Michael F. Adubato (September 15, 1934 – February 27, 1993) was an American Democratic Party politician who served nine consecutive terms, a total of 18 years, in 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 ...

from 1974 to 1992, representing the 28th Legislative District for four terms and then being shifted after redistricting to the 30th Legislative District where he served for an additional five terms.

Early life and education

Born in Newark, on September 15, 1934, Adubato graduated from Our Lady of Good Counsel High School. He attended both

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

and Jersey City State College (now

New Jersey City University New Jersey City University (NJCU) is a public university in Jersey City, New Jersey. Originally chartered in 1927, NJCU consists of the School of Business, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, and College of Professional Studies a ...

).Hernandez, Raymond
"Michael F. Adubato, 58, Ex-New Jersey Legislator"
''

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 ...

'', March 1, 1993. Accessed January 25, 2018. "He was born in Newark on Sept. 15, 1934, and attended Seton Hall University and Jersey City State College."

Election history

When the 40-district map for the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

was created in 1973, the 30th District was based in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

counties, and consisted of the

Ironbound The Ironbound is a neighborhood in the city of Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a large working-class multi-ethnic community, covering about . Historically, the area was called "Dutch Neck," "Down Neck," or simp ...

neighborhood and a portion of the North Ward of Newark, together with Belleville in Essex County, and

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places Australia * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin Canada * Inukjuak, Quebec, or "Port H ...

, East Newark, Kearny, and

Secaucus Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 22,181, an increase of 5,917 (+36.4%) from the 2010 census count of 16,264, which in turn reflected an in ...

in Hudson County. Adubato was elected together with running mate John F. Cali in 1973, and was re-elected together with him in 1975 and 1977. In 1979, Adubato was elected together with Republican

Anthony Imperiale Anthony M. Imperiale Sr. (July 10, 1931 – December 27, 1999) was a member of the New Jersey Legislature from Newark, New Jersey. Early life Anthony Michael Imperiale, Sr. was born on July 10, 1931, in Newark, New Jersey. He later served in th ...

, who had represented the district in 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 1974 to 1978 as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, while Cali came in third. In the 1981 redistricting following the

1980 United States census The 1980 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 226,545,805, an increase of 11.4% over the 203,184,772 persons enumerated during the 1970 census. It was the first ce ...

, Adubato was shifted to the 28th Legislative District which consisted entirely of Irvington and portions of Newark's North and West wards. Adubato was elected in the 28th District together with Democratic running mate

James Zangari James Zangari (March 30, 1929 – February 15, 2011) was an American politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from the 28th Legislative District from 1980 to 1996. Born and raised in Newark, Zangari served in Japan with the Un ...

in 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1989. Adubato did not run for a tenth term in 1991.

Assembly legislation

After Newark Mayor Kenneth A. Gibson and his city council approved a series of salary increases of up to 50% for the city's elected officials in July 1974 and after the Mayor and council refused to rescind the increases, Adubato led a group of fellow Assemblymembers to block a series of measures that had been under consideration for adoption by the Assembly that would have allowed the city of Newark to increase taxes and fees on income and other charges that would have brought the city $18 million in revenue. Adubato said that "the recent irresponsibility exhibited by the Newark City Council in raising their salaries substantially" had justified the move, while a city spokesperson argued that "the legislators are threatening to withhold $18‐million in special tax revenue from city residents" over raises that totaled $150,000 for elected officials and department heads. The bill was released after several city councilmembers met with the Taxation Committee and argued that the fiscal impact of the loss of revenue would be damaging to the city; several Assemblymembers opposed holding the bill "hostage" to Adubato's efforts to get the raises rescinded. With a

state income tax In addition to Federal government of the United States, federal Income tax in the United States, income tax collected by the United States, most individual U.S. states collect a state income tax. Some local governments also impose an income tax, ...

being implemented in 1976, Adubato argued that it was unfair for

Bergen County Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Essex County as part of the bills revenue sharing provisions, insisting that a greater share of the revenue should go to New Jersey's cities, which suffer most from the impacts of unemployment. In April 1977, Adubato introduced a bill, co-sponsored by 45 of the 80 Assembly members, that would put a referendum on the ballot asking voters to approve a

school voucher A school voucher, also called an education voucher in a voucher system, is a certificate of government funding for students at schools chosen by themselves or their parents. Funding is usually for a particular year, term, or semester. In some cou ...

plan under which parents would receive a voucher that could be used at any school of their choice, public or private, in an amount equal to the amount the state spends per pupil on education. Federal District Court judge Henry Curtis Meanor issued a February 1978 ruling that struck down the law, which permitted parents to deduct from their gross income up to $1,000 of tuition paid for each child attending a non-public school, the only such program in any U.S. state where income tax was assessed. Meanor ruled that the deduction was inconsistent with the protections in the

First Amendment to the United States Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents Federal government of the United States, Congress from making laws respecting an Establishment Clause, establishment of religion; prohibiting the Free Exercise Cla ...

. Adubato, sponsor of the section of the state tax code authorizing the deduction that was ruled unconstitutional and parent of three children who were attending Catholic schools, argued that "the public school systems in our country are a failure" with "a much better education in the private and parochial schools" and said that he would work to find some other way to pass legislation to reinstate the deduction. In July 1981, Adubato objected on the floor of the Assembly to the newly opened 20,000-seat

Brendan Byrne Arena Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor sports and concert venue located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. Since closing, ...

at the

Meadowlands Sports Complex The Meadowlands Sports Complex is a sports complex located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The facility is owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA). It is named for the New Jersey Meadowlands ...

being named after the sitting governor by what Adubato described as "a group of people appointed by Governor Byrne deciding to name the facility the Brendan T. Byrne Arena". Adubato registered his objections to the name saying that the name "idolizes, sainthoods and anoints a human being". An insurance agent by profession, Adubato was the sponsor of the Automobile Insurance Reform Act, a bill that eliminated the

assigned risk Assigned risk is a government-required method of providing insurance coverage to an individual by compelling insurance companies to service them when such companies would ordinarily not do so due to perceived risk of insuring the individual as a c ...

pool of 1.4 million drivers, more than 40% of the state's 3.3 million drivers, who had been rejected by their insurance companies and had been assigned to carriers. Under the terms of the bill signed by

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 ...

Thomas Kean Thomas Howard Kean ( ; born April 21, 1935) is an American politician, statesman, and academic administrator from the state of New Jersey. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, Kean served two terms as the 48th governor of New Jersey f ...

after being vetoed twice by his predecessor Brendan Byrne, these motorists would be covered by the Joint Underwriting Association starting in January 1984. A series of amendments impacting drivers and sponsored by Adubato passed both houses in January 1984, providing funding for the joint pool through a $1,000 surcharge per year for three years on drunk drivers, a $100 surcharge on those with DWI convictions to pay for added policing and a rejection of an across-the-board $90 surcharge assessed on all auto insurance coverage. Upon leaving the Assembly, he continued his involvement on insurance issues as an advisor to legislators on related matters.

Death

He died of a heart attack on February 27, 1993, at the age of 58 at

Clara Maass Medical Center Clara Maass Medical Center is a 342- bed hospital in Belleville, Essex County, New Jersey, United States, that is part of the RWJBarnabas Health RWJBarnabas Health is a hospital network, network of independent healthcare providers in New J ...

Belleville, New Jersey Belleville (French: "Belle ville" meaning "beautiful town") is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 38,222. an increase of 2,296 (+6.4%) from the 2010 ...

. Adubato's daughter Lisa was nominated by

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) ...

to serve as a judge in

New Jersey Superior Court The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts: under Article Six of the State Consti ...

.The Auditor
"Christie nominates an Adubato to the bench , The Auditor"
NJ Advance Media for

NJ.com NJ.com is a digital news content provider and website in New Jersey owned by Advance Publications. According to ''The New York Times'' in 2012, it was the largest provider of digital news in the state at the time. In 2018, comScore reports that ...

, June 28, 2015. Accessed January 25, 2018."Buried half way down the list was Cranford Deputy Mayor Lisa Adubato, who was one of eight people Christie nominated for the bench in Essex County, which has a severe judge shortage. Lisa Adubato is the daughter of the late Michael Adubato, a nine-term Democratic assemblyman and brother of Newark powerbroker Steve Adubato." His nephew,

Steve Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form ( hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen. Notable people A–D * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Abel (born 1970), New Zealand politician * Steve Adams (disambiguation) ...

, served the 20th District in the Assembly from 1984 to 1986; Michael and Steve Adubato became the only uncle and nephew to serve simultaneously in the legislature.

References

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Adubato, Michael F. 1934 births 1993 deaths New Jersey City University alumni Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Our Lady of Good Counsel High School (New Jersey) alumni Politicians from Newark, New Jersey Seton Hall University alumni 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature