Donald DiFrancesco
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Donald Thomas DiFrancesco (born November 20, 1944) is a retired American
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
who served as the 51st
governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...
from 2001 to 2002. He succeeded
Christine Todd Whitman Christine Temple Whitman (; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush ...
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 The New Jersey Senate is 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 232,225 (2020 figure ...
from 1992 to 2002.


Education and early career

Born in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, DiFrancesco attended Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, where he was senior class president. He graduated in 1966 with a Bachelor's Degree from
Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...
in business, and was awarded a J.D. degree from Seton Hall University School of Law 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 serving nearly three years as Senate Minority Leader, S. Thomas Gagliano succeeded DiFrancesco as Leader on January 8, 1985. 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 acting governor when fellow Republican
Christine Todd Whitman Christine Temple Whitman (; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush ...
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 and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. 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 s ...
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 of the Democratic Party who served as the 52nd governor of New Jersey from 2002 until his resignation in 2004 amidst a sex scandal. McGreevey served in the New Jersey Genera ...
and Republican
Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous
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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' 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, who had only narrowly lost to Jon Corzine 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.


Controversies

The time DiFrancesco spent before, as acting Governor and since has been plagued with many controversies that were reported in various news publications. The New York Times reported that he was faulted on ethics in 1998 when he was township attorney for Scotch Plains. The New York Times also reported that in 1996, a prominent builder in New Jersey aided DiFrancesco by providing him with $225,000, to pay off an outstanding legal judgment. In 2001, while serving as Acting Governor, DiFrancesco's nominee for New Jersey Treasurer withdrew from consideration after reports emerged that she was fired from Citibank after being confronted with evidence that she had used her expense account to pay for thousands of dollars' worth of personal trips while having an extramarital affair with a co-worker in California. DiFrancesco was sued for sexual harassment by an employee of his law firm in 2007. The lawsuit was settled in 2008. In 2011, DiFrancesco settled with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, a fine of $5800 for $4650 after returning the excess amounts of two illegal campaign contributions. In 2017, DiFrancesco resigned from his position as Chair of University Hospital in Newark after it was revealed that he had hired a friend for an no-show job.


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.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 Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...
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 Politics of the United States, political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 U.S. state, states, Territories of the United States, territories ...
* , - , - , - , - , - {{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 Politicians from Union County, New Jersey New Jersey Republicans 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 people of Italian descent 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature