Jack Ciattarelli

Jack M. Ciattarelli (born December 12, 1961)[1] is an American entrepreneur and politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2011 to 2018, representing the 16th Legislative District. He is a member of the Republican Party, and ran for Governor of New Jersey in the 2017 election, losing the primary election to Kim Guadagno, the Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey.[2] He has announced his intention to make another run for Governor in 2021 against incumbent Democratic Governor Phil Murphy, who defeated Guadagno in the 2017 general election.[3]

Jack Ciattarelli
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 16th district
In office December 5, 2011 – January 9, 2018
Preceded by	Peter J. Biondi
Succeeded by	Roy Freiman
Member of the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders
In office January 1, 2007 – November 23, 2011
Preceded by	Ken Scherer
Succeeded by	Mark Caliguire
Personal details
Born	December 12, 1961 Somerville, New Jersey, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Melinda Ciattarelli ​ (m. 1995)​
Children	4
Education	Seton Hall University (BS, MBA)

Early life

Ciattarelli was born in Somerville, New Jersey on December 12, 1961 and was raised in neighboring Raritan. His grandparents had immigrated to Raritan borough in the 1900s. He graduated from Seton Hall University with a B.S. degree in accounting and an M.B.A. degree in finance.[1][4]

Elected office

He served on the Raritan Borough Council from 1990 to 1995 and was the council president from 1991 until 1995. He was also elected to the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders from 2007 to November 2011 when he resigned to become an Assemblyman.[4][5]

In 2011, Ciattarelli ran for the open General Assembly seat in the 16th Legislative District, vacated by Denise Coyle, who chose not to run for re-election due to redistricting. On November 8, 2011, he and his running mate Peter J. Biondi defeated the Democratic candidates, Marie Corfield and Joe Camarota.[6] Biondi died two days after the election, and Ciattarelli was selected to fill out the remainder of his term. After stepping down from his freeholder position, he was sworn in on December 5, 2011. He was sworn into his full term on January 10, 2012.[7]

In the Assembly, Ciattarelli served on the Financial Institutions and Insurance and the Regulated Professions committees. He had previously served as an Assistant Republican Whip.[1]

In the 2017 Republican Party gubernatorial primary, Ciatterelli came in second, with 31% of the vote, behind eventual nominee Kim Guadagno, who had 47%.[8][9]

District 16

Each of the forty districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The other representatives from the 16th District for the 2016–2017 Legislative Session were:

• Senator Christopher Bateman (R)
• Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker (D)

Personal life

In addition to his legislative work, Ciattarelli also is the owner and publisher of Galen Publishing, L.L.C., a medical publishing company. He has formerly worked as a certified public accountant and was the co-founder of several medical journal publishing companies.[1][10] He was also an adjunct professor at Seton Hall from 1998 to 2001.[10]

He has resided in Hillsborough Township since 1998.[10] He is married to Melinda Ciattarelli and has four children.[11] Ciattarelli is also a coach for his children's sports and works as a manager for the Hillsborough Township Recreation Department.[10] He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2016 and revealed that he was cancer-free in March 2017.[12]

References

1. "Assemblyman Jack M. Ciattarelli". New Jersey Legislature. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
2. Johnson, Brent (September 29, 2016). "Ciattarelli set to become first Republican to enter 2017 N.J. governor's race". NJ.com. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
3. Steinberg, Alan (March 20, 2017). "Governor Jack Ciattarelli in 2021?". NJ.com. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
4. "Assistant Republican Whip Jack M. Ciattarelli". New Jersey Assembly Republicans. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
5. Paik, Eugene (November 23, 2011). "Somerset County freeholder resigns seat to focus on new role in N.J. Assembly". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
6. Brill, Douglas B. (November 9, 2011). "New Jersey 16th District election results: Republican sweep closer than expected". The Express-Times. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
7. "Turnover in N.J. Legislature is slight". Asbury Park Press. January 10, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
8. Nieto-Munoz, Sophie. "Despite strong run, Ciattarelli falls short of Republican nomination", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 14, 2017. Accessed November 12, 2017. "Many Democrats privately feared running a gubernatorial race against state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli.... But he was no match for Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who parlayed nearly eight years as Christie's second-in-command into an easy victory in the GOP primary Tuesday night.... The unofficial tallies with 98 percent of the vote in had Ciattarelli taking 31 percent of the vote and Guadagno with 47 percent."
9. Official List Candidates for Governor For Primary Election 06/06/2017 Election, New Jersey Department of State, June 28, 2017. Accessed November 12, 2017.
10. "Jack M. Ciattarelli's Assembly campaign website". Retrieved January 20, 2012.
11. https://www.jack4gov.com/about-me/
12. Johnson, Brent (March 1, 2017). "N.J. governor candidate Ciatarelli says he's cancer-free in attack on his foes". NJ.com. Retrieved November 12, 2017.

External links

• Assemblyman Jack M. Ciattarelli at the New Jersey Legislature
• Official campaign website
• Profile at Vote Smart