor. He graduated from Lyndhurst High School, Rutgers University and John Marshall Law School. After passing the state bar exam, he established a law practice in his hometown.O'Shea, Jack
"Carmine Savino: Leader editor, judge, legislator passes"
''The Commercial Leader of Lyndhurst'', November 24, 1993. Accessed November 10, 2021. "Mr. Savino was born in Lyndhurst and lived in the Township all his life. He was a member of the first graduating class at Lyndhurst High School. He graduated from Rutgers University, received his law degree from John Marshall Law School and passed his Bar examination in 1939, opening his law office that year at 251 Ridge Road, where he practiced throughout his professional life."

Savino was elected as a Republican and served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1954 until 1964.

In 1954, Savino and Charles W. Kraus won a special election to fill the two seats in the Assembly that had been vacated by Lawrence Cavanto (who had been appointed as a judge) and Wilma Marggraff (who went on to become the first woman elected as a Bergen County Freeholder). He won his first full term in the 1955 general election, as the Republicans swept Bergen County's six seats in the Assembly, with Savino winning alongside his running mates Charles W. Kraus, Edmund E. Field Jr., Pierce H. Deamer Jr., Arthur Vervaet and Earl A. Maryatt. He left office in the legislature after being appointed to serve on the Board of Tax Appeals.Topousis, Tom
"Carmine Savino Jr., 81; Editor of 4 Bergen newspapers"
''The Record'', November 20, 1993. Accessed November 10, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Carmine F. Savino Jr., the longtime editor of four community newspapers in southern Bergen County and a former assemblyman and county judge, died Friday. He was 81. Mr. Savino was editor of the Lyndhurst-based Leader Newspapers for 60 years, a position he held until his death..... Elected to the Assembly in 1954, Mr. Savino served 10 years and rose to the rank of minority leader for the Republican Party. In 1964, he was appointed judge on the state Board of Tax Appeals where he served until 1977."

After Governor of New Jersey Robert B. Meyner vetoed in July 1955 a bill that would have given salary increases to state court judges because of the resulting increases in pension costs to the state, Savino argued that the legislature should override the veto, saying that "It is shameful that New Jersey's judges continue to be the victims of political maneuvering."

In 1958, Savino proposed introducing legislation under which local school districts would be eliminated, with schools placed under county control and partially funded with a statewide sales tax rate of three percent that would provide more equal funding to schools regardless of the property tax base in each community; the estimated $250 million that would be raised by the proposed sales tax would be enough to cut local property taxes in half.

Savino died in 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Savino, Carmine
1911 births
1993 deaths
American people of Italian descent
Lyndhurst High School alumni
Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly
Lawyers from Bergen County, New Jersey
People from Lyndhurst, New Jersey
Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey
Rutgers University alumni
20th-century American lawyers
20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature