Scott Rumana

Scott T. Rumana
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 40th district
In office
January 8, 2008 – October 20, 2016
Serving with David C. Russo
Preceded by Kevin J. O'Toole
Mayor of Wayne, New Jersey
In office
January 1, 2002 – December 29, 2007
Preceded by Judy Orson
Succeeded by Christopher P. Vergano
Passaic County Freeholder
In office
December 19, 1996 – December 31, 2000
Preceded by John C. Morley III
Succeeded by Sonia Rosado
Personal details
Born (1964-07-18) July 18, 1964
Nationality American
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Laura Joyce (m. 2006)
Children one
Residence Wayne, New Jersey
Alma mater Hartwick College (B.A.)
New York Law School (J.D.)
Occupation Attorney
Website Legislative webpage

Scott T. Rumana (born July 18, 1964) is an Assyrian-American Republican Party politician, and was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly, where he represented the 40th legislative district from January 8, 2008 until his resignation on October 20, 2016.[1][2] On October 20, 2016, he was confirmed by the New Jersey Senate as a judge of the New Jersey Superior Court for Passaic County.[3] He has also served as the mayor and as a councilman in Wayne and is a former member of the Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Biography

Rumana is the descendant of an Assyrian tailor from Paterson. He was raised in Wayne where his interest in public service was sparked by his godfather Robert A. Roe, for whom Rumana later served as an intern while Roe was in Congress.[4]

Rumana was awarded a B.A. from Hartwick College with a major in management in 1987, and earned a J.D. from New York Law School in 1991. He is an attorney with the firm of Hunziker, Jones and Sweeney.[1][2] A resident of Wayne, he is married to Laura and has one son.[5]

Early political career

Rumana served on the Wayne Township Council from 1994 to 1996. He served until his appointment to the Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders.[1]

In December 1996, Rumana was appointed to the Freeholder Board to replace Republican John C. Morley III, who resigned due to a conflict with him running the county's garbage collection agency.[6] At the time of his appointment, the Republican Party had a majority of the seats on the Passaic County Freeholder Board. In his first bid for a full three-year term, Rumana finished in the top three in the 1997 election, joining Democratic newcomers Jim Gallagher and Lois A. Cuccinello; however, the majority control of the board shifted to the Democrats in this election.[7] Due to the fall from grace of former Passaic County Chairman Peter Murphy and the resulting "corruption costs you money" campaign of the Democrats, Rumana finished fourth behind incumbents Gallagher and Cuccinello and newcomer Sonia Rosado in the 2000 election, losing his seat whilst filing a lawsuit against his opponents for allegedly tying Rumana to another county official under investigation.[8][9]

Rumana launched a successful comeback the next year defeating incumbent Wayne mayor Judy Orson in the June Republican primary then defeating Chris McIntyre in the general election.[10][5] He was re-elected to the position in 2005 and in 2006 was elected to head the Passaic County Republican Committee, a position he held until 2012.[2] Under Rumana's leadership as Passaic County Republican Chairman, the Democratic 7-0 hold on the freeholder board of the past decade was broken. Michael Marotta, Deborah Ciambrone and Ed O'Connell were elected to the Board of Chosen Freeholders and Kristen Corrado was also elected County Clerk during his tenure.[11]

Assembly career

In 2007 upon the selection of Assemblyman Kevin J. O'Toole to run for a State Senate seat, Rumana was elected in the primary election along with incumbent David C. Russo to be the Republican candidates in the general election for the General Assembly in the 40th District. He was re-elected to two-year terms with Russo thereafter.

Rumana served in the Assembly on the Environment and Solid Waste Committee, the Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee, and the Legislative Services Commission.[1] He previously served as the Assistant Republican Leader from 2008 to 2009 and the Deputy Conference Leader/Policy Co-Chair in 2010 to 2011. Since 2012, he has been the Republican Whip in the Assembly.[1]

As a legislator, Rumana advanced opposition to Council on Affordable Housing mandates and the advancement of clean energy initiatives.[12][13] Scott Rumana voted against a bill legalizing same sex marriage in 2012 and voted against the override of Governor Chris Christie's veto of the bill in 2013.[14]

In 2011, a former opponent in an Assembly election filed state ethics complaints against Rumana alleging that Rumana's appearance at a Board of Public Utilities advocating for a not-for-profit energy company grant was in conflict with his position as a state legislator. Though the Joint Legislation Committee on Ethics dismissed the charges in September 2011, a Superior Court judge overturned the dismissal in February 2012 claiming that the vote to dismiss was per the committee's bylaws. A state appellate court reinstated the dismissal of charges in 2013.[15][16][17]

District 40

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 40th District for the 2016–2017 Legislative Session are:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Assemblyman Rumana's Legislative Webpage, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed October 21, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Profile Scott T. Rumana". Hunziker, Jones & Sweeney, P.A. Attorneys at Law. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  3. ↑ Booth, Michael (20 October 2016). "Senate Confirms Six New Superior Court Judges". New Jersey Law Journal. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  4. ↑ Collins, Margaret K. (January 18, 2006). "Man on the Move". The Record. Retrieved September 29, 2015. (subscription required (help)). His Assyrian grandfather was a tailor in Paterson and his boyhood pals on Wayne's Surrey Drive remember him more as an avid lacrosse player than a student of politics. But Rumana picked up the public-service bug from his godfather, Robert Roe, who was mayor of Wayne before serving as a 23-year Democratic congressman. It was interning for Roe in Washington, D.C., during the Iran-contra hearings in the summer of 1987 that turned Rumana into a visible and outspoken lover of all things government.
  5. 1 2 "Republican Whip Scott T. Rumana". New Jersey Assembly Republicans. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  6. ↑ Haggin, Leslie; Voreacos, David (December 20, 1996). "Fresh Face on Passaic Board". The Record. Retrieved September 29, 2015. (subscription required (help)).
  7. ↑ Voreacos, David (November 5, 1997). "GOP Fails to Keep Freeholder Majority". The Record. Retrieved September 29, 2015. (subscription required (help)).
  8. ↑ Kraut, Dan (January 3, 2001). "Democratic Chief Supports Eagler". The Record. Retrieved September 29, 2015. (subscription required (help)).
  9. ↑ Kraut, Dan (November 3, 2000). "Freeholder Sues over Political Ad". The Record. Retrieved September 29, 2015. (subscription required (help)).
  10. ↑ Friedman, Matt (April 16, 2009). "Challengers claim $100k raised in bid to unseat Rumana, Russo". Politicker NJ. Retrieved September 29, 2015. Rumana did run in a competitive primary for mayor of Wayne in 2001, when he ousted incumbent Republican Judy Orson.
  11. ↑ Miller, Lonni (November 4, 2009). "Passaic County Regular Republican Organization Wins Big on Election Day". Politicker NJ (Press release). Passaic County Regular Republican Organization. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  12. ↑ Aron, Michael (March 11, 2015). "NJ Supreme Court Takes Affordable Housing Control Away from COAH". NJTV. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  13. ↑ Alexander, Andrea (September 6, 2009). "Green energy plan tied up in red tape". The Record. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Marriage Equality Voting Record".
  15. ↑ Hubbard, Daniel (June 29, 2011). "Ethics Charges to be Prepared Against Scott Rumana". Patch Media. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  16. ↑ Friedman, Matt (February 26, 2012). "Judge tosses decision that cleared N.J. assemblyman of ethics complaint". NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  17. ↑ State Street Staff Wire (August 5, 2013). "Court sides with Ethics panel, against Brennan in battle with Rumana". Politicker NJ. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
New Jersey General Assembly
Preceded by
Kevin J. O'Toole		 Member of the New Jersey General Assembly for the 40th District
January 8, 2008 – present
With: David C. Russo		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Judy Orson		 Mayor of Wayne, New Jersey
January 1, 2002 – December 29, 2007 		Succeeded by
Christopher P. Vergano
Preceded by
John C. Morley III		 Passaic County At-large Freeholder
December 19, 1996 – December 31, 2000 		Succeeded by
Sonia Rosado
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