Paul Moriarty (politician)

Paul Moriarty
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 4th Legislative District
Assumed office
January 10, 2006
Serving with Gabriela Mosquera
Preceded by Robert J. Smith II
Mayor of Washington Township (Gloucester County)
In office
January 1, 2005 – December 31, 2008
Preceded by Randee Davidson
Succeeded by Matthew Lyons
Personal details
Born (1956-09-25) September 25, 1956
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Lisa
Children one
Residence Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey
Website Legislative webpage

Paul D. Moriarty (born September 25, 1956) is an American Democratic Party politician, who serves in the New Jersey General Assembly where he represents the 4th Legislative District, having taken office on January 10, 2006.

Journalist

Moriarty worked as an investigative journalist at KYW-TV for 17 years protecting consumer rights and investigating unscrupulous or unethical businesses. Before KYW, Moriarty was a news producer at WCAU-TV.[1]

Moriarty's has earned over 30 Emmy Awards, honors from the National Press Association, the Associated Press and the Radio-Television News Directors Association. He was a member of American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) for 20 years while working as a journalist.[1] He served six years as a shop steward.

Political career

Mayor of Washington Township

Running on a platform of open government, property tax relief, and the elimination of waste and inefficiency, Moriarty was elected Mayor of Washington Township in November 2004. He garnered 60% of the vote in a hotly contested four-way race in which Republican voters were sharply divided.[2]

He was mayor of Washington Township for one term from 2005 until 2008. After forming a recall committee, on June 9, 2006, a Washington Township resident filed a petition to recall Moriarty from his post as mayor, with the goal of placing the initiative on the November 2006 general election ballot based on obtaining the requisite number of about 8,000 signatures needed for recall.[3] The recall effort was ultimately unsuccessful.[4]

Assembly

Moriarty was elected to the Assembly on November 8, 2005, filling the seat of fellow Democrat Robert J. Smith II, who did not run for re-election and had held the seat in the Assembly since 2000.

In the Assembly, Moriarty serves on the Consumer Affairs Committee (Chair), the Education Committee and the Law and Public Safety Committee.[5]

On June 1, 2006, Assemblyman Moriarty, along with State Senator Stephen M. Sweeney (D, 3rd legislative district) and fellow Assembly Democrat Jerry Green (D, 22nd legislative district), held a press conference to announce their support for significant cuts to New Jersey state worker salaries and benefits of up to 15%. This effort was proposed to avoid a one-point increase in the state's sales tax designed to cover a multibillion-dollar gap in the state's budget. Significant negative reaction from the state's labor unions resulted primarily because of Sweeney's position as an Ironworkers business agent and treasurer from Gloucester County for Ironworker's Local 399, and also due to his position as the chairman of the Senate Labor committee which controls most labor-related bills, but also because of Moriarty's history as an AFTRA shop steward and stated support of the collective bargaining process.[6]

District 4

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 4th District for the 2014-2015 Legislative Session are:[7]

Personal life

Moriarty was raised in Salem, Massachusetts and received a B.A. from Temple University in Communications.[1][5]

He has been a resident of Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey since 1996. He and his wife Lisa have a daughter, Meghan. Moriarty, who had sponsored a bill for increasing penalties for those making false emergency calls in a process called swatting, was the recipient of a hoax call at his home in April 2015.[8]

On July 31, 2012, Moriarty was pulled over by Washington Township police officer Joseph DiBuonaventura on Route 42 for allegedly driving while intoxicated.[9] Moriarty denied the charges. The police dashcam in DiBuonaventura's car contradicted his police report and charges against Moriarty were dismissed.[9] DiBuonaventura was found not guilty on charges of misconduct and further charges against him were dropped when a judge ruled that the Township's police procedures were unlawful.[10] As a result of the incident, Moriarty has created legislation that would require dashcams in all new police cars.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "CBS 3: Paul Moriarty". KYW-TV. March 7, 2002. Archived from the original on October 8, 2003. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  2. ↑ Staff. "Democrat Moriarty Elected Mayor in Washington Twp., Party also controls council with help of GOP defections", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 3, 2004. Accessed September 6, 2011. "Capitalizing on a split in the local Republican Party, political newcomer Paul Moriarty and his running mates scored a dramatic Democratic sweep yesterday in a hotly contested and sometimes vitriolic election in Washington Township."
  3. ↑ Nguyen, Anna. "Wash. Twp. mayor recall bid starts", Courier-Post, July 8, 2006. Accessed September 6, 2011.
  4. ↑ Nguyen, Anna. "Wash. Twp. mayor: I'm walking the walk", Courier-Post, December 9, 2006. Accessed September 6, 2011. "'If he can sit in his office, he can sit with the council to answer questions from residents', said Mordente, who launched an unsuccessful bid to recall Moriarty that ended in November."
  5. 1 2 Assemblyman Moriarty's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed March 14, 2008.
  6. ↑ Volpe, Gregory J. "Lawmakers urge cuts for state workers", Asbury Park Press, June 2, 2006. Accessed August 8, 2007. "Sen. Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and Assemblymen Jerry Green, D-Union, and Paul Moriarty, D-Gloucester, unleashed a series of proposals Thursday to curb spending on state workers, which sparked immediate outcry from labor groups."
  7. ↑ Legislative Roster 2014-2015 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 16, 2014.
  8. ↑ Friedman, Matt (April 14, 2015). "N.J. lawmaker who wants to combat dangerous 'swatting' prank gets swatted". NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  9. 1 2 Green, Joe (November 19, 2013). "In Moriarty stop, Washington Township officer had 'personal motivation,' prosecutor says". South Jersey Times. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  10. ↑ Caffrey, Michelle (August 7, 2015). "N.J. officer, acquitted of misconduct for assemblyman arrest, scores civil court victory". NJ.com. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  11. ↑ Caffrey, Michelle (September 10, 2014). "Assemblyman Paul Moriarty's police camera bill, inspired by DWI false arrest, signed into law". South Jersey Times. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
New Jersey General Assembly
Preceded by
Robert J. Smith II		 Member of the New Jersey General Assembly for the 4th District
January 10, 2006 – present
With: David R. Mayer, Sandra Love, Domenick DiCicco, Gabriela Mosquera		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Randee Davidson		 Mayor of Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey
January 1, 2005 – December 31, 2008 		Succeeded by
Matthew Lyons
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