Joseph Minish
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Joseph George Minish (September 1, 1916 – November 24, 2007) was an American Democratic Party
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 ...
from
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
who represented in the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
.


Early life

Born in
Throop, Pennsylvania Throop is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States, adjoining Scranton. Formerly, coal mining and silk manufacturing provided employment for the people of Throop, who numbered 2,204 in 1900 and 5,133 in 1910. In 1940, 7,382 p ...
, Minish was the son of a coal miner, George Joseph Minish (1894–1932). His grandfather, Vincenzo "James" Minisci (1860–1920), emigrated to the United States from
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
in 1886. His mother, Angeline Nardozzi Minish (1898-1954), emigrated to the United States from Italy as an infant. Minish had two brothers: James Minish (1920–1928) and Francis X. Minish (1926–2009); and three sisters: Pauline Minish LaBelle (1918-2001); Mary Minish Mecca (1921–2000); and Lena Minish Mecca (1923–1994). His brothers-in-law, Charles and James Mecca, were brothers. He graduated
Dunmore High School Dunmore High School is the secondary education, public school for the borough of Dunmore, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Dunmore School District. Dunmore High School is located at 300 West Warren Street. According to the National Center for E ...
in 1935, and served in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
from 1945 to 1946.


Labor Leader

Minish spent his early career in
organized labor The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...
. He was the executive secretary of the Essex-West Hudson Council, Congress of Industrial Organizations, from 1954 to 1960, and the executive director of the Essex-West Industrial Union Council, AFL-CIO, from 1960 to 1962.


Political career

In 1962, seven-term Democratic U.S. Rep.
Hugh Joseph Addonizio Hugh Joseph Addonizio (January 31, 1914 – February 2, 1981) was an American Democratic Party politician who was sentenced to prison for corruption. He was the 33rd Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, from 1962 to 1970, and a U.S. Congressman from ...
gave up his
Essex County, New Jersey Essex County is located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey, and is one of the centrally located counties in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the county was the state's second-most populous county,< ...
–based House seat to run for
Mayor of Newark The mayor of Newark is the head of the executive branch of government of Newark, New Jersey, United States. The mayor has the duty to enforce the municipal charter and ordinances; prepare the annual budget; appoint deputy mayors, department hea ...
. Essex County Democratic leaders picked the 46-year-old Minish to defend the seat, which was considered to be politically competitive, especially in the mid-term election of President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
. The district included tenements and low-cost housing in
Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
, as well as wealthy suburbs like
South Orange South Orange is a historic suburban village located in Essex County, New Jersey. It was formally known as the Township of South Orange Village from October 1978 until April 25, 2024. As of the 2020 United States census, the village populatio ...
and West Orange. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary. In the general election, he faced Republican
Frank A. Palmieri Frank, FRANK, or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a Germanic people in late Roman times * Franks, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crus ...
, a lawyer who had won 36% of the vote against Addonizio in 1960. Labor leaders rallied behind Minish, who as a first-time candidate pledged to support the Kennedy Administration. His campaign platform included advocacy of "Federal aid for education for construction and teacher salaries; extension of the Social Security Act to provide medical care for the aged; 'long-term loans and technical assistance to emerging nations; and the establishment of a cabinet-level Department of Urban Affairs." Minish won by a large margin, 48,102 (59.45%) to 30,244 (37.28%) for Palmieri. Minish spent 22 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, winning re-election easily. In 1964, he beat William L. Stubbs, who had been the first African American to win a major party nomination for Congress in New Jersey. He beat: attorney Leonard Felzenberg in 1966; George M. Wallhauser, Jr., the son of a former Republican congressman, in 1968; businessman James Shue, the father of actors
Elisabeth Shue Elisabeth Shue (born October 6, 1963) is an American actress. She has starred in films such as '' The Karate Kid'' (1984), '' Adventures in Babysitting'' (1987), ''Cocktail'' (1988), ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989), '' Back to the Future P ...
and
Andrew Shue Andrew Shue (born February 20, 1967) is an American actor, known for his role as Billy Campbell on the television series ''Melrose Place'' (1992–1999). Shue played soccer professionally for several years. He co-founded and served on the board ...
. in 1970; and in his first seriously contested re-election bid, former State Senator Milton Waldor in 1972. Later, easily defeated attorney William Grant in 1974; former Essex County Young Republican Chairman Charles Poekel in 1976; businessman Julius George Feld in 1978; conservative activist Bob Davis in 1980; and businessman Rowley (Rey) Reddington in 1982. As a Congressman, Minish served on the House Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee, and was the Chairman of the Subcommittee on General Oversight. The Newark Star-Ledger, which covered Minish's entire political career, said that he was a staunch party loyalist and supporter of organized labor who ran a strong constituent service operation but had no real impact on legislation. Minish was a somewhat conservative Democrat by New Jersey standards. He drew mediocre ratings from civil liberties groups, supported the Vietnam War, and opposed campaign finance reform and legalized abortion. Minish was described as a low-key Democrat with few accomplishments. During his two decades in the House, Minish was a supporter of big financial institutions and received considerable campaign contributions from the banking industry. He won some headlines for criticizing profiteering by defense contractors and accusing natural gas producers of price gauging. In early 1984, a court-ordered redrawing of New Jersey's congressional districts radically altered Minish's district. Most of the Democratic-leaning areas were cut out, replaced with heavily Republican areas to the west—most notably, most of Morris County, one of the most Republican counties in the state. Minish joked that the new map pushed his district so far to the west that he might as well be a congressman from
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. Although Minish now found himself in one of the most Republican districts in the Northeast, he opted to run for reelection in the reconfigured 11th. He lost, 133,662 (56%) to 106,038 (44%) to
State Assembly State Assembly is the name given to various legislatures, especially lower houses or full legislatures in states in federal systems of government. Channel Islands States Assembly is the name of the legislature of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Baili ...
Minority Leader and Morris County resident
Dean Gallo Dean Anderson Gallo (November 23, 1935 – November 6, 1994) was an American politician and businessman who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing from 1985 until his death from prostate cancer in Denville ...
. Minish blamed his loss on redistricting that made his district so heavily Republican that "I'm not sure the good Lord could have survived." He also blamed special interest groups who had long lobbied against him. "If you measure a man by his enemies, I'm pleased to have these guys as my enemies. They're no good for the country. They're greedy," Minish said in a
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 ...
post-election interview. Proving just how Republican this district now was, a Democrat would not cross the 40 percent mark again for 34 years, until
Mikie Sherrill Rebecca Michelle "Mikie" Sherrill ( ; born January 19, 1972) is an American politician, attorney, former naval officer, and former federal prosecutor serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. The district includes a swath of suburban a ...
reclaimed the seat for the Democrats in 2018.


Later life

Minish was a longtime resident of
West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from t ...
. His wife, Thesesa V. LaCapra (15 June 1920 – 24 January 1997), was the daughter of Luigi (Louis) LaCapra (1883-1931) and Lucy Vaccaro LaCapra (1898-1938), who were both immigrants from Italy. His son, George Joseph Minish (1944-1999), sought the Democratic nomination for the New Jersey State Assembly in 1973. He was not backed by the Essex County Democratic Party leadership and was defeated in the primary by
Richard Codey Richard James Codey (born November 27, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 53rd governor of New Jersey from 2004 to 2006. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the New Jersey Senate from 1982 to 2024 and as the President ...
and Eldridge Hawkins. Another son, James Minish, serves as Executive Vice President of Facilities at
New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) is an independent authority established by the State of New Jersey in 1971 to oversee the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Originally consisting of Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack in ...
. A grandson, Joseph Minish, was hired as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey in 2004 by U.S. Attorney
Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...
. The Joseph G. Minish Passaic River Waterfront and Historic Area in Newark was dedicated in 2008. By executive order of
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 ...
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 f ...
, United States and New Jersey flags were flown at half-staff at all state departments, offices and agencies on December 5, 2007, "to honor the memory and the passing of Representative Minish".Governor Corzine Orders Flags to Fly at Half-Staff to Honor United States Representative Joseph George Minish
,
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 ...
press release, dated December 4, 2007.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Minish, Joseph 1916 births 2007 deaths Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey People from West Orange, New Jersey United States Army soldiers 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives