Nicholas R. Felice (February 5, 1927 – August 24, 2021) was an American Republican Party politician who represented the 40th Legislative District 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 1982 to 2002, in addition to serving as mayor of Fair Lawn. After graduating from

Passaic High School Passaic High School is a four-year community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Passaic, in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Passaic City School District. The school ...

, Felice earned his undergraduate degree from

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University () is a private university with its main campuses in New Jersey, located in Madison / Florham Park and in Teaneck / Hackensack. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University offers more than 100 degree prog ...

with a major in Electrical Engineering. He 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 1947 and saw duty in the

Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

as a Technical Sergeant.,

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 ...

. Accessed June 2, 2010. A full-time legislator, Felice served in his native Fair Lawn on its Planning Board from 1965 to 1967 and again from 1972 to 1975, on both the Health Advisory Board and Youth Advisory Board from 1967 to 1975, and on the Local Assistance Board from 1965 to 1975. He was elected to the Fair Lawn Borough Council, serving from 1967 to 1972, as Mayor from 1972 to 1974 and then as Deputy Mayor in 1974 and 1975. He was elected to the Assembly in 1983 together with Republican Walter M. D. Kern, with the pair re-elected in 1985 and 1987. He won re-election in 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999 with David C. Russo as his running mate. Felice served in the General Assembly from 1982 to 2002, with posts as Assistant Majority Leader from 1986 to 1989, as Assistant Minority Leader in 1990 and 1991, as Deputy Speaker from 1992 to 1995 and as Speaker Pro Tempore starting in 1996. He served as Chair of the Health Committee, on the Environment Committee and on the Legislative Services Commission. In redistricting following the 2001 Census, Fair Lawn was relocated to the 38th Legislative District. In a split decision, Republican incumbent Rose Marie Heck won re-election with 27,055 votes (25.33% of the total) and Democrat

Matt Ahearn Matthew Ahearn is an American politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly, representing the 38th legislative district from 2002 to 2004. Ahearn represented a district which covers an area between the Passaic and Hudson Rivers in s ...

with 26,919 votes (25.20%) took the second seat. Democrat Kay Nest came in third with 26,587 votes (24.89%) and Felice was also out of the money with 26,252 votes (24.58%). After leaving the Assembly, Felice was named in 2001 as legislative liaison to the

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) is a regulatory authority in New Jersey "with authority to oversee the regulated utilities, which in turn provide critical services such as natural gas, electricity, water, telecommunications and c ...

, a post with an $85,000 annual salary.Stainton, Lilo H
"Well-paying jobs boost pensions for ex-lawmakers"
''

Asbury Park Press The ''Asbury Park Press'', formerly known as the ''Shore Press'', ''Daily Press'', ''Asbury Park Daily Press'', and ''Asbury Park Evening Press'', is the third largest daily newspaper in the state of New Jersey. Established in 1879, it has been o ...

'', September 25, 2003. Accessed June 2, 2010. Then a resident of Mahwah, Felice died on August 24, 2021."Nicholas Felice"
''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * The Record (Fear album), ''The Record'' (Fear album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Record (Boygenius album), ''The Record'' (Boygenius album), a 2023 studio album by the indie rock supe ...

'', August 26, 2021. Accessed August 26, 2021. "Mahwah - Nicholas R. Felice, 94, of Mahwah passed away on August 24, 2021. Formerly of Fair Lawn, born in Passaic in 1927, Nick is predeceased by his wife of 64 years, Vivian C. (formerly Micciche), his three sons, wives and grandchildren"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Felice, Nicholas 1927 births 2021 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Fairleigh Dickinson University alumni Mayors of places in New Jersey New Jersey city council members Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Passaic High School alumni People from Fair Lawn, New Jersey People from Mahwah, New Jersey Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey United States Army non-commissioned officers 20th-century mayors of places in New Jersey 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature