Carmine DeSopo is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politician who served one term in the New Jersey General Assembly

New Jersey General Assembly

The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...

, from 1996 to 1998, where he represented the 7th Legislative District

7th Legislative District (New Jersey)

New Jersey's 7th Legislative District is one of 40 in the state, covering the Burlington County municipalities of Beverly City, Burlington City, Burlington Township, Cinnaminson Township, Delanco Township, Delran Township, Edgewater Park Township, Florence Township, Maple Shade Township, Mount...

.

Education

DeSopo earned bachelor's degree in 1964 and a master's degree in 1967, both with a major in education, at William Paterson College

William Paterson University

William Paterson University is a comprehensive public institution located in Wayne, New Jersey serving nearly 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students through five colleges: , , , , and ....

 in Wayne, New Jersey

Wayne, New Jersey

Wayne is a Township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, located less than from midtown Manhattan. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township had a total population of 54,069....

. He earned a Ph.D.

Ph.D.

A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 in administration from Nova University

Nova Southeastern University

Nova Southeastern University, commonly referred to as NSU or Nova, is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian, research university located in Broward County, Florida, with its main campus in the town of Davie...

. He was the long-time Superintendent of the Burlington County Special Services School District. William Paterson University recognized DeSopo as one of its Distinguished Alumni Award honorees in 1975.

Superintendent

While DeSopo was superintendent, a group of emotionally and physically disabled students from the Burlington County Special Services School District

Burlington County Special Services School District

The Burlington County Special Services School District is a school district in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States whose special schools offer educational and therapeutic services for students of elementary school age who have emotional of physical disabilities that cannot be addressed by...

 marched in the inaugural parade for President Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

. The band also marched in the parade in Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...

 for the 1993 Miss America pageant. Saying that he "didn't even know it was a paying job" when he was elected to the Assembly, DeSopo announced in 1996 that he would donate his entire $35,000 annual salary from the Assembly to the school district's marching band and to a camp the district runs for adult graduates. Having been responsible for the creation of the district, DeSopo announced in March 2001 that he was retiring at the end of the school year from his position as superintendent after 38 years in the field of education.

General Assembly

In the 1995 general election, DeSopo and Republican running mate Diane Allen were elected, defeating Democratic incumbent Steven M. Petrillo and his running mate, newcomer Joseph P. Dugan. The $1.1 million spent in the 1995 Assembly race made it the first in New Jersey to cross the $1 million spending mark, as reported in the results of a study conducted by the Center for the Analysis of Public Issues of Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...

that analyzed campaign finance reports from candidates for all 80 Assembly seats.

DeSopo served in the General Assembly as Vice-Chair of the Community Services Committee and as a member of the Judiciary Committee.