Kevin J. O'Toole
Encyclopedia
Kevin J. O'Toole is an American Republican Party
politician
, who serves in the New Jersey
Senate
. O'Toole represents the 40th legislative district, which consists of parts of Bergen
, Essex
and Passaic
counties.
O'Toole was elected to the Assembly in 1995 and re-elected five times. He served in the Senate from May 2001 to January 2002, and was elected to the Senate again on November 6, 2007. O'Toole serves in the Senate on the Budget and Appropriations Committee and on the Senate Judiciary Government Committee. He also serves as the Senate Minority Whip. For a few minutes, on January 12, 2010, O'Toole was named temporary President of the New Jersey Senate
, by Nia Gill.
to an Irish American
father and Korea
n mother who met during the Korean War
. He graduated from Cedar Grove High School and earned a B.A.
in Political Science / Public Administration and a J.D.
in 1989 from Seton Hall University
. He later passed the bar exam in 1989 and served a clerk
ship in the office of the State Attorney General
.
At the age of twenty five, O'Toole began is political career by serving on the Cedar Grove
Township Council from 1989 to 1996. He then was elected as its Mayor from 1990 to 1991, 1993 to 1994 and from 1995 to 1996. O'Toole was later elected as Chairman of the Essex County
Republican
Committee from 1997–present.
In 1995, O'Toole was elected into the General Assembly
, the lower house
of the New Jersey State Legislature, representing the 21st Legislative District
. He was appointed as the Assembly's Deputy Republican Leader from 2004 to 2008 and was the Assistant Majority Leader from 1998 to 2001. O'Toole was briefly appointed to the State Senate in 2001, where he served for eight months before redistricting forced him into a different legislative district.
In 2007, O'Toole defeated Democrat John Zunic to win election to the New Jersey Senate
seat in the 40th Legislative District, filling the seat vacated by Henry McNamara
, a fellow Republican who had represented the district since 1985. O'Toole's running mates David C. Russo
and Scott Rumana
also won election.
By profession, O'Toole is an attorney with the firm of O'Toole Fernandez Weiner Vanlieu LLC. Senator O'Toole and his wife, Bethany, have two children, Kevin, Jr., and Ryan Marie.
and for treatment of breast and cervical cancer, preserve the state's drinking water supply through the preservation of Sterling Forest
, and create more government transparency.
In the state legislature, O'Toole has been a proponent of ethics reform in New Jersey government. He was the original sponsor of legislation creating pension reform in New Jersey. He has sponsored legislation to streamline government, promote education, protect the environment, and lower property taxes.
O'Toole was one of the primary sponsors of pre-paid college education expense program (529 college savings plan) and legislation that would prohibit campaign contributions from vendors who have government contracts.
and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly
. The other representatives from the 40th District for the 2010-11 Legislative Session are:
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
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, who serves in the New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
Senate
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
. O'Toole represents the 40th legislative district, which consists of parts of Bergen
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
, Essex
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...
and Passaic
Passaic County, New Jersey
Passaic County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 501,226. Its county seat is Paterson...
counties.
O'Toole was elected to the Assembly in 1995 and re-elected five times. He served in the Senate from May 2001 to January 2002, and was elected to the Senate again on November 6, 2007. O'Toole serves in the Senate on the Budget and Appropriations Committee and on the Senate Judiciary Government Committee. He also serves as the Senate Minority Whip. For a few minutes, on January 12, 2010, O'Toole was named temporary President of the New Jersey Senate
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
, by Nia Gill.
Early life and career
O'Toole was born in Cedar Grove, New JerseyCedar Grove, New Jersey
-Climate:Cedar Grove has a humid subtropical climate, with warm/hot humid summers and cool/cold winters. The climate is slightly colder overall during the summer than in New York City because there is no urban heat island effect....
to an Irish American
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
father and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n mother who met during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. He graduated from Cedar Grove High School and earned a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Political Science / Public Administration and a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1989 from Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...
. He later passed the bar exam in 1989 and served a clerk
Law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...
ship in the office of the State Attorney General
State Attorney General
The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states and territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney general serves as the head of a state department of justice, with responsibilities similar to those...
.
At the age of twenty five, O'Toole began is political career by serving on the Cedar Grove
Cedar Grove, New Jersey
-Climate:Cedar Grove has a humid subtropical climate, with warm/hot humid summers and cool/cold winters. The climate is slightly colder overall during the summer than in New York City because there is no urban heat island effect....
Township Council from 1989 to 1996. He then was elected as its Mayor from 1990 to 1991, 1993 to 1994 and from 1995 to 1996. O'Toole was later elected as Chairman of the Essex County
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...
Republican
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...
Committee from 1997–present.
In 1995, O'Toole was elected into the 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...
, the lower house
Lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
of the New Jersey State Legislature, representing the 21st Legislative District
21st Legislative District (New Jersey)
New Jersey's 21st Legislative District is one of 40 in the state, covering the Essex County municipality of Millburn Township, the Morris County communities of Chatham Township, Harding Township, Long Hill Township and Madison Borough, the Somerset County localities of Warren Township and Watchung...
. He was appointed as the Assembly's Deputy Republican Leader from 2004 to 2008 and was the Assistant Majority Leader from 1998 to 2001. O'Toole was briefly appointed to the State Senate in 2001, where he served for eight months before redistricting forced him into a different legislative district.
In 2007, O'Toole defeated Democrat John Zunic to win election to the New Jersey Senate
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
seat in the 40th Legislative District, filling the seat vacated by Henry McNamara
Henry McNamara
Henry P. McNamara is an American Republican Party politician, who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 1985 to 2008, where he represented the 40th Legislative District. In the Senate, he was Minority Whip from 1990 to 1991...
, a fellow Republican who had represented the district since 1985. O'Toole's running mates David C. Russo
David C. Russo
David C. Russo is an American Republican Party politician, who serves in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he has represented the 40th legislative district since 1990....
and Scott Rumana
Scott Rumana
Scott Rumana is an Assyrian-American Republican Party politician, who serves in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he has represented the 40th legislative district since January 8, 2008....
also won election.
By profession, O'Toole is an attorney with the firm of O'Toole Fernandez Weiner Vanlieu LLC. Senator O'Toole and his wife, Bethany, have two children, Kevin, Jr., and Ryan Marie.
State legislator
O'Toole has sponsored laws to reform welfare, strengthen domestic violence statutes, increase penalties on businesses and individuals who engage in discrimination, mandate insurance coverage for mammographyMammography
Mammography is the process of using low-energy-X-rays to examine the human breast and is used as a diagnostic and a screening tool....
and for treatment of breast and cervical cancer, preserve the state's drinking water supply through the preservation of Sterling Forest
Sterling Forest State Park
Sterling Forest State Park is a 17,953 acre park located in the Ramapo Mountains in Orange County, New York established in 1998; it is among the larger additions to the New York state park system in the last 50 years...
, and create more government transparency.
In the state legislature, O'Toole has been a proponent of ethics reform in New Jersey government. He was the original sponsor of legislation creating pension reform in New Jersey. He has sponsored legislation to streamline government, promote education, protect the environment, and lower property taxes.
O'Toole was one of the primary sponsors of pre-paid college education expense program (529 college savings plan) and legislation that would prohibit campaign contributions from vendors who have government contracts.
District 40
Each of the forty districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey SenateNew Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
and two members 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...
. The other representatives from the 40th District for the 2010-11 Legislative Session are:
- Assemblyman David C. RussoDavid C. RussoDavid C. Russo is an American Republican Party politician, who serves in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he has represented the 40th legislative district since 1990....
, and - Assemblyman Scott T. Rumana
External links
- Senator Kevin O'Toole's Official Site
- Senator O'Toole's Legislative Website, New Jersey LegislatureNew Jersey LegislatureThe 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 the Senate...
- New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms
- Senator Kevin John O'Toole, Project Vote SmartProject Vote SmartProject Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States...
- New Jersey Voter Information Website 2003